Between Laboratory and Field Trial: Experience with a Communications Services Testbed

Abstract

To attempt to bridge the gap between laboratory and field trial, we at the Network Services Research Division of Bellcore have designed and implemented the Modular Integrated Communications Environment (MICE). The primary motivation for MICE is to provide a means for research on the design and evaluation of advanced communications services and user interface technologies for the public communications network in a realistic environment, but without the expense and overhead of field trials. Thus, MICE is a real system, providing reliable communications services to a community of friendly users, but permitting convenient experimental control over services and interfaces. MICE has been constructed entirely of commercially-available subsystems, with controlling software executing in the UNIX™ environment. MICE has processed over 50, 000 communications attempts to date; capabilities range from basic telephony to voice paging, voice mail, and integrated voice/data mail.