A welcome from our leadership

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The sunny climate and steeped history of Porto was a fantastic location to successfully host our Q2 Meeting, pulling together the leading lights from across the broadband ecosystem.

We’d like to welcome and recognize our newly elected board members: John Blackford (CommScope), Francisco A. de Carvalho (Radisys), David Cluytens (Orange), Manuel Paul (Deutsche Telecom), and Mike Talbert (WNC).

This week, our Broadband Forum members gathered both virtually and face-to-face, and were treated to five stellar Town Hall Innovation Sessions (THIS) presentations on the topical issues of broadband sustainability and energy efficiency. The growing momentum of the sessions was palpable, as a packed room and remote attendees tuned in to hear from an engaging line-up of speakers.

We were treated to presentations extolling the virtues of standards for remote energy fingerprinting, greater energy consumption of DBNGs, and how they can improve energy usage in the home network. The European Commission participated in the talks, calling for more involvement from Broadband Forum members on these topics, which will stimulate discussions in future projects. Stay tuned for the upcoming announcement of the focus of our Q4 sessions.

The Q2 Meeting also coincides with our annual meeting and report, which outlined the healthy position of the Forum which has experienced increased membership, solid financials, as well as a significant number of published Technical Reports, Marketing Reports, Test Plans, and Open Broadband projects.

Amongst a very busy agenda in Porto, our members struck the right balance of continuing significant progress for our existing projects with the introduction of several new NPIFs, and also dedicated time and effort to developing new strategies and focus areas. These more strategic forward-looking discussions will become a continued focus of future meetings and  within work area sessions.Q3 will be a virtual meeting and we look forward to meeting face-to-face again in December in Bangkok, Thailand. Obrigado to all who participated and made Porto 2023 a productive, collaborative, and memorable event!

Thank you to our meeting sponsors, Altice Labs and PICadvanced!

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Image AddedAltice Labs has been operating in offices, homes, industries, hotels, and stadiums for 73 years, the company’s General Manager, Alcino Lavrador, told the meeting.

Over the last seven years, the company has evolved its technology portfolio. Its innovation ecosystem has seen Altice Labs continuously engage in collaborate research and development, and innovation projects with universities across Portugal.

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Its Broadband E2E solution covers CPE, Central Office, Device management, and operational support systems aiming to unearth new opportunities, and improve the user experience. Mr Lavrador pointed out that Altice Labs was among the first vendors to achieve BBF.247 Certification for its GPON equipment and participated in the first joint CloudCO demonstration at Broadband World Forum in 2019.

Antonio Teixeira, CSTO and co-founder at PICadvanced said that the company was founded in 2014 and has expertise in access networks, photonics, and data centers. Its flagship product is the NG-PON2 ONU. With its technology mainly deployed in the United States, its legacy and disruptive technologies help connect the world.

Calling for speakers on Energy and Sustainability at the Q2 Town Hall Innovation Series (THIS) sessions!

The first inaugural Town Hall Innovation Series (THIS) sessions at the Q1 Broadband Forum meeting were well-attended by the membership and guest attendees. Greater collaboration between Video Content Providers and Broadband Service Providers to capitalize on broadcasting opportunities was called for, and improved coordination and collaboration between different government agencies and standards organizations was identified to bridge the digital divide across the United States.

Cutting edge research and technology were presented at THIS Birds of a Feather (BoF).

The importance of SLA-aware real-time control across optical, computing, and mobile networks was highlighted as a key enabler for 5G Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communication (URLLC). Colorless Multi-Access (CMA) network was introduced as a new frontier, blending the best of access technologies.

Thank you to all our speakers!

Going forward, these Town Hall sessions will take place at each quarterly Members’ meeting, and we are inviting speakers to get involved. We plan to focus on different topics each quarter, with the focus in our Q2 meeting being Energy and Sustainability. The topics presented at THIS sessions can stimulate future work for the Forum and act as a catalyst for new projects.

Please contact THIS@broadband-forum.org if you would like to present on a subject matter or suggest a topic.

A Welcome from Our Leadership Team

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Dallas, Texas, was the location for our Q1 meeting and it was great to see so many of our members face-to-face.

