2020.02.28 – Open Broadband News

It takes two – Broadband Forum finalizes new 5G standards

Operators looking to leverage their fixed networks to deliver on the promise of 5G will soon have new tools at their disposal as Broadband Forum wraps up the development of two new standards and delivers on its promise to rapidly support the 3GPP release cycles.

Based on contributions from operators and vendors across the globe and close collaboration with the 3GPP, ‘5G Fixed Mobile Convergence (FMC) Architecture’ (TR-470) and ‘Access Gateway Function (AGF) Functional Requirements’ (TR-456) build on Broadband Forum’s previous 5G work to provide a practical roadmap to deliver 5G.

“When it comes to deploying 5G, all operators will have different starting points which means any transformation steps need to be independent and not require co-ordination,” said Gavin Young, Head of Fixed Access Centre of Excellence at Vodafone Group Technology. “Deployment flexibility is also needed – and it is these challenges, and more, that TR-470 and TR-456 address.”

ETSI launches fixed network group – but why?

ETSI, one of the most respected specifications organizations in the communications networking industry, has launched a new group focused on the evolution of fixed networks in a move that highlights the importance of fiber architectures and in-building connectivity to a broader 5G world.

But while fixed-line infrastructure is as important as ever, Broadband World News asks: does it need its own ETSI group?

ETSI believes it is adding value: “Performing a gap analysis to identify potential enhancements to existing specifications (of any of the relevant SDOs) and development of new specifications,” was the response that stood out, while “exploring relevant F5G scenarios and use cases including home, business and multiple vertical industries” and “studying the overall framework, outlining the complete F5G technology landscape” were also cited as differentiators.

MOTC’s need for speed

Myanmar’s Ministry of Transport and Communications (MOTC) has published a white paper on facilitating faster broadband and 5G adoption, recommending new broadband penetration targets as well as potential regulatory strategies to achieve these goals.

The paper suggests setting penetration and speed targets by technology and along an urban/non-urban divide for 2020 and 2024.

To reach these targets, the white paper recommends making improvements to regulations to ease infrastructure deployment. Specifically, the paper suggests addressing Right Of Way (RoW) challenges, which it identifies as a ‘key barrier to expanding Myanmar’s broadband penetration and coverage.’

If you go down to the woods today, you’re sure to find 5G

Rural areas will benefit from a series of government-funded trials to help them seize the potential of modern technology, the UK’s Digital Secretary Oliver Dowden has announced.

Nine projects across the country will receive a share of £35 million from rural and industrial 5G competitions, and a new £30 million open competition, 5G Create, will look at how 5G can create new opportunities in industries including film, TV, video games, logistics and tourism.

Sherwood Forest, in Nottinghamshire, will see cutting-edge apps transform the visitor experience, with Robin Hood telling the history of the medieval forest via virtual and augmented reality on 5G networks. New robotic environmental management will also be tested alongside live monitoring of the health of Sherwood Forest to preserve the site for future generations.

France to gain a beret good fiber optic network

Spanish telecommunications company Cellnex and French firm Bouygues Telecom will jointly roll out €1 billion worth of fiber optic network in France over the next seven years.

The two multinationals will form a new company to connect rooftops, towers, telecoms sites and computing centers, accelerating the development of the country’s 5G ecosystem.

Cellnex CEO Tobias Martinez said: “The agreement to roll out a genuine fiber ring in France, interconnecting various key elements for the fixed and mobile ecosystem, ranging from the towers connected to the fiber, the data processing centers distributed in the network, to small cells, represents our commitment to a holistic cooperation model with our key customers to facilitate planning and efficient operation of the telecoms infrastructures networks.”

South Africa gets its smarts

A new smart-city is taking shape in Lanseria, South Africa, which 350,000 to 500,000 people will call home within the next decade.

Gauteng Premier David Makhura says that he is working with a number of provincial governments in preparation for the new Lanseria smart city development.

Speaking in his state of the province address (Sopa) on Tuesday (25 February), Makhura said that the city would not only impact Gauteng’s economy and infrastructure but also the North West.

“It will not only be smart and 5G-ready but will be a leading benchmark for green infrastructure continental and internationally,” he said

A Series of Fortunate Events – by Broadband Forum

Swap the date – Broadband Forum Q2 Meeting will start one day later

The Broadband Forum Q2 2020 Meeting will now be held on June 16^th-19^th, one day later than originally planned.

All other details remain the same, including the meeting registration and contribution deadline on June 8^th, 2020, and the hotel reservation deadline on 22^nd May 2020.

