2020.07.31 – Open Broadband News

USP-lease take your seat and listen to BBF’s latest podcast

Broadband Forum has launched a User Services Platform (USP) Agent Certification Program. The program is designed to provide assurance and confidence for service providers and consumer electronics companies looking to generate new revenues from Internet of Things (IoT) services.

In this podcast Robin Mersh, CEO Broadband Forum and Jason Walls of QA Cafe and Broadband Forum’s User Services Work Area Director, discuss the new program. Learn about the Broadband Forum and why the organization views standardization in the broadband industry as critical. Find out how the program works and how it benefits the UC community. Discover the User Services Platform (USP) and IoT.

As we move to a home-based economy, the User Services Platform (USP) Certification Program is a part of a larger initiative to improve the Connected Home ecosystem.

Race to put towels on sunbeds looks slow next to Germany’s 5G rollout

Deutsche Telekom is making notable progress in its 5G rollout and has hit 50% 5G population coverage in Germany.

While population coverage is of course not the same as geographical coverage, hitting the 50% mark is certainly healthy progress none-the-less.

Making use of both 2.1 GHz and 3.6 GHz spectrum assets, the telecoms operator claims it has brought 18,000 5G antennas online to deliver 5G connectivity to 3,000 towns and municipalities across the country.

“Today, we are celebrating a special day for 5G,” said Walter Goldenits, Head of Technology at Telekom Deutschland. “Half the population in Germany is now covered. 5G has arrived in all German states. This is a big step for our customers, our network and for digitization in Germany.”

The Great British countryside just got even better

Openreach is set to build its wholesale FTTP network to some 3.2 million premises in rural areas of the United Kingdom.

The news emerged as Ofcom lays out its proposals for regulation in area 3 of the UK. Area 3 is the term for the geographic parts of the UK that are considered to be less competitive.

3.2 million premises with Openreach FTTP represents around half the rural footprint of the UK, working on the usual split that 80% of the UK is urban and 20% rural. The rural England and Wales footprint is currently 5.5 million premises.

Howzit? A lot better with fiber

South Africa’s Telkom has announced plans to replace its copper local broadband infrastructure with fiber.

The company said the change would improve speeds, reduce maintenance costs and resolve the issue of copper cable theft.

“Fiber is a large part of the forward-looking technology that will empower and uplift communities across South Africa, especially when it comes to helping individuals and businesses overcome some of the many challenges inflicted by Covid-19,” said Steven White, Telkom’s director of product development and management.

According to local media, the migration will apply to customers in fiber-ready regions around the country where the current copper-based digital subscriber line (DSL) infrastructure overlaps with its fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) footprint.

President of the Philippines demands better broadband

The President of the Philippines did not hold back in his fifth State of the Nation Address, telling major telcos Globe Telecom and Smart Communications that services must improve or they will face closure

Rodrigo Duterte, President of the Philippines, gave his State of the Nation Address and contained within it were some strict words for the nation’s telcos.

The controversial President made it very clear that he views the country’s two leading telcos – Globe Telecom and Smart Communications – as not progressing nearly fast enough in their development of services.

“Don’t make us wait 10 years for services other countries are enjoying. Go and look for capital. If you are not ready to improve, I might as well close all of you,” said Duterte.

A Series of Fortunate Events – by Broadband Forum

Time to get on the case for UFBB BASe

The ‘Call for Proposals’ for this year’s UFBB BASe Conference, the leading industry event for technologists and strategists, is now open.

The event, which takes place from 17th-19th November 2020, focuses on how operators plan to leverage the latest advancements within the access network, broadband connectivity, and within the connected home. Unlike many events, UFBB is designed to meet the requirements for more technical discussion, real-life implementations, testing, and strategic technical planning as well as valuable peer-to-peer networking.

Speakers will have the opportunity to speak in front of an extremely loyal and growing technical decision-making audience of service providers from Europe and throughout the globe as well as a very varied vendor representation.

If you wish to propose specific topics and presentation opportunities for this leading event, please review the below link and submit your proposal to basechair@broadband-forum.org. Proposals should be made for a physical event, but potential speakers should also be aware of the possibility of presentations having to be made virtually due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. If you are interested in sponsorship opportunities for this event, please contact rheier@broadband-forum.org. To learn more, click here.

Back to BASe-ics – the emerging reality of PON in 2020

With full broadband connectivity services, the Connected Home and the customer experience becoming more critical than ever, Broadband Forum and its BASe series have a responsibility of keeping the industry informed and inspired.

While stay at home initiatives across the world due to the COVID-19 pandemic make this more difficult, staying up to date is crucial to make sure the entire ecosystem can continue to work together to deliver the optimum service customers require.

Therefore, Broadband Forum has virtually reformatted its BASe workshops. With the new-look workshops delivered via a series of upcoming webinars, people can access the latest information on technologies driving the broadband industry and learn about the latest technologies enabling the next era of connectivity.

Our final webinar will cover the topic of the state of PON applications in the MSO market, with the date set to be announced soon.

It is also set to be a hectic last quarter of 2020, with Broadband Forum’s physical BASe events set to return from October. Two BASe BBWF 2020 Workshops will kick-off Broadband World Forum 2020 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, and BASe North America, in Las Vegas, USA. UFBB BASe 2020 will return in November, in Den Haag, The Netherlands, for the twelfth consecutive year and the first ever BASe FTTH Europe 2020 will take place at FTTH Conference, in Berlin, Germany, in December.

For more information about the BASe Webinars and to register for the next event, please click here.

Missed the last PON Webinar? Listen again here.

Read – or watch – all about it!

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.