2019.11.29 – Open Broadband News

Next stop: The Automation Station

Broadband Forum CEO, Robin Mersh, has revealed how operators can overcome the complexities and open up new opportunities when it comes to automation.

According to Statista, global IP data traffic is expected to reach 278,108 petabytes per month by 2021. This is only set to escalate with the emergence of new and innovative technologies such as 5G, the Internet of Things (IoT), Industrial IoT (IIoT), 8K video streaming and more.

This staggering growth in network traffic, combined with the emergence of these technologies, and significant pressure on reduced time-to-market, reiterates the significant transformation the network must make if it is to remain agile enough to cater for this demand.

Automation is vital to the success of 5G, IoT and digitalization as a whole, and requires operators to take a new approach when it comes to their networks. To meet these demands, networks must in turn become scalable and flexible to increase their capacity – in terms of throughput and the breadth of devices, nodes, and systems to be managed. However, with this additional capacity, comes increased complexity. This is why the industry is turning to automation for a solution.

Do you see what TechSee? Smart home suppliers need to focus on simplicity

TechSee, a global leader in visual customer assistance powered by Computer Vision AI, has released the results of its smart home support survey. The data shows that while smart home product adoption continues to surge – nearly 40 percent of study participants own at least one such device – complexity continues to be a barrier to greater uptake.

Consumers found smart thermostats the most difficult connected devices to use and install, followed by security cameras and systems. In fact, 74 percent of those polled said they were “certain” or “very likely” to return a new smart home purchase if they found it difficult to install or use.

“We see that as consumers become more familiar with smart home devices, they find them easier to set up and install,” said Eitan Cohen, CEO of TechSee. “This paves the way for additional purchases that generate more revenue and better margins for smart home brands. But the data also highlights an ongoing problem – entry point friction. Users often find product setup difficult and, in many cases, return products as a result.”

We’re the Gigs in America! Whoa!

Research from Viavi Solutions Inc indicates that gigabit Internet is now available to an estimated 354 million people across 51 countries, accounting for five percent, or one in twenty, of the global population.

The United States is the global gigabit leader, with gigabit Internet available to 68.5 million people, an additional 4 million since August 2018. Yet, China is not far behind, overtaking South Korea as the country with the second largest availability of gigabit Internet. In China, gigabit Internet is now available to 61.5 million people, representing a huge leap of 41 million since August of last year.

Following the U.S. and China are South Korea with gigabit access for 46.9 million, Spain with 30.1 million and Canada with 15.9 million. When coverage is considered as a percentage of population, Singapore remains the global leader with gigabit Internet available to 95 percent of its population.

Swisscom to provide best-in-class infrastructure to university

Swisscom is partnering with the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland for research relating to 5G and Network Functions Virtualization (NFV).

The operator will provide the University with the infrastructure for research projects relating to these technologies, which will include testing various applications and mobile private networks to demonstrate the possibilities for business customers.

The aim is to jointly develop IT solutions on the edge cloud for security, network slicing and mission-critical communication and mobile private networks.

One small step for telecoms, one giant leap for research and development

The latest data from the UK’s Office of National Statistics (ONS) has put the telecoms industry as the fastest growing sector when it comes to research and development spend.

Businesses in the sector increased their spending on research and development by £192 million to £947 million in 2018, according to the ONS. However, the sector is still some way off its all-time high of £1.5 billion set in 2007, analysis by research and development tax relief specialist, Catax highlights.

“The telecoms industry is extremely important to the UK strategically and it is reassuring to see such growth in investment. There is still some way to go if this investment is to recover to levels seen before the financial crash, however, and it is vital this happens if Britain is to continue to be a key technological player on the world stage,” said Mark Tighe, Chief Executive at Catax.

Full speed ahead for 5G-powered autonomous shuttle bus in South Korea

South Korea-based operator KT will be running a 5G-powered self-driving shuttle service in the central city of Sejong, in a pilot project to demonstrate the commercialization of autonomous buses.

