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: "With the last quarter of 2020 characterized by coronavirus, global lockdowns and the significance of broadband in our lives, our Q2 meeting marks a first in the Forum’s history. Although we should find ourselves in the picturesque setting of Melbourne, Australia – and not seeing all of you in person has been strange – this landmark meeting has run as smoothly as possible, enabling our important work to continue. The virtual sessions further emphasize the importance of fixed broadband. During the pandemic, I have been honored to see how operators have risen to the challenging spike in network traffic and how Broadband Forum standards have played their role. "Read more. |