Dallas is home to a key piece of innovation; Dallas-born Jack Kilby invented the integrated circuit used in microchip technology back in 1959. It is therefore fitting that our members converge on this location, to innovate and collaborate in their joint quest of delivering new open standards for the entire broadband ecosystem to benefit from.

Last year, we published 39 standards, test plans, marketing reports, and open software releases and we continue to build on this progress. We have reached a milestone of five hundred Technical Reports, with WT-500 launched in the PHYtx Work Area. Thanks to all of our members’ continuous hard work and dedication that ensures our open standards and open software benefit all in the broadband industry.

We recognized those individuals across the industry who have gone above and beyond to help drive future broadband standards development during our awards ceremony. Congratulations to all of our Distinguished Fellow, Leadership, Circle of Excellence, and Outstanding Contributor award winners!

Thank you to all of our speakers at the Q1 Town Hall Innovation Series sessions, which were well-attended and provided expert views on video broadcasting, bridging the digital divide, SLA-aware real-time control technology, and the future of multi-access networks. If you would like to provide a presentation on sustainability for our Q2 meeting, please get in touch.

The Broadband Forum grows from strength-to-strength as we enter the year with a new ten-year membership high. Now our attention turns to our next quarterly meeting in Porto, Portugal on June 5-8. We look forward to welcoming you there!

Engaging pool of Town Hall Innovation Series sessions this quarter

OutSys: Collaborate on broadcast or pay the price

Image RemovedGreater collaboration between video content providers and broadband service providers is needed to capitalize on broadcast opportunities, according to Fabrizio Guidotti, of OutSys.

Kicking off the Broadband Forum Town Hall Innovation Series, held as part of the Q1 meeting, Guidotti, outlined how broadcasters, such as the BBC, are pondering whether to switch-off terrestrial television and radio signals in the years ahead to focus on Internet content streaming only. This follows viewers’ growing preference to access TV via their broadband network. Currently, television broadcasters have to run two separate platforms to deliver the same service. By dropping one of them, they can save money and resources.

At the same time, said Guidotti, linear TV broadcasters and video OTTs are all competing to acquire the exclusive rights to live event streaming – the latest revenue stream to tap into as the Video on Demand (VoD) market is becoming saturated and overcrowded. While linear and live event streaming can be delivered using both Unicast and Multicast, delivering it using infrastructure designed for VoD that use Unicast only can have consequences, Fabrizio warned.

“Service providers and video content providers have to keep expanding their infrastructures to avoid service disruptions, and this endless growth is costly in terms of money, time, and resources,” he added.

Although Guidotti said he was not suggesting replacing any Content Delivery Network Systems, he did highlight the need for additional features and capabilities to handle multicast streaming.

“The service provider can pre-allocate the Multicast Groups with assured bandwidth, latency, and distribution capabilities on its network infrastructure and then assign them to the video content providers,” he said.

To achieve these outcomes, Guidotti called for greater collaboration between video content providers and broadband service providers. Without this, Fabrizio warned, they are doomed to keep continually expanding their infrastructures or having to negotiate a new procedure for each broadband provider and video content provider to deploy their custom multicast model.

According to Guidotti, the Broadband Forum is the right place, with the right culture, for all stakeholders to meet and come to an agreement – but more video content providers to join the conversation! Guidotti called for the launch of a new initiative within Broadband Forum to address the issue the industry faces.

“Giant step forward for America’s connectivity goals but not across the finish line yet”

The US is in the beginning stages of a once in a lifetime investment in high speed, reliable broadband networks and user adoption/skills training. However, greater coordination and collaboration between different government agencies and standards organizations is needed to bridge the digital divide across the United States, according to a panel during another engaging THIS session.

Greg Bathrick, Board Member and Distinguished Fellow at Broadband Forum and Area Vice President of Commercial Development at Calix, said: “Technology has changed lives, but there are many communities that still have not benefitted, with broadband no longer a luxury but a requirement.”

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Bathrick moderated an informative session with Kevin Sievert, Acting Broadband Program Director at State of North Dakota, and Kevin Noll, Principal Access Architect in the Office of the CTO at Vecima and President of Loudoun Broadband Alliance. The panel outlined how the pandemic proved that for remote working and learning, reliable broadband was paramount. But Internet connectivity with the sufficient speeds was lacking in many states across the United States, and across the globe.

