2019.10.18 – Open Broadband News

Brexit is dealt a full-fiber hand

According to BT’s access division Openreach, connecting the UK to Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) broadband by 2025 could deliver productivity of up to £60 billion. A report by the Centre for Economics & Business Research (CEBR), commissioned by Openreach, has revealed that this productivity boost would amount to around £1,700 per worker.

The report finds that with enhanced connectivity, 270,000 people could move out of cities and help stimulate regional and rural economic growth. Furthermore, 300 million commuting trips could be saved each year, with three billion fewer kilometres travelled by car.

Clive Selley, Openreach CEO, said: “Full fiber is a vehicle to turbocharge our economy post-Brexit, with the power to renew towns and communities across the UK. We’re proud to be leading the way with over 1.8 million homes and businesses already having access to our full-fiber network.”

“With the right policies and regulation, we can build a better, more reliable broadband network faster than any other country in the world and unlock the benefits for the whole of the UK. If that doesn’t happen, then many people will be locked out of a more connected future and the UK could lose its status as a global digital leader,” added Selley.

The other (5)Guy: Next-generation fixed networks

With the promise to accelerate revenue opportunities in both consumer and business applications, Communications Service Providers (CSPs) have firmly seized control on 5G. However, operators must understand that the future is not just about mobility. Fixed networks are also crucial to break away from the stagnant revenue of the recent past and realize maximum gains from the coming era.

This is the message from Heavy Reading’s Principal Analyst Sterling Perrin, who outlines how the “Fourth Industrial Revolution” is increasingly being used to describe the coming together of disruptive innovations, such as the Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, virtual reality (VR) and artificial intelligence (AI). The coalescence of these emerging technologies will likely introduce the biggest changes to business and society since the introduction of the computer and will also necessitate the biggest changes to broadband networks since the World Wide Web in the early 1990s.

Nokia and Telia partner up, opening the 5G gateway to Finland

Nokia has announced it is teaming up with Telia Company, a leading telephone and mobile network operator in the Nordics and Baltics, to bring its 5G Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) solution to customers across Finland. Nokia’s FastMile 5G gateway allows Telia to unlock the full potential of its 5G mobile network and quickly extend new ultra-broadband services to residential households countrywide.

Finnish customers that subscribe to Telia’s enhanced 5G service can now pick up a Nokia Fastmile 5G gateway in selected stores, plug it in and have immediate access to gigabit peak speeds in their home. An easy-to-use visual display on the gateway helps customers identify the right location to achieve the best performance, while integrated WiFi features ensure ultra-broadband access is available in every corner of the house.

“We want customers to enjoy the benefits of 5G regardless of where they are, and Nokia is an important partner helping us achieve this. With FWA solutions like Nokia’s Fastmile 5G Gateway, our customer will be able to quickly leverage our end-to-end 5G network and enhanced services to support all of their ultra-broadband needs in the home,” said Janne Koistinen, 5G Program Manager for Telia Finland.

It takes two to tango: ZTE and China Telecom help Bluetron adopt China’s first 5G slicing solution

ZTE, a major international provider of telecommunications, enterprise and consumer technology solutions, together with the Zhejiang Branch of China Telecom, has assisted Bluetron in commissioning China’s first 5G SA (Standalone) site, which put 5G slicing, edge computing and smart manufacturing into trial to help Bluetron build a new 5G smart factory.

To meet data requirements of industrial production, the solution realizes rapid deployment of machine vision slicing and fast backhaul of video streams by adopting key technologies such as, slicing stores, wireless slicing perception, end-to-end slicing security isolation, dynamic slice migration, UPF moving to edge, and UPF offloading. These slices can reduce the latency, jitter, and packet loss rate of video data transmission, guarantee the bandwidth and quality of video transmission and improve the accuracy and real-time performance of video analysis results.

“Committed to continuous technological innovation, ZTE works with operators and industry partners to explore the co-operation mode of the edge cloud and build an edge ecosystem together to comprehensively promote the commercial use of the MEC edge cloud and jointly promote the flourishing of 5G edge services,” said Chen Xinyu, General Manager of ZTE Telecom Cloud & Core Network Product Line.

Home is where the smart is!