KT – the carrier formerly known as Korea Telecom – alongside Seoul-based self-driving vehicle tech provider Unmanned Solutions, had previously announced a partnership in April in order to develop a 5G-based virtual control tower for self-driving vehicles.

However, the two companies will modify a 1.3km long street by the end of 2019 and begin testing level 4 autonomous shuttles during the first half of 2020. For the first time in South Korea, KT will be testing a new platform that requires no control tower on a six-seat shuttle bus.

Vendors Assemble! Broadband Forum wants YOU to participate in 5G premises project

The Broadband Forum Wireline and Wireless Convergence (WWC) Work Area is moving forward with specifying a new class of Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) – the 5G-RG. The Work Area Leaders from Deutsche Telkom, Ericsson and Juniper are offering a briefing update to Members and non-Members of the Broadband Forum to learn more about the roadmap of this important work.

THE 5G-RG will be designed to specifically integrate with a 5G core by employing a 5G signaling stack and possibly providing support for devices using 3GPP procedures in the home. It may also have a fixed WAN interface, LTR or NR WAN interface or both fixed and wireless interfaces for hybrid access.

CPE vendors are encouraged to learn more and are requested to participate in the project to ensure that the specifications ultimately generated are clear in order to facilitate simple implementation and provide important input and advice in regard to technical choices.

Vendors who decide to participate will be given opportunities for downstream deployment options and networking opportunities with other vendors in the WWC ecosystems. As the work evolves, interoperability and certification options will also be explored.

The work already involves major carriers in each of the Asian, North America and European markets.

To schedule a 30-minute briefing, please reach out to rheier@broadband-forum.org with your availability and time zone.

A Series of Fortunate Events – by Broadband Forum

Broadband Forum’s fourth quarterly meeting, Q4 2019, takes place next week in Panama City, Panama. For more information about the powerful event, bringing together the world’s largest and most influential service providers and broadband ecosystem participants, please visit here. For companies interested in attending Broadband Forum Q4 2019 as guests, please contact Rhonda Heier at rheier@broadband-forum.org.

The Forum is also actively recruiting sponsorships for its 2020 Broadband Acceleration Seminars (BASe). The BASe initiative rose to new heights in 2019 and set a new standard for excellence and participation. We are looking forward to taking it to even higher levels in 2020 are looking for innovative and visionary vendors to participate. For more information, click on the links provided for details on the 2020 Global sponsorship and UFBB BASe sponsorship packages, or reach out to info@broadband-forum.org.

Broadband Forum members have also been busy taking part in a Broadbandtrends’ global service provider survey of leading broadband operators regarding their plans to deploy 10G PON technology within their network. Key findings of the survey include the following:

• XGS-PON is the 10G PON technology of choice to serve both residential and business segments
• Coexistence and migration from existing network to new network, was the overwhelming concern for operators followed by costs to deploy 10G PON
• The ability to have a converged architecture supporting multiple applications and support for multi-gigabit residential broadband are key drivers for implementation of 10G technologies

Other key findings cover the application of 10G PON in the residential market, the migration of NG-PON2 and when the need for even higher bandwidth PONS is likely to be needed. For more information, please visit https://www.broadbandtrends.com/.

Finally, don’t miss Broadband Forum’s latest webinar on ‘Unleashing the Connected Home ecosystem with USP’ which covered the critical needs of service providers today as thy face over increasing pressure to increase quality and gain revenue from new services. The User Services Platform, defined in TR-369 by the Broadband Forum, is a flexible, secure, and standardized solution to these problems and so much. The webinar featured:

• A brief overview of USP and its architecture
• Key use cases for USP-managed Wi-Fi/multi-AP, virtualized applications, and enabling revenue generating services
• Updates on USP version 1.1 and the Device:2.13 data model featuring IoT control and Wi-Fi multi-AP management
• An open question and answer period with our panelists

To receive a free recording of the webinar, please visit: https://www.broadband-forum.org/meetings-and-events/unleashing-a-true-connected-home-ecosystem-with-usp.