Participants also stressed the need to deliver reliable connectivity to reach everyone. The 25 Mbps download speed with 3 Mbps upload speed proposed by the FCC was regarded as not enough. The group highlighted that the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program and American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) will be pivotal. North Dakota is very near completing its broadband network buildout and is expecting BEAD funding slightly above the $100 million minimum grant; in comparison Texas, where the Q1 meeting is taking place, is estimated to receive $3.5 billion by Cartesian group.

Sievert pointed out that almost 100% of the population in North Dakota have access to 100 Mbps services and the key to that success has been driven by the local telcos, coops and cable players. North Dakota will be working in the coming months to develop a comprehensive Digital Equity Plan that will help drive adoption- and education. Sievert advised that the success of connectivity has to measure against a key criteria consisting of access, reliability, affordability and useability.

Meanwhile, Noll advised that Loudoun County, Virginia, had the highest concentration of data centers on the planet, carrying 80 percent of the world’s internet traffic. While many in the county have access to gigabit or faster speeds with the largest service providers, there is a huge divide in the county with 8,700 households without access to broadband Internet and many homes without cellular coverage. Noll stressed that rural communities are always playing catch up in terms of internet access.

Noll emphasized that if operators cannot provide affordable or reliable internet access, then they are not doing their job properly. Noll highlighted the impact broadband access has on education, and new employment and job searches. We are building broadband networks to help people in their daily lives.”

When evaluating grantees and their applications, Sievert advised that the deployment priorities included unserved to underserved and different organization types, such as small businesses in communities they serve. Sievert agreed that wireline technologies deliver the high-speed connectivity needed and believes the time is right to deliver fiber in rural areas. 

Noll advised that when the Broadband Forum produces specifications, members need to consider the motivations for operators and the need to focus on connecting those situated in less profitable areas – lowering the operational costs of equipment and infrastructure, while also maximizing the return on investment.

The group agreed that in some cases service providers have exaggerated reach and delivery speeds, and that regulatory government agencies are in need of improved and more accurate testing tools of the broadband service and speeds provided to hold service providers more accountable. By combining new funding and next-generation technologies with standardization, fairer allocation of resources to underserved and unserved locations can be delivered in the future.

Real-time SLA-control technology key to unlocking new opportunities

Kota Asaka, of NTT Access Network Service Systems Laboratories, highlighted the importance of SLA-aware real-time control technology across optical, computing, and mobile networks. Asaka advised that the percentage of the working age population (15-64) has been decreasing in developed areas. Service providers have therefore been tasked with efficiently providing network services with a reduced workforce.

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Remote services such as remote surgery or remote inspection require large bandwidth and low latency. Asaka outlined the advantages of an All Photonics Network (APN) as it provides an end-to-end optical direct connection without an optical/electrical/optical conversion at the node. However, Asaka pointed out that the remote services could not be achieved by APN itself, but by collaborating with computing and mobile networks.

An example showcased a drone with 4K/8K video collecting footage for inspection at a bridge. By sharing resources, there was a collaborative operation between the APN, computing resources and mobile controllers. Asaka provided examples of real-time control while experiencing congestion at the computing resource or mobile base station. With a real-time controller, in-service dynamic control could be achieved.

Asaka advised that Broadband Forum’s Automated Intelligent Management (AIM) architecture is consistent with what has been proposed and WT-436 could be suitable as a baseline text. The next step proposed could involve analyzing the gap between the document and real-time technology. Marrying standardization with real-time control technology could unlock a plethora of new opportunities for the industry.

AT&T - Now is the perfect time for a colorless multi-access network

“This is a revolutionary access technology which cost-effectively supports both dedicated and shared services across a single passive optical network with one waveform, one Central Office node, one NTE/CPE device, and a single control plane.”

This was the message delivered by Bhushan Padhiar, Principal Member of Technical Staff at AT&T Labs during Broadband Forum’s Q1 Meeting.

According to AT&T, Colorless Multi-Access, a proposed next-generation access technology, transforms the access architecture to provide access convergence supporting services currently offered over a multitude of access technologies including point-to-point (dedicated), point-to-multipoint (shared), and WDM.  This new technology efficiently converges most legacy services onto a single waveform from one Central Office network node across one common passive optical network with one control plane which has the potential to greatly consolidate and simplify the access network for operators.