The meeting will be preceded by the first BASe event to be held in Australia. Taking place at the Crown Promenade Hotel, in Melbourne, the workshop will host panels on a number of topics, including 5G, USP, CloudCO, open sourcing, and migration. There will also be a number of networking opportunities throughout the week.

Many sponsorship opportunities are still available, offering a unique opportunity to highlight your brand in front of the significant influencers of the broadband ecosystem.

For more information, please click here.

Opening the door to the connected home – Broadband Forum hosts USP Webinar

On Wednesday, February 19, Broadband Forum hosted its latest webinar: “Monetizing the Connected Home:  How TR-181 Device: 2.13 Enables Powerful New Value-added Services and Insights”. During this webinar, Broadband Forum project leaders in TR-069, USP and TR-181 and experts from industry leading vendors like CommScope, Domos, Incognito Software, NISC and QA Cafe explored how Broadband Forum’s TR-181 (Device:2) data model provides a standardized way to manage subscriber networks, receive telemetry and perform diagnostics. The webinar also covered how Broadband Forum’s User Services Platform (USP/TR-369) leverages this data model to meet the increasing demand for low-latency control and scalable data collection, as well as how it facilitates coexistence with legacy devices and provides the Wi-Fi management.

If you missed the webinar or want to share it with your colleagues, use this link to watch it in its entirety. If you would like access to the slide deck from the webinar, click here. To gain more information about our upcoming USP Plugfest, click here. If you would like to track or get involved in the development of USP or other projects within our Broadband User Services work area which are focused on accelerating the journey to the truly Connected Home, you can learn more about the Broadband Forum’s work in the Connected Home here and here.

USP Plugfest-apalooza! Participate in the next event

If you are building a USP/TR-369 solution, there is no better way to accelerate development than by testing your implementation with other solutions created by your peers and other member companies.

To help bring member solutions first to market, Broadband Forum is holding its next TR-369/USP Plugfest from May 11-15, 2020, at the University of New Hampshire InterOperability Laboratory in Durham, NH, USA.

In addition to interoperability testing, there will be an opportunity to test against the Conformance Test Plan for USP Agents, TR-469, to help give feedback to the plan and drive the certification program into its next phases.

You can register for the event here:  https://www.iol.unh.edu/event/2020/05/broadband-forum-usp-may-plugfest

Once a-PON a time…at BASe OFC

Broadband Forum will host Broadband Acceleration Seminar (BASe) OFC at one of the optical industry’s major thought leadership events, OFC 2020 in San Diego on March 11.

World leading service providers like Verizon, ORANGE, Altice, and Google are already slotted to share their perspectives and insights, as well as a variety of top tier analysts and leading vendors/suppliers.

Focused on capturing the challenges, opportunities, and innovations emerging in 2020, topics covered will range from insights into the market and an array of existing and emerging PON architectures (EPON, GPON, XGS, NG-PON2, WDM PON, 25/50G PON, Super PON…) to perspectives on the state of standards (Broadband Forum, ITU, IEEE…). Ecosystem readiness for emerging use cases and applications, Fixed-Mobile Convergence (FMC) and 5G, and best practices across the full spectrum of potential implementations – from SDN/NFV and network slicing to fiber extension technologies and whole home networking will also be covered.

This year’s event will focus on the theme “PON Reality Check 2020” and you can find the full agenda here.

Mark the occasion in your calendar now and stay tuned for more info to come.

Broadband Forum shines spotlight on 5G at MPLS + SDN + NFV World

On March 31 at MPLS + SDN +NFV World, Broadband Forum is coordinating a half-day deep dive workshop into the current state and future of 5G transport.

Taking place at 10am, areas covered will include an update on the state of 5G transport technology and standards development work being down at Broadband Forum, but also how it ties into concurrent work in other organizations like IETF, IEEE, ITU, and others, as well as market drivers, architecture considerations, technologies, sync, use cases and examples, network slicing, and fixed/mobile convergence.

BrASe yourself for what’s next on the Broadband Forum calendar

In 2019, Broadband Forum’s BASe initiative leaped forward with five major events reaching over 1,000 industry leaders, 16 sponsors, and high acclaim from all participants. In 2020, Broadband Forum will take these BASe events to a whole new level, with more events reaching larger audiences in conjunction with an expanded slate of conferences reaching all parts of the world.

Has this caught your attention? Good, because we are looking for dynamic and forward-thinking vendors to take part in our 2020 BASe initiative and are actively recruiting sponsorships.

Our 2019 sponsors included:

Remember, priority for BASe speakers is given to sponsors so don’t miss out! 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