Five reasons to seek certification in the Connected Home

Five reasons to seek certification in the Connected Home

By Jason Walls of QA Cafe and Chair of the Broadband Forum Connected Home Council

Throughout history standardization has been one of the key drivers of progress. Revolutionary – and standardized – technology like the Broadband Forum’s TR-069 protocol and its successor, the User Services Platform (USP/TR-369), has driven this progress for operators, developers, and consumer electronics manufacturers all looking to add value to the connected home.

For manufacturers and designers, there has always been a distinct advantage to having your product certified as meeting the industry standard and the same remains true today. Those who build or deploy technology solutions based on industry standards still have the chance to give themselves a competitive edge by seeking certification for their products, as buyers or prospective customers can request certifications as part of their procurement processes.

Several questions therefore arise to those considering certification: What are the key advantages of doing so? Do the benefits outweigh the effort involved? Here are five key reasons outlined.

Certification simplifies development and saves resources.

For vendors, following the certification program test plans and using approved self-testing tools saves developers significant time by removing the need to create their own testing and validation schemes for their products. Certification also reduces the amount of time required to pre-qualify devices for operator deployments and reduces the volume of support required from the vendor to the service provider. This helps lower the costs for both the operator and vendor.

Certification makes your products globally applicable.

Certified products are applicable to any deployment, anywhere. Certified devices can skip large amounts of integration work and get right to the specific features and differentiators that an operator requires.

Certification drives interoperability.

While it is possible for some companies to retain vertical integration for a time, in the modern home it is likely that there will be a variety of connected devices all from different manufacturers present simultaneously. However, certified products are significantly more interoperable with the TR-069 and User Services Platform (USP) ecosystems and with the Broadband Forum’s new self-testing tools enabling operators and vendors to perform test procedures themselves that would normally be carried out by a qualifying test lab, the route to certification has never been quicker or easier to achieve.

Certification increases confidence.

Nothing hampers progress like uncertainty. With the increased interoperability and testing of new firmware prior to deployment, everyone can be more confident with new services or devices deployed in the field. Not only does this reduction in risk increase the speed of decision making but it also lowers the amount of support required by an operator or application provider.

Certification completes the standardization picture.

Ultimately, standardized solutions that rely on open-source reference code and rigorous certification programs are sustainable, scalable, and future proof, avoiding costly vendor lock-in to single propriety solutions.

Listen to Jason’s presentation at TeleSemana’s BCN2021 LATAM Summit on the ‘The New Connected and Managed Home’ and register for a free account now to access this exclusive webinar – https://www.telesemana.com/blog/webinar/el-nuevo-hogar-conectado-y-administrado.

To find out more etc visit the Testing and Certification section of the Broadband Forum website.