AT&T called for more vendors and operators to provide feedback and get involved. With this framework, the next step would be engaging standards organizations such as Broadband Forum, ITU-T and FSAN to standardize the technology and define the architecture and management interface.

Board of Directors Nominations are now open!

There are five available seats to be filled for 2023 and each term is for two years. If you are interested, nominations are due by April 24th and nominees must represent current paid principal members.

Election voting opens on May 1st and closes June 5th. To learn more and to become a candidate, see here.

Operators keen to harness CPE with intelligent services and applications for future growth

Smarter Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) that drives an “à la carte” and differentiated service offering at the touch of a button will be essential for operators to secure new revenue opportunities and reverse declining ARPU, according to Broadband Forum Managing Director Ken Ko.

With traditional revenue streams, such as fixed voice and IPTV, decreasing, Ko called for service providers to invest in devices with application intelligence built in to create an app-store-like experience for consumers. This will allow the industry to cater to multiple markets segments, such as teleworkers, e-health, security, home automation, and Augmented Reality / Virtual Reality, while maintaining fewer product SKUs in their deployments.

“Operators know they need to move from simply being connectivity providers, but how they do that has, until now, remained elusive,” said Ko. “As consumer demand for network quality and innovative services continues to grow, it is now clear that if operators are to grow their revenue streams, their focus should be on delivering more choices and an enhanced user experience. An app-enabled services gateway will achieve this, giving the capability to cater for individual bandwidth, application-aware latency, and service requests at the touch of a button.”

Read the full story now.

Broadband Forum’s UDP speed test delivers on latency promise

Broadband operators are a step closer to being able to deliver a new standard of connectivity as Broadband Forum releases the next update of its groundbreaking User Datagram Protocol (UDP)-based Speed Test utility.

UDPST performs the tests defined in TR-471 Issue 3 ‘Maximum IP-Layer Capacity Metric, Related Metrics, and Measurements’, to quantify and verify broadband networks in instances where consistent low latency is just as critical as speed. It aids the deployment of gigabit services that intend to support next-generation applications with growing user uptake. Applications such as gaming, UHD streaming, augmented reality and virtual reality require low latency to assure the required Quality of Experience.

“Our open source implementation provides an approach to Internet access measurement with demonstratable accuracy and is an integral part of Broadband Forum specifications. The TR-471 specification was harmonized and developed in coordination with other standards organizations, including ITU-T, IETF and ETSI-STQ/Mobile,” said Al Morton, AT&T and OB-UDPST project co-leader and TR-471 Editor. “UDP is a critical communication protocol for time-sensitive transmissions on the Internet, and the UDPST measurements provide consumer confidence in their service’s support of applications that use UDP.”

Read the full story here.

Broadband service delivery, QoE, cloud test and monitor, PON technology and 5G standards round off a busy editorial quarter

Image RemovedFive editorial articles have been published over the last quarter from the Broadband Forum. Christele Bouchat and Manuel Paul, Work Area Directors of the Wireless-Wireline Convergence Work Area advised that fixed and mobile networks are continuing to converge, there is a crucial need for a common, converged core infrastructure in RCR Wireless.

As demand for full fiber access and connectivity inside the home continues to heighten, a seamless customer experience becomes more critical than ever. A key piece of the puzzle is how networks can continue to evolve, grow, and develop. Frank Effenberger, rapporteur of ITU-T Q2/15 and Ana Pesovic, Marketing Director at Nokia discussed what lies ahead for PON technology and how it will evolve in Broadband Technology Report.

Test & Monitor and network analytics remain essential to consumer QoE, but what challenges persist? Broadband Forum spoke to Euromedia Magazine in its Winter issue on pages 10-16. Craig Thomas, Vice President Strategic Marketing and Business Development at Broadband Forum stated that the industry is at a turning point as operators look to differentiate beyond speed and price, to Fibre Systems Yearbook 2023. Thomas highlighted that standards are set to play an even more pivotal role in helping the industry become more service aware.

Once broadband speed no longer prohibits the users’ required services,  QoE will become even more important than faster connectivity, especially with the increasing take-up in homeworking, eHealth, eEdcuation, new 8K+ video streaming and AR/VR entertainment services according to Thomas in Telecoms.com.

