2019.09.27 – Open Broadband News
Broadband Forum solidifies standardized, interoperable Connected Home and Wi-Fi management
Broadband Forum has released the latest version of its Connected Home standard User Services Platform (USP) alongside new Wi-Fi data models as part of TR-181, accelerating operators’ journeys to standardized and interoperable Connected Home and Wi-Fi management.
USP 1.1 further builds on USP by allowing new deployments to implement quickly into existing infrastructure via support of MQTT, a commonly used protocol in many different aspects of the Connected Home. This provides a clear and simple migration path for operators. The update also provides northbound REST APIs, which define a standard way of communicating with USP controllers to efficiently manage USP Agents and connected devices integrated with USP. The first version of the Compliance Test Plan is also given in USP 1.1, paving the way for more interoperable solutions in the future by ensuring quality USP implementations.
Geoff Burke, Chief Marketing Officer at Broadband Forum said: “The number of connected smart home devices is expected to overtake smartphones by 2021 and this represents a lucrative opportunity for operators. For this opportunity to be realized, standards, which were incredibly important in the mass deployment of broadband networks, are vital for creating a stable ecosystem for Connected Home implementations at scale. These latest updates aim to bring exactly that, positioning USP as the standardized, open, and interoperable platform for smart home and Wi-Fi management.”
ONT yer head son! Verizon and Calix unite for 34 Gbps speeds
Verizon and Calix achieved 34 Gbps speeds over fiber optic cable through the use of a bonded NG-PON2 (Next-Generation Passive Optical Network 2) Optical Network Terminal (ONT) prototype on Verizon’s simplified, increasingly automated fiber network.
In 2018, Verizon announced it began testing NG-PON2 technology. NG-PON2 technology will provide faster speeds, lower-latency, simplification of operations and increased automation in the fiber network. To achieve those benefits, NG-PON2 technology must be deployed throughout the entire fiber network. Last year, Verizon and Calix successfully trialed NG-PON2 on the Optical Line Terminal (OLT) and as part of their latest demonstration used Calix AXOS® systems to deliver multiple Gbps for each of four wavelengths and bonded them together at the ONT.
“We know how important connectivity is to small and mid-size businesses,” said T.J. Fox, Senior Vice President and President of Verizon Business Markets. “These advances will deliver the promise of the cloud for our customers and bring them technology at parity to what previously was only in reach for large enterprises.”
UK provider completes E-Mission Impossible with carbon-neutral offering
Cerberus Networks has become the first UK Internet Service Provider to offer climate-neutral and climate-positive broadband services under their ‘Net Zero Broadband Carbon Offset’ program, which means that customers can automatically offset the carbon emissions associated with their service.
Essentially you sign-up to the broadband package you want and can then optionally add the Broadband Carbon Offset Plan. All offset charges then go directly and in full to ClimateCare to help pay for recognized and accredited Carbon Offset schemes. In addition, if you want to maximize the effect of your investment, then you have the option to offset 200 percent or 300 percent of your emissions associated with your usage, and if you do, Cerberus pledges to pay to double your offsets, so you can offset as much as six times your emissions.
Bob Hendy, Director at Cerberus Networks, said: “The reality of internet usage is that, while Cerberus offsets all the emissions within our own operations and infrastructure, many of the carbon emissions associated with customer traffic originate outside of our network. Cerberus Net Zero Broadband allows customers to offset those external emissions and neutralize the impact of their traffic on the climate. And if customers want to make a positive contribution, then we want to demonstrate our support by matching their input.”
China steps next-gen race up a gear with move to 6G
There was a significant 6G forum in China, home to the world’s biggest 5G rollout, which suggests China’s intent to make an even bigger mark when it comes to 6G. The event attracted more than 200 people, with speakers from China’s biggest Artificial Intelligence (AI) “unicorn” SenseTime, Augmented Reality (AR) company HiScene, VR firm Dgene, Peking University and smartphone-maker Xiaomi.
Liu Guangyi, Chief Researcher at China Mobile Research Institute, said that while 5G would bring the Internet of everything, 6G would achieve convergence of the real and virtual worlds. He introduced the concept of the “digital twin” – the notion that every object and person in the real world will have a proxy in the virtual world.
“Human beings will be able to simulate the operation of the physical world in the virtual one and thus can make an early judgement and if necessary, take action,” Guangyi added.
Your country needs EU! Fiber metro networks constructed in Milan and Madrid
Fiber-optic network services company euNetworks Group Ltd. says it has constructed new high-fiber-count metro networks in Milan and Madrid. The fiber-optic networks cover the financial districts and connect to data centers of their respective cities.
The Milan fiber network extends 118 km, with base ring of 30 km built with 432-fiber cable and overlapping ring segments connected by 864-fiber cable. The metro network connects with eight data centers and offers what euNetworks asserts is a unique northern route from via Caldera to DATA4, with four diverse entries. euNetworks says it will focus on the delivery of dark fiber and wavelength services to customers in the city.
