Mauro Tilocca
The final Town Hall Innovation Series (THIS) sessions of the year took us to San Diego, moderated by Mauro Tilocca (FiberCop), Town Hall Innovation Series Co-Chair.
Six expert voices delivered presentations on the smart home and IoT. The huge potential for monetization and partnership opportunities that the managed smart home offers broadband service providers cannot be underestimated. To unlock these benefits, the fragmentation of in-home network connectivity and customer experience from widespread hyperscaler solutions needs to be addressed. Greater interoperability and integration of different device ecosystems within the USP framework will help solve the issue.
Common customer experience themes included the increasing role and opportunity for generative AI and the mantra that high-level security is non-negotiable. There is opportunity too for BBF to help the broadband ecosystem by improving the average user’s understanding and education of connected device issues and agreeing on guidelines or a common framework for the smart home community.
The sessions at our face-to-face meetings are a priceless opportunity to explore topics, ideas and trends in-depth and in alignment with the strategic vision of the Broadband Forum. They aim to directly impact or influence our future BBF work so the contributions from the industry are greatly appreciated and well-received.
The Spring Meeting theme will be announced in the coming weeks and the call for speakers opens soon.
We look forward to welcoming you to Hong Kong on Tuesday March 11, and if you have any questions, please reach out to Mauro Tilocca and Christele Bouchat (Nokia) and Town Hall Innovation Series Co-Chair.
“A home doesn’t become smart until things in the home talk to each other,” said Eric Smith, Co-Founder & CTO of OliverIQ. The importance of devices in the home talking to each other is how they help deliver what the consumer wants. Smith identified those wants as security and safety, protection, comfort, convenience, entertainment, and efficiency. Customers want their homes to offer more experiences and work better. Read the full article here: https://www.broadband-forum.org/smart-home-as-a-service-for-telcos-and-isps
Marco van den Akker, CEO at eighttoseven delivered an engaging presentation on how transitioning to quantum-resistant encryption solutions can help IoT systems withstand future quantum threats. Sensitive data has become a prime target for cyberattacks. Robust security is paramount, stressed van den Akker, particularly when there are more than 75 billion connected devices expected by 2025 and quantum computing continues to advance. Read the full article here: https://www.broadband-forum.org/quantum-resistant-encryption-needed-in-future-standards-and-open-source-projects-to-secure-iot-networks
Managing IoT and other smart home devices can be complex, but this is providing an important opportunity for communication service providers (CSPs) who are well placed to offer innovative solutions, advised Motive Product Director Colin Grealish. A key aspect of manging devices in a network is troubleshooting, as it is not only a method to fix current problems, but it can also prevent future issues. Troubleshooting for a range of IoT use cases on the same network can be particularly challenging due to their architecture and operational environment. Read the full article here: https://www.broadband-forum.org/successfully-managing-iot-large-scale-operations-with-the-use-of-ai-and-analytics
AI-driven managed Wi-Fi solutions are the way forward in improving the connected home experience, explained Ofer Greenberg, VP Business Development at Friendly Technologies. Traditional Wi-Fi networks were not designed to handle the complexity and scale of modern smart homes and their ever-growing populations of connected devices. AI enables networks to adapt to challenges in real-time, automate troubleshooting, and optimize performance, ensuring seamless connectivity and enhanced reliability for users. Read the full article here: https://www.broadband-forum.org/making-smart-home-wi-fi-smarter-the-key-to-seamless-connectivity
The Wi-SUN Alliance President and CEO Phil Beecher claimed that “there is not a single technology that fits all requirements on a network”. Open standards are crucial to enabling the security, interoperability, and scalability required for broadband service providers (BSPs) to manage a multi-vendor environment comprising of various IoT devices with differing functions. This includes the likes of smart meters, sensors, distributed automation, and traffic signals that can provide utilities and municipalities with essential data. Read the full article here: https://www.broadband-forum.org/open-standards-pivotal-in-ensuring-secure-and-resilient-connectivity-in-smart-cities
New requirements and a broad range of services and applications are calling for connectivity to be ubiquitous to cater and provide the Quality of Experience desired for all smart home and IoT use cases. “It is not just about connecting your smart home devices to the internet, it is about having all these devices communicating with each other within the home to improve the customer experience,” said Futurewei Technologies Principal Engineer, Tom Starr. Read the full article here: https://www.broadband-forum.org/making-the-home-smarter-with-fttr