BASe hits five-year anniversary and continues to bring together broadband thought leaders

Image AddedWe have just reached our five-year anniversary of our Broadband Acceleration Seminar (BASe) series, with our industry education events providing the opportunity to learn valuable insights from across the broadband ecosystem. BASe is established and recognized by service providers, analysts, and vendors as the leading industry education series globally.

I remember our first BASe event back in Athens in 2018, which proved very successful with 300 plus attendees and highlighted the appetite for an industry education series. We have continued to move from strength and strength, and last year, we had 145 speakers across 11 BASe face-to-face workshops and 16 vBASe (virtual events and webinars). This drew on average 170 system vendors, operators, and analysts out of more than 50 countries per event.

Our series brings together a technical decision-making audience of service providers, thought leaders, and a very varied vendor representation from across the globe. BASe provides more technical discussion, testing and strategic technical planning, and valuable peer-to-peer networking.

Image AddedIn the last quarter, our BASe series has continued to gain momentum with four face-to-face events at OFC, Connected America, FTTH Council Europe Conference, and ANGA COM, as well as four virtual webinars. We also have a busy BASe calendar on the horizon with two vBASe webinars in June focused on metro edge computing and delivering a service provide app store, and four BASe workshops at FBA Fiber Connect in August, and the BASe Technical Summit (formerly UFBB) in September.

Interested in presenting a paper at the BASe Technical Summit? We are now receiving submissions for speakers, please reach out to us at basechair@broadband-forum.org

We would like to thank our speakers, attendees, and sponsors for all of your support in making the BASe series a great success. We look forward to the next five years.

Our Q2 Town Hall Innovation Series (THIS) sessions

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Sustainability and Energy Efficiency was the name of the game at the Q2 Town Hall Innovation Series!

Building on the first inaugural Town Hall Innovation Series (THIS) sessions at the Q1 Broadband Forum meeting in Dallas, sustainability and energy efficiency was the subject matter focus of this meeting’s session.

Thank you to all of our speakers!

The THIS sessions take place at our face-to-face meetings, and we are inviting speakers. The strategic theme for the upcoming Q4 meeting will be announced this Summer.

The topics presented at the THIS sessions align with BBF’s strategic vision and industry trends. These topics are expected to stimulate future work for the Forum and act as a catalyst for new projects.

Please contact THIS@broadband-forum.org if you would like to present on a subject matter or suggest a new topic for discussion.

Broadband energy consumption, how big it is and how to reduce it

Image AddedThe importance of broadband equipment complying with the EU Code of Conduct for Broadband Communication Equipment was outlined during an insightful presentation from Paolo Bertoldi, Senior Expert at European Commission.

Led by the European Commission Joint Research Centre, the European Union Broadband Code of Conduct is “a flexible mechanism to fill the policy vacuum till today.” It creates an open and continuous dialogue on markets, technologies, efficiencies, and performance, so key issues and solutions to them can be identified. The ultimate goal is to raise awareness with decision makers and investors, develop a set of easy-to-understand set of metrics, and produce a common set of principles aligned with other international initiatives.

While it does not include STBs, TVs and computers, the Code of Conduct provides operators with power consumption information of their network equipment and end-users with broadband equipment that is energy efficient.

It is just one small aspect of Europe's sustainability efforts, which also include the EU Green Deal and the target to be climate neutral by 2050.

During his presentation, Bertoldi recognized the positive role that ICT and communication networks can play in reducing the environmental impact in other sectors, such as transport, and buildings. But, he said, more data is needed in the European Commission's studies to assess the energy consumption of broadband transmission networks and monitor network energy usage. So far, there is only some data readily available from studies in France, Belgium, and Finland.

Bertoldi asked Broadband Forum members to share any company studies or reports confidentiality to help the European Commission Joint Research Centre track and monitor the overall energy consumption as a limited number of studies currently provide estimates of consumption.

Bertoldi indicated that more telecommunications companies need to get involved and play their parts in achieving greater sustainability by committing to the Code of Conduct principles. To get involved, please reach out to paolo.bertoldi@ec.europa.eu.

