2020.12.18 – Open Broadband News

MaxLinear and AVM attain XGS-PON market readiness with BBF.247 ONU Certification

As the broadband industry accelerates fiber network rollouts across the globe, Broadband Forum announced that MaxLinear and AVM are the most recent vendors that have attained certification for XGS-PON as part of its BBF.247 GPON Optical Network Unit (ONU) Certification Program.

The accreditation of the two new vendors highlights the importance of XGS-PON becoming the fastest growing technology choice for Fiber-To-The-Home (FTTH) deployments. In June, it was announced that the certification program had been expanded to certify XGS-PON ONUs to help facilitate global PON mass deployments and to help operators take a major step in network evolution.

The certification program addresses a variety of ONUs and once certified, the ONU products can be deployed faster with greater interoperability to existing Optical Line Terminal (OLT) equipment already deployed. There is increasing importance of XGS-PON in ensuring network deployments are future-proof, both for new greenfield deployments and power uses in a fiber overlay of brownfield deployments.

Broadband Forum’s USP Certification Program takes center stage

The User Services Platform (USP) has been very transformative, and its value has been recognized across the industry. As consumer demand for connected home services is growing rapidly, operators are motivated to develop value-add solutions for the connected home at a mass-scale.

As a result, more service providers are requesting that vendors implement USP. Vendors have an opportunity to demonstrate how their USP Agent solutions will work in this larger ecosystem. Third-party application providers, service providers, and CPE device vendors should be looking to reap the benefits as service providers look to launch new services and unlock new revenue streams.

The power of USP comes from being standardized, having an open-source reference, and having a solid test program behind it. The recently launched USP Certification Program has increased importance for those looking to certify their USP solutions and those in the market looking to obtain certified products for deployments.

Jason Walls, QA Cafe and Co-Director of the Business User Services (BUS) Work Area and Jeevithan Muttu, Director of Product Management, ACS at Incognito Software Systems discuss the USP Certification Program in the latest Broadband Forum blog. Read it here.

Money, money, money! EU announces new €95.5 billion R&D deal

The European Council and the European Parliament, designed to represent the governments and citizens of European Union (EU) member states, have approved the European Commission’s new €95.5 billion Horizon Europe fund for the period to 2027.

Assuming it approves the deal, it claims to be the world’s most ambitious innovation fund. It will replace the Commission’s Horizon 2020 programme, which spanned 2014-2020 and spent heavily on digital-change projects in member states. The combined Horizon Europe and Next Generation EU initiatives represent by far the biggest stimulus package financed through the EU. It said a total of €1.8 trillion is going to rebuild a “post Covid-19 Europe.”

The Commission said, “It will be a greener, more digital and more resilient Europe.”

3GPP confirm revised timeframe of 2022 for Release 17

The 3GPP – the standards group developing 5G technologies – said it doesn’t expect to complete work on its next big package of specifications until 2022.

The 3GPP said that its new timeline for Release 17 will include a stage 2 “functional freeze” in June 2021, a stage 3 “protocol freeze” in March 2022 and a final “protocol coding freeze” in June 2022.

Release 17 is scheduled to include a wide range of new technologies ranging from Sidelink to 5G Light to more advanced device power saving technologies. As with previous delays, the group cited the COVID-19 pandemic as the culprit.

“With this revised timeline, the broader 5G industry can rely on an informed and well-considered schedule that takes into account the peculiar situation created by life during a pandemic,” the 3GPP wrote in a release. “This guidance takes into account the fact that in the busiest groups the stream of contributions can peak at over 1,000 emails a day.”

What do 10m rural Americans want most in the world? High-speed broadband

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has released the results of its Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase 1 auction. The auction formed part of a broader effort by the FCC to close the digital divide in rural America and focus limited universal service funds on unserved areas that most need support. The results showed that bidders won funding to deploy high-speed broadband to more than 5.2 million unserved homes and businesses, almost 99 per cent of the locations available. Moreover, around 85 per cent will receive gigabit-speed broadband.

CCO Holdings, LLC (Charter Communications) was assigned the most locations, at around 1.05 million.  A total of 180 bidders won auction support, to be distributed over the next 10 years. A broad range of providers successfully competed in the Phase 1 auction, including cable operators, electric cooperatives, incumbent telephone companies, satellite companies, and fixed wireless providers.

FCC Chairman, Ajit Pai said: “I’m thrilled with the incredible success of this auction, which brings welcome news to millions of unconnected rural Americans who for too long have been on the wrong side of the digital divide. This auction was the single largest step ever taken to bridge the digital divide and is another key success for the commission in its ongoing commitment to universal service. I thank our staff for working so hard and so long to get this auction done on time, particularly during the pandemic.”

Augmented Reality set for impressive 2021

In the Augmented Reality (AR) enterprise market, AR remote applications, such as AR remote expertise and AR remote training, will continue to grow in 2021 and lead in terms of adoption rates.

According to global tech market advisory firm ABI Research, consumer AR software and content is expected to grow at over 100% CAGR between 2021 and 2025, to reach US$20 billion in total revenue in 2025. The total AR Media and Entertainment market will see similar growth at 90%.

In its new whitepaper, 68 Technology Trends That Will Shape 2021, ABI Research’s analysts identify 37 trends that will shape the technology market and 31 others that, although attracting huge amounts of speculation and commentary, are less likely to move the needle over the next twelve months.

“For success in 2021, especially after a very challenging 2020, one must understand fundamental trends early, and take a view on those trends that are buoyed by hyperbole and those that are sure to be uncomfortable realities. Now is the time to double down on the right technology investment,” said Stuart Carlaw, Chief Research Officer at ABI Research.