2019.11.01 – Open Broadband News

All treats and no tricks at BBWF 2019 as Broadband QED gains further momentum

Broadband Forum’s Broadband Quality Experience Delivered (Broadband QED), an initiative which looks beyond conventional measurements to improve overall broadband experience, showed significant industry momentum at Broadband World Forum (BBWF) 2019.

Broadband QED represents a shift in focus in the broadband services market from ever-increasing peak speed to the reliable and consistent delivery of a high quality of experience. With the roll-out of gigabit services, capacity is no longer the limiting factor for the vast majority of applications.

Broadband QED defines a way to measure these characteristics using the mathematical concept of ‘quality attenuation’ (written ‘∆Q’), which captures the potential impact of the network on any kind of application.

“Since its launch, Broadband QED has resonated with a vast number of our members, but to see it progress so quickly from conception to proofs of concept is remarkable and an excellent example of what can be achieved through industry collaboration,” said Geoff Burke, Chief Marketing Officer at Broadband Forum.

Lift your spirits! AT&T’s Barbara Stark wins Woman in Telecoms Award for work at Broadband Forum and other organizations

AT&T’s Barbara Stark has taken home the Woman in Telecoms Award at the World Communication Awards 2019 for her pioneering role in the development of Broadband Forum’s globally-deployed TR-069 standard, its User Services Platform (USP), and a myriad of additional contributions to the Forum, as well as her contribution and leadership in other global standards organizations.

Recognized as a Distinguished Fellow within Broadband Forum and involved in a number of industry initiatives including Broadband Forum, HomeGrid Forum, IETF and BITAG, Stark’s work has greatly impacted today’s broadband networks. The CPE WAN Management Protocol, as defined in TR-069, is one that best illustrates her influence and contributions.

“I’m honored to receive such a prestigious award for my contributions in shaping the broadband industry, and am humbled to join the ranks of the amazing women who have won this award in the past,” said Barbara Stark, a lead member of AT&T’s technical staff.

“Although awards like this are bestowed upon an individual, they are the result of a great amount of support made possible through organizations like Broadband Forum and AT&T that I’ve been a part of, and the many colleagues that I’ve worked with through the years. I’m proud of the difference we’ve made to the connected world, and this is really an award that recognizes what industry-wide collaboration can achieve,” said Stark.

Witchful thinking! Convergence is key as customers demand next generation connectivity

Consumers in the UK are increasingly intolerant of complexity, even as they begin to demand ubiquitous, gigabit capable connectivity, according to BT’s CTIO.

Speaking at the Total Telecom Congress in London, Howard Watson said that while consumers were essentially technologically agnostic as to how they received their connectivity, they were becoming increasingly demanding about the speed, quality and reliability of that connection.

“Simplicity is the key. As we approach 2020, we know that our customers are increasingly intolerant of complexity. They want their network to work, to deliver the services they want, wherever they want them. That’s why we are focusing on taking a leading position in converged connectivity” said Howard.

Verizon CEO says that 5G is in for fang-tastic year

A Verizon report has shown strong wireless growth in the third quarter as it continues its mobile 5G rollout and revitalizes its “5G Home” fixed wireless offering.

Alongside the Q3 results, Verizon has announced the launch of mobile 5G in parts of Dallas and Omaha. Verizon now has 15 mobile markets upon its “ultra-wideband” millimeter-wave rollout, compared to 21 5G cities launched by AT&T.

Verizon has also launched its fixed wireless “5G Home” service in Chicago, using the 3GPP 5G standard. The operator said that maximum download speeds via 5G Home remains at 1Gbit/s, with 300 Mbit/s as the promised minimum speed.

“It’s a new business model,” said Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg. “Now we have it on the global standard, and now we have it on the self-install.”

Open Fiber graves the way to BOOst fiber rollout in Bagheria

The Open Fiber wholesale-only venture of Italian utility Enel and state lender CDP has announced that work has begun to bring Fiber-To-The-Home (FTTH) services at speeds of up to 1Gbps to the Sicilian town of Bagheria, near Sicily. With a total investment of over five million euros, the company said it intends to connect around 16,000 households over the next 18 months.

The wholesale provider reached the milestone of five million Connected Homes throughout Italy earlier this year and has plans to bring FTTH connections to around 19.5 million homes and businesses in 271 Italian cities and 7,000 smaller localities by 2022.

ADTRAN delivers spook-tacular 100G transport capabilities for 10G PON services

ADTRAN has announced that network operators worldwide can now deliver multi-terabit scale with the market-leading Total Access 5000 (TA5000). With general availability of this innovative new 100G transport capability, each TA5000 can scale to support more than 20,000 customers per system.

Totah Communications is leveraging the new 100G capability as part of its transport network to aggregate traffic from several TA5000 chassis already deployed in its access network. This 100G transport network is required to support the ever-increasing broadband demands and bandwidth-intensive applications such as 4K video streaming, gaming and cloud-based services.

“With the 100G available, we have the scale needed to expand the range and reach of our Fiber-to-the-Premise (FTTP) services without the added capital and operational impact of adding a new platform to our network,” said Totah Communications President and General Manager Mark Gailey.

“ADTRAN’s ability to deliver one platform with the Total Access 5000 that can scale to meet today’s needs and tomorrow’s, is the type of streamlined, operationally efficient system that makes it the ideal solution as we expand our fiber rollouts,” said Gailey.

Government body make gutsy investment for ‘fiber back-bone’ across London

City Hall is investing £10 million to lay fiber-optic cabling in the Tube to create a ‘fiber backbone’ across London.

Mayor Sadiq Khan said the investment will cover the installation costs of linking these cables to around 450 public buildings, such as community centres and libraries.

A key aim of the programme is to reduce the cost to providers of laying ‘last-mile’ FTTP cabling between the public buildings and homes and businesses.

Khan said the scheme should particularly benefit areas with little or no fiber, which had previously been deemed financially unviable. The rollout will begin with 118,000 properties in ‘not-spot’ areas of south London and the fiber upgrade could deliver speeds of up to 1Gbps.

Ovum creep it real on the latest connected home trends

Michael Philpott, Senior Practice Leader of Ovum’s Consumer Services team, has outlined the key developments in the Connected Home market during an interview at Broadband World Forum 2019. With security, analytics and in-building coverage high on the list, the video is available to watch here.

A Series of Fortunate Events – by Broadband Forum

As the BASe North America Summit in Las Vegas closes its doors, don’t miss the opportunity to catch up on the latest technology updates and best practices across 5G, Connected Home, Security, and Next Generation Access. Discussing three of the hottest technology topics – 5G, Connected Home and security – the presentation slides are now available to view here.

Following Broadband World Forum 2019, presentations and videos are also now available on the 5G and Connected Home BASe workshops.

Registration for Broadband Forum’s fourth quarterly meeting, Q4 2019, which will take place from Monday December 2 until Thursday December 5 in Panama City, Panama, is now open. For more information about the unmissable event, bringing together the world’s largest and most influential service providers and broadband ecosystem participants, please visit here.