“We lit 25,200 km of fiber to our long-haul network between 2015 and the end of 2018,” said Brady Rafuse, CEO of euNetworks. “That investment extended our reach into the Nordics, completed our pan-German network, and extended our reach from Paris to Switzerland, Marseille, Madrid, and back up to Frankfurt.”
The smart home seeds are flowering with lower prices and competition
The global market for smart home devices is set to grow 23.5 percent year-on-year to nearly 815 million shipments in 2019, according to the latest data from IDC.
Steady growth is expected to continue at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.4 percent over the 2019-2023 forecast period to reach over 1.39 billion devices shipped in 2023, driven by lower prices, intensifying competition, rising adoption of smart assistants and growing consumer awareness of the convenience of smart home devices, said the researcher.
The US will continue dominating unit shipments in each year, growing at a CAGR of 9.5 percent over the forecast period to reach more than 560 million units shipped in 2023. China will be the second-largest country by shipment volume in each year, albeit with the highest growth rate at a CAGR of 22.6 percent between 2019 and 2023, followed by Canada with a CAGR of 19.9 percent and Western Europe with 14.7 percent.
A Series of Fortunate Events – by Broadband Forum
Following on the heels of its latest release of its Connected Home standard User Services Platform (USP), Broadband Forum will host a webinar – ‘Unleashing a True Connected Home Ecosystem: What’s New from Broadband Forum’s User Services Platform’ – on Wednesday, October 9 at 10.00 ET. Participants will include Axiros, CommScope, Domos, Greenwave Systems, Incognito, and QA Cafe. For more information and to register, please visit: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_LYZYZpKXRSeBBzsdEPE-wA.
Broadband Forum works closely with industry analysts to capture timely snapshots of industry status and direction across our areas of focus. Industry analyst firm Maravedis is conducting a survey of the current state and future of managed home Wi-Fi, and is looking for Broadband Forum members to participate. The findings of this survey will be incorporated into a market report to be published on October 2019 and will be made available at no cost to those service providers who fill out the entire survey ($US 3,000 value). In addition, the first 30 representatives of service providers who respond to the survey will each receive 1 complimentary ticket for the upcoming home Wi-Fi summit ($820 value). To take this survey, follow this link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/HomeWiFi2019
Broadband World Forum 2019 will be a key event for Broadband Forum, with the return of its Interop Pavilion at the event which will take place at the Amsterdam RAI from 15-17 October. As part of the Interop Pavilion, Broadband Forum will showcase demonstrations of the Connected Home and CloudCO including Open Broadband – Broadband Access Abstraction (OB-BAA), as well as an encore performance from the recent Q3 Broadband Forum meeting – the world’s first practical implementation demonstration of Broadband QED.
There will be two Connected Home demonstrations from a team led by Vodafone and Domos as well as a demo of OB-USP-agent demonstrating the testing of USP managed devices from CommScope and QA Cafe. The Vodafone/Domos demo will also include Kaon Media and Axiros and will implement USP to exploit new data collection and transport capabilities.
The CloudCO/OB-BAA/OB-Labs Demo follows the success of the OB-BAA demo last year which gained very high industry visibility. This year, Broadband Forum will take a major leap forward by leveraging Application Note 446 (APPN-446) which has been enhanced for multi-vendor capabilities that will be provided by the OB-BAA reference implementation. More information can be found on the Wiki here.
Outsys will also be showcasing its groundbreaking practical implementation demonstration of Broadband QED within the pavilion. For a preview of this demo, you can watch this video.
Broadband Forum will once again host its BASe North America Summit on Saturday, October 26 on-site at Calix ConneXions 2019 in Las Vegas. The Summit, which is free to ConneXions registrants, will run from 10am to 5pm PT and focus on three of the hottest technology topics – 5G, Connected Home and security. Attendees can register for the event and the associated ConneXions conference here.
Broadband Forum is a forum partner of SDN NFV World Congress 2019, taking place at World Forum, The Hague, Netherlands from 14-17 October. Broadband Forum will discuss key projects at the Multi-player Association Workshop, where there will also be extended informal Q&A sessions to allow the audience to engage with project leaders to better understand how initiatives and standards can help their specific business. Kurt Pynaert from Nokia will be presenting along with Broadband Forum CEO Robin Mersh who will speak as part of the conference, exploring how operators can achieve seamless co-existence and cost-effective migration when implementing automated access networks.
Finally, Broadband Forum has confirmed the dates of two more of its highly popular BASe events. Two concurrent workshops on the Connected Home and 5G will kick-off Broadband World Forum 2019 on the morning of October 15. If you are planning to attend BBWF 2019, mark your calendars now and go here to see more detail on the Day 1 agenda! Additionally, as mentioned above, Broadband Forum will host its annual BASe North America event prior to the stat of ConneXions 2019 in Las Vegas on October 26. Don’t miss this opportunity to catch up on the latest technology updates and best practices across 5G, Connected Home, Security, and Next Generation Access. Keep an eye out for more details soon at BASe home on the Broadband Forum website.
For Press and Analyst inquiries, contact Proactive PR at broadbandforum@proactive-pr.com
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