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. A word from Robin Mersh, Broadband Forum CEO: "Our Q3 meeting has seen us venture into now familiar territory with a virtual backdrop for the second successive meeting. Despite the lack of face-to-face interaction, our meetings are as productive and fruitful as ever. The ease at which the meetings are being conducted over video further highlights the role that fixed broadband has played in keeping us connected throughout the recent uncertain months. This quarter, we bid farewell and thank you to Broadband Forum President Tom Starr who has been an important member of our family for more than a quarter of a Century. This transition has seen us welcome two new additions to the Board (Ding Hai of China Unicom and Mike Talbert of Verizon – welcome to them both!) and Bernd Hesse has been named as the new President. This meeting also saw the launch of a new project. The open source User Datagram Protocol (UDP) Speed Test will be a game-changer for broadband measurements and gigabit broadband..." Read moreDespite 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 . |