Once limited to the realm of network management, providing broad basic capabilities such as QoS management and security management, the value of policy management has begun to extend up into the IT layer, acting as a bridge between network-focused Operations Support Systems (OSS) and IT-focused Billing Support Systems (BSS).
By combining the subscriber-specific information located at the BSS layer with network resource information located at the OSS layer, next generation policy management becomes a valuable tool for customer management, enabling operators to control policy on an individual, as opposed to an aggregate basis.