The challenge
What Telcos and CSPs operators have to get right
A telco or communication service provider runs at a scale where small gaps become large problems. Large numbers of staff and partner users need different rights, regulators ask for records on a schedule, and new platforms have to sit beside systems that were bought years ago and are not going away.
Carrier-grade AAA and CRM for telcos and CSPs means more than fast authentication. It means a policy engine that operators can change without code, an audit trail of who did what, retention that follows each market's rules and interfaces that let existing systems talk to the new ones. i2iCore modules address these areas, and this page states plainly where each one stops.
Policy that changes without releases
Access rules, speeds and routing change with plans and partners. If every change needs a code release, the business waits, so authentication behaviour has to be set by operators in a console and reloaded safely.
Rights across large teams
Staff, partner staff and machine accounts need different permissions, and privileged access to production must be time-limited and reviewed. Without central roles and an audit trail, it is hard to show who could do what.
Different rules in different markets
Retention periods, data residency and evidence handling vary by regulator. Rules built into code make each new market a development project, so retention and audit behaviour should be set by configuration.
Integration with what already exists
Operators run billing, payment, partner and device systems that they cannot replace at once. New platforms must expose controlled interfaces, with each outside client identified, limited and audited.
The modules
How each module helps
Every operator starts with the AAA and CRM core. The rest are added as the network needs them. Each module has its own datasheet.
- i2i AAAAccess & NetworkCore
A RADIUS server with workflows, a compiled policy expression language and a web console, so operators change behaviour without code. Nodes pull configuration from a control service and keep the last good copy on disk.
- i2i CRMMonetisation & FinanceCore
Billing and customer back office in one system: prepaid and postpaid plans, accounts, invoices, payments and taxes, with bill runs that can be previewed and rolled back. Enterprise, group and leased-line accounts are supported.
- i2i BNGAccess & Network
A software broadband gateway on DPDK and standard x86 servers, terminating PPPoE and running carrier-grade NAT. Speed and policy come from RADIUS, with commit, rollback and signed upgrades that roll back automatically.
- i2i 360The platform
The operator workspace, built on the admin portal, covers customers, partners, billing, tickets and reports with menus shaped by role. The app switcher opens the consoles registered for your organisation without another password.
- i2i Identity & AccessIdentity & Intelligence
The central identity service: organisations, users, roles and permissions, signed tokens and an audit trail. A separate production access service gives time-boxed, audited launches with mandatory review of emergency access.
- i2i TraceAccess & Network
Keeps NAT and syslog records for the period your compliance profile sets. Profiles cover India, an EU baseline and the US, and can be versioned and activated per tenant, with a tamper-evident audit of every search.
- i2i APIsIdentity & Intelligence
A curated external gateway. Staff register each client, restrict it by source address and endpoint, and every call is throttled and audited. It exposes subscriber, package and ACS device operations and takes payment callbacks.
- i2i AI AssistantIdentity & Intelligence
A chat assistant inside the admin and partner portals. It answers how-to questions from each portal's help knowledge base and looks up live data through read-only tools that run as the signed-in user.
Checklist
What you need to get right
- Authenticate and account for every session under policy
- Control who can do what across large teams
- Keep records for the retention period each market sets
- Connect to systems you already run
FAQ
Telcos and CSPs: frequently asked questions
Does i2iCore offer clustering or automatic switchover for AAA?
Availability is planned for each deployment rather than sold as a packaged feature. AAA nodes pull configuration from a central control service and keep the last good copy on disk, and the BNG has commit and rollback. Tell us the availability you need and we will describe how it would be met.
Can we use a single sign-on across all our consoles?
Partly. The Identity & Access app switcher hands a signed-in user to the consoles registered for the organisation, and several consoles accept it. Not every console is included, and some modules keep their own sign-in. Ask us which consoles cover your estate.
How does i2iCore help with regulation in different countries?
Trace applies compliance profiles, currently for India, an EU baseline and the US, that set retention floors and ceilings, legal holds and residency placement. This covers records preservation only. It does not amount to a certification, and your compliance team decides what each market requires.
Can the AI assistant change data in our systems?
No. It answers from the portal's help knowledge base and uses a fixed list of read-only tools that run as the signed-in user, so it reads only what that person could already read. It covers the admin and partner portals, not every console.
How do we connect our existing systems?
Through i2i APIs, a curated gateway rather than a self-serve interface. Each client is registered by staff, limited to approved source addresses and endpoints, and audited. Subscriber, package and device operations are available, plus payment callbacks. There are no outbound webhooks or warehouse export.
Other operator types
- Fibre ISPsFTTH and GPON operators who sell broadband plans to home and business subscribers, directly and through partners.→
- Wireless ISPsFixed-wireless operators serving towns and rural areas from towers, where every subscriber depends on radio links.→
- Cable and local operatorsOperators whose customers sign up, get served and pay through a network of franchises and LCOs.→
- Enterprise and leased lineOperators selling business connectivity and leased lines to companies that expect accountable service and clear invoices.→
- Public Wi-FiVenues, hospitality and city networks that offer guest Wi-Fi through a captive portal and want to manage access and revenue.→