Dr. SALAH AIDAROUS worked in the Network Management Division of NEC America on the planning and development of integrated network management systems. Prior to his association with NEC, he was with Nortel Technology, working on a broad range of assignments in telecommunications networks and services planning and development. THOMAS PLEVYAK is Editor in Chief of IEEE Communications magazine and a past president and director of publications of the IEEE Communications Society. An IEEE Fellow, he is currently employed at Verizon Communications in Arlington, Virginia, in the field of operations and network management standards.