Broadband Forum News
2020.05.08 – Open Broadband News
Once uPON a time in a home office near you… Join our latest BASe Webinar!
Don’t let social distancing isolate you from the emerging reality of PON in 2020!
‘The Worldwide PON Market’ BASe Series Webinar is set to be held on May 14, 2020 at 10.30am EST and 4.30pm CET.
Broadband Forum, Fiber Broadband Association, and Fiber to the Home Council Europe will be joining forces to keep you updated on the latest drivers influencing fiber today.
Join the webinar series – “PON Reality Check 2020” – and get the information and insights you need to keep on top of cutting-edge perspectives in the industry. The webinar will be moderated by Bernd Hesse, Broadband Forum Marketing and BASe Chair and Senior Director, Standards Marketing and Thought Leadership at Calix.
This is the start of the BASe webinar series that will consist of four 60-90-minute sessions. The sessions will be held every two weeks starting from May 14, 2020 and continuing through to June.
To register, please visit: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_xv1dOqdgSE6QLlrTlLpovg.
You’ve got a friend in USP! Broadband Forum standard brings platform support to Incognito
Incognito Software Systems Inc., a leading global provider of broadband service orchestration software solutions for digital service providers, introduced Digital Experience Solution 2.0 to enable next-generation device management and services support for the connected home.
The solution features Broadband Forum standards-based User Services Platform (USP) support that brings real-time device data telemetry for greater visibility into the digital experience for subscribers, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, and smart home services. The Incognito solution provides service providers with a unified and future-proof approach to device management, encompassing current and future devices and services.
Today, almost 70 percent of inbound calls to customer care are related to in-home Wi-Fi issues. By 2023, the number of devices connected will be more than three times the global population. The increase in connected devices, spurred on by smart home automation, will increase pressure on service providers to resolve even more in-home technical issues, often resulting from contention with unmanaged devices like Wi-Fi extenders and home security systems.
“With the explosion in connected home devices and end-users looking to use the latest smart home technology, monetizing the connected home is a key imperative for service providers who want to provide value-added services that reduce costs and support new revenue streams,” said Robin Mersh, CEO at the Broadband Forum.
Service providers ride the broadband wave amid the global pandemic
Fueled by the early stages of a pandemic that caused millions to work from home, total broadband usage has increased by 47% in the first quarter of 2020, to roughly 402.5 gigabytes per user, according to OpenVault.
OpenVault, which based its latest OBVI (OpenVault Broadband Insights) report on anonymized data from Internet Service Provider (ISP) partners primarily located in the US, revealed average consumption at the end of the first quarter of 2020 was 17% more than the 344GB average from the fourth quarter of 2019.
The company noted that average monthly usage for April was on track to eclipse 460GB, already blowing past a prediction in January – made before COVID-19 reached pandemic status – and that average consumption would reach 425GB by the end of 2020.
“Nearly all the growth in broadband usage we would have expected for 2020 has now been achieved in the first quarter, with much of it concentrated in the last two weeks of the quarter,” OpenVault explained in the report.
Afri-can do it! 5G finally arrives on the continent
Vodacom has announced the launch of its 5G mobile network in Johannesburg, Pretoria and Cape Town. The launch encompasses twenty live sites, with a further rollout planned to cover all of South Africa.
This launch is, in part, made possible by the emergency measures taken by the South African government during the coronavirus pandemic, which has seen Vodacom temporarily gain access 50 MHz of spectrum in the 3.5 GHz spectrum.
During the international crisis, Vodacom has reported a 40% increase in mobile network traffic, as well as a 250% increase in fixed traffic. It is hoped that the launch of 5G will help to alleviate this traffic burden.
“Vodacom’s 5G launch in South Africa comes at an important time as it will help us improve our network efficiency during the Covid-19 national state of disaster,” said Shameel Joosub, Vodacom CEO. “This is largely due to the allocation of temporary spectrum by the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) which has already mitigated the network congestion we have experienced since the start of the lockdown period.”
Spanish fiber marches into more than 80% of homes
Spain continues to have Europe’s most extensive Fiber-To-The-Home (FTTH) network, with more than 8 in 10 (80.4%) of premises covered at the end of June 2019, according to the latest fixed broadband update from the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation.
