Broadband Forum News - September 2024

The Headlines

CEO's note

Next month, we will hit another major milestone in our journey to services-led broadband with the Broadband Forum Innovation Demonstrations at Network X on 8-10 October. These demonstrations not only signify our strategic transition away from connectivity-driven models into the application age of broadband, but they provide a real-life proof-of-success and the confidence the industry needs to adopt our standards. Live demos are fundamental in making the first connection point and bringing together the industry’s key players, architectures, and users that drive an interoperable, open broadband ecosystem. If you’re attending Network X, be sure to visit the Broadband Pavilion Stand C46 at Network X to see the BBF’s great work in action! There is still time to submit your speaking proposals for our Town Hall Innovation Series (THIS) at our Fall Meeting, taking place in November, to share your insights, expertise and innovations that are shaping the evolving landscape of the Smart Home and IoT within the context of Multi-Service Broadband Networks. Submit your proposal today!

- Craig Thomas, CEO at Broadband Forum

Contribute to the future of broadband and work with the Broadband Forum!

The Broadband Forum Pavilion will be returning to this year’s Network X on October 8-10 at Porte De Versailles, Paris, providing our Broadband Forum members with the opportunity to showcase their innovative products and services. Thanks to participating members, 5x9 Networks, Alethea, Axiros, BISDN, Comtrend, DZS, Friendly Technologies, Genew, Invigo, LANPARK, Motive, MT2, Netsia, NEXTLab and Nokia.
Ahead of Network X, Craig Thomas will join the ‘Standards Organizations roundtable: How prpl helps bridge and complements’ at the Global prpl Summit on the 7^{th of} October at Palais des Congrès de Issy-Les-Moulineaux, Paris. Register for the summit here.
Want to get your brand or latest initiatives in front of the world’s most influential service providers and key players in the global broadband industry? Learn more about how you can sponsor Broadband Forum’s upcoming Member Meetings here.
On September 24-26 in Atlanta, Georgia, The Broadband Forum will be holding two BASe panels at SCTE Tech Expo 24 on “From Residential to Multi-Service Fiber Access Networks” and “Building a Services-Platform Beyond Simple Connectivity.” You can learn more about the event from Kevin Noll, Systems & Network Architect at CableLabs in an interview here.

News and Updates

In an article for TVBEurope, Craig Thomas, CEO at Broadband Forum discussed the high demand for streaming services during this year’s ‘Summer of sport’ and its impact on the home network. Craig explored the importance of QoE performance measurements for tackling latency, and more, to ensure customers do not suffer because of demands on the home network. You can read the full article here.
Broadband Forum’s Craig Thomas and Connected Home Council Chair, Jason Walls joined to discuss the journey from TR-069 to USP and the industry’s shift from simply being a connectivity provider that competes only on speeds and lower prices, to a becoming a holistic and trusted provider of broadband. You can listen to the full podcast here.
CPE is becoming increasingly smarter, acting as more than just a connection point. In a Euromedia Magazine article, Craig Thomas comments on how a containerized application gateway and the advances in AI/ML is presenting the service provider with the opportunity to leverage CPE to control and manage the experience of customers within the home. You can read the full article on page 8-12 here.
“The time is now for the transition from fibre telco to ‘techno’ provider” was the message from Craig Thomas in an article published by Fibre Systems. Delivery of ultra-fast connectivity in fibre broadband is increasingly essential for the consumer, however slow adoption rates and growing competition are driving down broadband prices. Craig highlighted the crucial, leading role open standards is playing in the transition to service-led networks that offer value-added services such as AI and gaming. Read the full article here. You can also read a blog on how BBF’s app-enabled services gateway project is driving the transition from telco to ‘techno’ provider and enabling ISPs to build a unique brand that is deemed trustworthy here.
Broadband Forum announced that it will showcase an array of network innovations that are set to aid operators in their move to services-led broadband at Network X. The demonstrations, now dubbed the “Broadband Forum Innovation Demonstrations” expand beyond the previous CloudCO-centric demos, signifying the breadth of progress made by Broadband Forum and its members over the past year. Read the full press release here.
In a CableLabs blog, Kevin Noll discusses the important work of the Broadband Forum to provide detailed guidelines and test plans to ensure reliable and consistent interoperability in various network scenarios. Read the full blog here.

Technology Spotlight

QED

Quality of Experience Delivered or QED, is a framework that measures and analyses network quality, particularly latency, in a way that directly impacts user experience. It focuses on capturing variability in network performance across different applications, using metrics that predict the Quality of Experience (QoE) for end-users. This approach helps service providers deliver tailored, high-quality experiences by ensuring consistent, reliable network performance across various applications, from gaming to video streaming. The initiative helps operators improve user experience by addressing issues like latency and packet loss using Quality Attenuation techniques. This approach enables better network management, optimizing performance cost-effectively, and ensuring reliable service for consumers. Join us at the Broadband Forum Pavilion at Network X to view real-life use cases of QED!

Upcoming Events

Hot off the Press – New and Updated Broadband Forum Publications

The following is a list of the most recently published technical reports from the Broadband Forum.

MR-410: Legacy Video Support in Residential Premises
TP-247 Issue 4 Corrigendum 1: G-PON & XG-PON & XGS-PON ONU Conformance Test Plan
TR-301 Issue 2 Amendment 3: Architecture and Requirements for Fiber to the Distribution Point
TR-471 Issue 4: Maximum IP-Layer Capacity Metric, Related Metrics, and Measurements
TR-181 Issue 2 Amendment 18 Corrigendum 1: Device Data Model for CWMP Endpoints and USP Agents (Quick Fix)

You can access the published PDFs here.

Our latest certifications

BFF 247 GPON ONU Products (testing services provided by approved laboratory, Lanpark)

ZTE - F6640P
Sercomm - FG1000A
Huawei - G8010Hv6-10 and EG8041X6-10
FiberHome - HG6145F1
SAGEMCOM - F@ST 5698 (XGS-PON), F@ST 5698 (G-PON), and F@ST 5674

BBF 398 Carrier-Grade Wi-Fi Products (testing services provided by approved laboratories, University of New Hampshire InterOperability Laboratory and Allion Labs). You can find out more about the latest issue of TR-398 here.

Calix - U6T GS5229E and u6txg GS5229XG

Welcome new BBF members

embeDD , Hotwire Communications, START USA Inc., Tozed Kangwei, Ubee Interactive and Axyom.core Inc.

Join the Broadband Forum today!

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Find out more: https://www.broadband-forum.org/join-broadband-forum.