This reports the next MEP ID that will be automatically assigned for this service when a new MEP is created without an explicitly specified ID, functioning as an auto-increment pointer rather than a count or state. An admin checks this before manually assigning a MEP ID to avoid an accidental collision with the ID the system is about to hand out automatically to the next auto-created MEP. For example, if cienaCesCfmServiceNextMepId reads 6, an admin manually provisioning a new MEP with an explicit ID of 6 at the same time as an automatic MEP creation could create a conflicting duplicate MEP ID on the service.