Earlier this year, the ministry announced plans to significantly expand the number of areas eligible for broadband subsidies with a view of bringing fiber connections to an additional 1.5 million people in the country. Under its existing program, the aim is to increase superfast broadband coverage to 91.24% of the Spanish population and 75.29% of rural areas by the end of 2021.
Croatia and Slovenia receives the green light for rural broadband expansion
Iskratel, a leading European broadband solutions provider, will provide active and passive telecommunications equipment for the construction of an ultra-fast fiber-optic (XGS-PON and GPON) broadband network in 210 municipalities as part of the RUNE (Rural Network) project with its partners Rune Enia in Slovenia and Rune Crow in Croatia.
As part of the three-year project, 233,000 households in 165 Slovenian municipalities and 130,000 households in 45 municipalities in Croatia will be able to access the Internet at speeds up to 10 Gbit/s. The project’s goal is to provide pervasive, high-speed connectivity for every European citizen and connect all people living in rural areas with future-orientated fibre broadband connectivity.
“The RUNE project plays an extremely important role in rural development by providing an ultra-fast fiber-optic broadband network. We are delighted to be contributing to this goal in Iskratel with our state-of-the-art telecommunications equipment that is the result of our own development and production,” said Matjaz Aljancic, Director of the Iskratel Broadband Business Unit.
♫ Commencing countdown, USP won’t be long ♫… Broadband Forum’s certification program almost ready for launch
Broadband Forum is now in the final stages of preparing to launch its USP Certification Program. The program will enable member companies to have their certified equipment listed in a Broadband Forum Certification project registry, similar to the Gfast list of Certified Interoperable Products and Companies. At the launch of the program, there will be a press release and additional marketing outreach about the program and the first certified devices.
This first USP Certification Program will focus on testing USP Agents according to the requirements of Broadband Forum TP-469 and its forthcoming corrigendum document.
If your company is interested in having your USP-capable product included in the announcement or if you have any questions, please contact us at info@broadband-forum.org prior to May 8. Your product will need to be prepared to start testing by May 15.
If you are a non-Member who is interested in the program, and would like to join a growing number of member companies involved with the Broadband Forum, please contact Rhonda Heier at info@broadband-forum.org.
Once launched, the USP Certification program will enable participants to perform self-testing utilizing the approved certification tool. Once the participant is satisfied with their test results, they will submit them to an approved testing lab for a final review and approval process.
A Series of Fortunate Events – by Broadband Forum
Push the boundaries of network performance by registering for the TR-143 webinar
Service providers feel the demand from both customers and regulators to prove their networks perform as expected, and they need tools that help them measure, monitor, and troubleshoot broadband connections and the home network.
Broadband Forum’s TR-143 specification is a powerful solution that meets these needs. On May 20, at 7am (PT), join Broadband Forum for its exclusive ‘Get Compliance Ready and Exceed Network Performance Expectations with TR-143’ webinar.
Register now for the webinar to find out:
- How to use TR-143 diagnostics and options through TR-069/TR-369
- Considerations for design in gateways supporting TR-143
- Alternatives for TR-143 speed test servers for regulatory and operations needs
- Business benefits of TR-143 over competing solutions for compliance
- Plus, much more!
Don’t miss out! To register for the webinar please visit: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Ql-RdtQ4SwKM6eOkt-mH6A.
The event must go on…Broadband Forum to host virtual Q2 meeting
The coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak is continuing to impact the way of life for all, bringing a set of unprecedented challenges. In light of the current global situation, Broadband Forum has decided to switch its Q2 meeting, scheduled for June 16-19 in Melbourne, Australia, to a series of virtual meetings.
In light of the current global situation, we have set the Q2 Quarterly meeting as series of virtual events running between June 15-25, 2020. This will provide an opportunity for our Members and Observers to safely participate from around the globe. A detailed agenda and additional information is available to members on the Wiki.
To attend the virtual Q2 meeting, please register here. If you have any specific questions or suggestions, please email help@broadband-forum.org.
If you are to considering membership in the Broadband Forum and would like to observe the meeting, please contact Rhonda Heier at rheier@broadband-forum.org.
Knowing me, knowing you…
From 5G and the smart home to next-generation access and network automation, Broadband Forum is working on a series of initiatives to enable the next era of connectivity. If you would like to track or get involved in these projects, you can learn more about Broadband Forum’s work in progress here or visit its YouTube channel for further insight.
For Press and Analyst inquiries, contact Proactive PR at broadbandforum@proactive-pr.com
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