2022.12.09 – Open Broadband News

Breaking down barriers between network operators and ONU vendors with vOMCI

As the migration towards disaggregation of Access Nodes, specifically Optical Line Terminal (OLT) devices, continues to gather pace, operators are on the lookout for new ways to achieve greater flexibility and interoperability.

That is why Broadband Forum recently published TR-451 ‘vOMCI Specification’ and MR-451 ‘ONU Management using Virtualized OMCI’, which is a new specification that enables operators to de-couple the Optical Network Unit (ONU) and OLT, and the OMCI software stack.

An ONU is the end-user device or piece of equipment for Fiber-To-The-Premises (FTTP) deployments that converts an optical fiber signal into a more conventional electrical signal that customers’ routers understand. An OLT is the operator’s equipment that connects with the ONUs to build out a network. It connects into the operator’s core network and helps to manage the end-user connections as part of the wider Passive Optical Network (PON).

The OLT manages the configuration of the ONU via OMCI, where the OMCI software stack was historically embedded within the OLT. The new TR-451 ‘vOMCI Specification’ defines how one or more OMCI stacks can be operated outside of the OLT’s software, potentially hosted in cloud infrastructure.

These latest documents have armed operators with more choice in how they can create, activate and maintain services associated with ONUs. Read the full blog by Lincoln Lavoie, Technical Chair at Broadband Forum here.

Internet more affordable and widespread, but world’s poorest still shut off from online opportunities

The cost of Internet services has inched downward across the globe in 2022, according to Facts and Figures, the annual worldwide overview on the state of digital connectivity from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

Cost, however, remains a major obstacle to Internet access, especially in low-income economies. The current global economic situation – with high inflation, rising interest rates, and deep uncertainty – could add to the challenge of extending Internet reach in lower-income areas.

“The Internet may be more affordable overall, but for billions of people around the world, it is just as out of reach as ever,” said ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao. “We need to keep Internet affordability moving in the right direction even as the global downturn cuts deeper into the economic prospects of many countries.”

APAC pay-TV revenues to grow to $35billion by 2027

A report published by Media Partners Asia (MPA), entitled Asia Pacific Pay-TV Distribution 2022, indicates that Asia Pacific (excluding China) pay-TV subscriber growth will be relatively flat in 2022 with an estimated 106,000 subscribers cutting the cord. Cord cutting peaked between 2019 and 2021 with an aggregate 9.1 million subs cancelling subscriptions, according to MPA analysis, driven by erosion in key markets such as Australia, Malaysia and Thailand as well as the contraction of the cable universe in India.

MPA estimates 1 million net new subscribers were added in total over 2022-27, driven by India and parts of South and Southeast Asia but partially offset by contraction in all other regions. India and the Philippines will lead in terms of net new subscriber growth over the 2022-27 period.

Excluding China, total Asia Pacific pay-TV subscribers will grow from 232.9 million in 2022 to 234.7 million by 2027 with penetration of TV homes, adjusted for multiple subscriptions, reaching 48% versus 50% in 2022. India will remain the largest market in size, accounting for 52% of total subs by 2027.

New Zealand targets 100% fiber take-up by 2032

The New Zealand Government says it aims to reach 100% takeup of fiber broadband in the second phase of its national scheme. Under the initial phase, which ends this year, 87% of the population will have direct access to fiber connectivity.

Over 40% of these have been connected in the past five years, the Government says in a new report that nominates its targets for the next decade. The report, issued by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, does not detail costs or funding, but it sets out the thinking of one of the world’s most successful state-driven national broadband programs.

New Zealand ranks in the top eight OECD countries for the percentage of fiber connections of total fixed connections and places 18th in fixed-line broadband speed in the latest Speedtest global index.

Can a digital approach help telcos crack the small and medium-sized enterprises market?

Small- and medium-sized enterprises/businesses (SME/Bs) are the lifeblood of economies, driving GDP, employing a high proportion of most countries’ working populations and, in turn, playing a key role in economic ecosystems as consumers of products and services. There are more than 400 million of them around the world.

Like their larger peers, SMEs are undergoing what is generally referred to as a ‘digital transformation’, which can roughly be translated as a greater reliance on connected, near real-time and increasingly cloud-based platforms for operational and customer-facing activities. SMEs are, collectively, significant users of IT and communications services.

Research and consulting house Analysys Mason estimates that this year SMEs will spend $1.4trillion on IT products and services and that this will increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.5% for the next five years.

“Cloud-based services will drive this growth because they support a distributed workforce, improve efficiency and provide business resiliency,” noted Analysys Mason in September. “SMB IT spending on cloud-based categories is expected to grow from $600billion in 2022 to $1trillion in 2027.”