Just a week before we came together for the Q4 meeting in Kona, Hawaii, the Mauna Loa volcano erupted for the first time in nearly four decades. The last time an eruption occurred was in 1984. Back then, only eight percent of households owned a computer and 99 percent of the US population was not connected to the Internet. Fast forward to 2022 and the development of open standards and the enablement of smarter and faster broadband networks has changed the face of the earth. Despite the natural disaster on our doorstep and with Hawaii being one of the most isolated places on Earth (nearly 2,500 miles from mainland US) our members still gathered for the final meeting of the year. Read More A word from Robin Mersh, Broadband Forum CEO: "This virtual Q4 is the 54th quarterly meeting I have attended and, whilst it will not be my last, it will be the final one for me as CEO. It has been an honor and privilege to serve the broadband industry through some very exciting times. At the time of my first meeting, in Athens in 2006, we were known as DSL Forum and became Broadband Forum when DSL Forum joined with the IP/MPLS Forum. During my time of leadership at Broadband Forum, total fixed broadband users have risen from below 300 million to more than one billion. I have seen the broadband community become truly global, witnessed the birth of the Internet of Things and seen connectivity become considered as the essential fourth utility alongside water, gas and electricity..." Read more . |