Energy Fingerprinting through standards can deliver energy cost savings

Image AddedCollecting energy consumption information at the same time as identifying devices in a home network could deliver significant environmental benefits for the planet, cost savings for homeowners, and new revenue opportunities for broadband operators, according to Gavin Young, Vodafone Head of Fixed Access Center of Excellence.

Currently, connected devices in the home can be identified in real-time using network data. This is known as ‘device fingerprinting'. By extending simple data models in device identification to include energy consumption characteristics, energy consumption of connected devices can be measured, and we can build on the progress of device fingerprinting to capture an energy fingerprint.

By building on the concept of digital twins, telemetry can be leveraged to create an ‘energy digital shadow’ in the cloud of a customer’s home. The likes of machine learning, analytics, and closed loop automation can help learn device usage patterns, which devices consume the most energy and propose energy reduction approaches without impacting the customer’s normal activities.

Devices can be identified and modelled against set parameters, or measurements taken from a “virtual meter” from the Residential Gateway to the cloud. A dashboard can be constructed and provide information to customers, place devices in sleep mode, and advise what to turn off and when. The app can rank devices according to consumption, have a clear gauge of consumption readings (red, amber, green), and information on what time of day they are used, leading to dramatic cost savings.

Young was quick to point out that turning off devices or putting them in sleep mode would achieve savings that are a small percentage of the overall household energy bill (compared to heating, cooking etc.). However, if this approach is adopted by a million customers or more then the planet will benefit immensely.

Once the digital shadow of a household has been developed and stored in the cloud, its data could be offered to third parties (only with prior user consent). This could be a newfound revenue opportunity as energy companies could pay operators for such granular data insights and offer more customized tariffs (potentially helping them better load balance the electricity grid too).

Young recognized that standardization was essential to make the concept of energy fingerprinting a reality. There is an opportunity for broadband operators, namely through leveraging TR-369/USP plus associated TR-181 data models, to have an accurate and granular insight of the home as the number of devices grows. By forging strong liaisons with other SDOs, such as Matter, a unified vision of energy fingerprinting can bring innumerable benefits in the years ahead.

“The best network is the sustainable network”

Image AddedRita Tasnadi, Vice President Telco Energy Efficiency and Sustainability at Deutsche Telekom (DT) called for telcos to work with standards development organizations to deliver more sustainable networks.

During the session, Tasnadi identified the challenges the industry currently faces, such as limited renewable energy availability with companies all going green at the same time, price volatility, fluctuation of supply and demand, and rising data volumes. This is why DT, like all other companies and industries, has had to rethink its way of operation.

At its most recent Capital Market Day, DT advised that it was aiming to double its energy efficiency by 2024 and is committing to further retiring legacy equipment. With energy at the top of most companies’ agendas, innovation is key, Tasnadi advised.

By creating a unified vision of future applied technology, the ecosystem would be well placed to adopt new energy efficient solutions to optimize mobile and fixed consumption and produce renewable energy for mobile sites. Using AI-based energy saving solutions, energy production and intelligent management is key for future energy markets and ICT measurement of fixed access.

“The best network must be a sustainable network. As an industry, we must act responsibility and create energy efficient networks operation, and a lot of measures are needed as we need to continuously work to develop new innovations and cooperate with SDOs to tackle this challenge,” Tasnadi stated. “We are all trialling this out, but no one has a best practice yet so undertaking this journey together is the way forward.”

Harnessing standards to improve the energy consumption of BNGs

Image AddedBroadband Forum’s work on disaggregation and Subscriber Session Steering can help enable a more energy efficient deployment for the BNG. This was the message delivered by Jonathan Newton, Distinguished Technical Expert at Vodafone.

Through BNG disaggregation, over-deployment will be avoided by simplifying the scaling of the system, greater resilience will be delivered, and different User Plane types can match the performance and efficiency requirements of certain services. Meanwhile, Subscriber Session Steering can enable a per subscriber choice of the User Plane, eliminate any ‘on-path’ resources constraints, and unlock on-demand scaling.

However, challenges for achieving greater energy efficiency in BNG deployments remain. These include the lack of value of headline power consumption, right-sizing deployments (as throughput, load, and subscribers continually change), the significant difference between average and peak loads, and quantifying the real benefit of new power saving techniques.

