The Universal Port Concept
Gary P. Austin, Barry S. Bosik, Christopher J. Capece · AT&T Technical Journal · 1989
Universal ports (UPs) are the interfaces by which telecommunications services customers access the rich set of network capabilities provided by Universal Information Services (UIS). The most obvious manifestation of UPs is the physical outlet into which customers plug their voice, data, and integrated voice/data terminals. Behind the physical outlet is an advanced voice/data networking protocol with sophisticated signaling capabilities that give access to the UIS network intelligence. By means of this protocol, universal ports become the vehicle by which customers achieve the high degree of service flexibility, network control, and management offered by UIS.