Internet-web link for access to intelligent network service control

A communication network comprising:

• a plurality of central office switching systems interconnected by trunk circuits for providing selectively switched communication services over communication links coupled to the systems;
• a provisioning system coupled for communication with the central office switching systems for establishing and modifying subscriber profile data stored in the central office switching systems, said subscriber profile data controlling at least some of the selectively switched communication services provided through the central office switching systems;
• a private data communication network coupled to the provisioning system;
• a service management system coupled to the private data communication network, said service management system maintaining a database relating to services enabled by the stored subscriber profile information for the subscribers of the communication network, said service management system for updating a subscriber's profile information in the database and sending control data to the provisioning system to update a corresponding subscriber profile stored in a central office switching system in response to subscriber inputs and for receiving service data from the provisioning system for transmission to subscribers;
• and
• a firewall coupled to the private data network for coupling to a public data network, said firewall providing a standardized graphical user interface to users accessing the firewall via the public data network, validating predetermined users of the public data network as subscribers, processing standardized interface signals from validated users terminals to provide the subscriber inputs to the service management system, and processing the service data from the service management system for transmission to the validated users terminals in accord with the standardized graphical interface.

A communication network comprising:

• a traffic network having a plurality of nodes for providing selective communications to subscriber stations;
• an operations network;
• a network management system coupled to the operations network for managing selective communication services provided through the nodes of the traffic network;
• and
• a secure access platform coupled to the operations network and for coupling to a public data network, said secure access platform comprising:
• (1) a firewall server for validating predetermined users of the public data network as subscribers to services of the communication network and implementing a standard graphical user interface of the public data network for communications to and from terminals on the public data network;
• and
• (2) a service management system in communication with the firewall server and the network management system, said service management system maintaining a database of profile data for the subscribers to services of the communication network and respective services of the subscribers, for enabling subscribers to review service data from the network management system and to input control data to the network management system,
• wherein in response to the control data, the service management system modifies subscriber profile data in the database and instructs the network management system to modify operations of the traffic network as selected by the validated subscribers.