Virgin Media Ireland has launched its Smart Home packages, offering customers ultimate flexibility of devices in the home. Partnering with Google and TP-Link, Virgin Media are offering customers a range of tailored packages. Virgin Media Ireland is the first Liberty Global market to offer the new Smart Home packs to its broadband customers.

The new Virgin Media Smart Home packs are now available to all Virgin Media broadband customers, including installation by a dedicated Virgin Media Smart Home technician.

“We are excited to be partnering with Google to bring our consumers the best smart technology, powered by Ireland’s fastest in-home Wi-Fi.  We know that smart home devices can be difficult and time consuming to set up but with a complete set-up by our dedicated technicians, our customers will be enjoying the benefits of smart technology without any hassle. At Virgin Media, we also know no two homes are the same, which is why we are offering a range of Smart Home Packages, with one sure to suit every household,” said Karen Faughnan, Senior Propositions Manager at Virgin Media Ireland.

Broadband World Forum 2019 – Broadband Forum paves the way for future networks

As Broadband World Forum 2019 comes to an end and the Interop Pavilion closes its doors, we have a special wrap-up of the event, highlighting the important developments showcased by our members.

The future of next-generation network connectivity and the changing landscape of broadband were key topics highlighted at this year’s event, with Broadband Forum and its members at the forefront of the discussion. Featuring participants from TIM, Nokia, VMware, Altice, DZS, EANTC, and UHN-IOL, Broadband Forum CEO Robin Mersh took part in a one-hour workshop regarding OB-BAA and the management of multi-vendor software-defined broadband networks. This highlighted how implementing standards provides a clear and simple migration path for operators as they embrace new virtualization and cloud technologies.

Speaking at the event on several occasions, Mersh also addressed the impact of 5G from all angles, outlining the steps necessary to ensure the mass market success of this promising technology, as well as highlighting how Broadband Forum is leading the way for the network of the future.

Connected Home, automated networks and 5G world-first demonstrations

Broadband Forum’s Interop Pavilion drew crowds throughout the event, with Broadband Forum’s User Services Platform (USP) v1.1  – an evolution of TR-069 for the IoT era – among the ground-breaking demonstrations on show for the first time. The setup showcased the potential of USP in the Home Gateway, exploiting the new data collection and transport capabilities of the platform via support of MQTT. The USP Agent and controller was provided by Axiros and the Agent initiated a Domos QED module, sending the results to the controller, utilizing a KAONMEDIA CPE device.

Broadband Forum also showcased a live demonstration of CloudCO including Open Broadband – Broadband Access Abstraction (OB-BAA), sponsored by Swisscom, BT and TIM.  Building on last year’s highly successful OB-BAA demo, the demo leveraged Application Note 446 (APPN-446) to show zero touch service provisioning of a multi-vendor access network containing NETCONF/YANG and SNMP access nodes via standard and vendor-specific adapters, all through a single portal. Access vendor participants included Nokia, Altice Labs, and DASAN Zhone all leveraging an OB-Labs infrastructure enabled by EANTC, UNH-IOL and VMware.

Broadband Forum brings together open standards and open source

Created by technology innovators for technology leaders, two concurrent workshops,  5G BASe and Connected Home BASe also took place. Illustrating how to meet the consumer connectivity demands of tomorrow, the workshops provided an exclusive insight into Broadband Forum standards and open source initiatives that underpin the ground-breaking demonstrations.

A Series of Fortunate Events – by Broadband Forum

Broadband Forum works closely with industry analysts to capture timely snapshots of industry status and direction across our areas of focus. There are two surveys currently underway:

• Industry analyst firm Broadbandtrends is conducting a survey of 10G PON deployment strategies, and is looking for Broadband Forum members to participate. Your input will be used to help equipment vendors and solutions providers better address technology and business requirements. This is a CONFIDENTIAL survey and should take 6-8 minutes to complete. We are requesting completion by Friday October 18, 2019. In return for your full participation in this survey, Broadbandtrends will provide you with(via e-mail in a .pdf format) the final full report when it is published (mid November 2019). The survey may be taken by a PC/laptop, smart phone or tablet via the following link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2019_10GPON
• 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 in 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 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. 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.