One approach to overcoming the challenges is to analyse and compare the performance of BNGs in a lab environment to validate peak performance and load. In the past, tests have highlighted how a BNG performs when maxed out, but that does not paint the full picture. Newton advised that it is more important to test how it operates over a full range across variation subscriber load, expected throughput, and latency. Limits can be applied such as maximum throughput, watts per subscriber, and latency and loss, allowing the efficient range of operation to be determined. These limits may vary by application such as added-value services, gaming, and enterprise services.

By characterizing and visualizing BNG performance, broadband operators can identify where it performs well and is most efficient.

Newton added: “As operators continue to seek better characterisation and comparison of the BNG before deployment, it is clear that disaggregation and Subscriber Session Steering will play a fundamental role.”

Unlocking the Sustainable Home Network

Image AddedA sustainable home network is a key opportunity for broadband operators to seize, according to Christian Gacon, Vice President Orange Labs Network at Orange. Today, operators directly account for 15% of the home network’s CO₂ emissions.

Gacon advised that a sustainable home network can be unlocked by lowering the energy requirements per device, improving product lifecycles, and using future-proof technologies for longer shelf lives. Encouraging circular economies by recycling materials and refurbishing devices can also help operators better manage the home network’s environmental impact. 

The Home Gateway's idle time power consumption of 90% was pinpointed as a key area to target to reduce energy. Better sleep modes are an obvious solution to improve this situation, Gacon pointed out. Nonetheless, if operators want them to be used, they need to consider what each costumer expects from their Home Gateway. For example, if Wi-Fi is used to connect security devices, it should not be disabled when the customer is not at home. AI may help to activate sleep mode when possible.

Gacon warned that operators cannot do this alone. Chipset manufacturers need to improve their low energy features, optimize their manufacturing processes, and work with local manufacturers where possible. Improving CPE with features that lower consumption, helping subscribers reduce device numbers, and lowering the consumption of unnecessary devices (such as radio bands) are all additional tactics that operators can deploy.

In turn, Gacon said, improving the home network is not only beneficial for sustainability but can also encourage more people to take up remote working if there is traffic prioritization, such as video calls given precedence over gaming, improved cyber security, and enhanced Quality of Experience. An improved home network would also alleviate the load on the mobile network as customers would use Wi-Fi at home instead of their cellular radio network.

“If operators adopt equipment with sleep modes, migrate router functionality to the edge, educate consumers about digital sobriety, and cooperate with SDOs across the broadband ecosystem, the slice of the home network pie is there to be taken,” he added.

Want to become a Work Area Director?

Our Work Area Director nominations are now open - submit your candidacy!

The following work areas are seeking appointments of leaders:

• Common YANG
• Physical Layer Transmission
• SDN and NFV
• Wireless-Wireline Convergence.

The two-year appointment terms begin in January 2024, and the submission deadline is Friday, September 8, 2023.

ONU authentication standard critical for virtualized networks

A new Broadband Forum project focused on Optical Network Unit (ONU) authentication will play a crucial role in making sure virtualized networks can enable OPEX savings and introduce new products and services faster to market.

ONU authentication identifies ONUs that are typically installed inside the home and convert optical signals to electrical signals. Historically, this process was carried out solely by the operator’s equipment, also known as Optical Line Terminals (OLTs) that connect with ONUs. But as more network functions become disaggregated from physical equipment, it can also be carried out by functions on the network management plane.

“If the authentication process – and which part of the network is responsible for it – is not defined, it can result in inconsistent or even faulty network behavior,” said Ken Ko, Managing Director at Broadband Forum. “TR-489 will benefit all Broadband Forum Work Areas concerned with ONU authentication and management selection and continue to help the industry transition to open, virtualized networks.”

Read the full press release here.

Flexibility, agility, and host of new network features delivered by latest Broadband Forum specification

More stable networks, greater interoperability, and cost savings for operators will become possible thanks to the latest technical report published today by Broadband Forum. The second issue of Technical Report-459 will enable improved resiliency, scalability, and faster deployment times, which will give end-users a more reliable and more consistent service.

“TR-459 Issue 2 includes an additional layer of flexibility to manage subscriber resiliency, simplifying operations and streamlining provisioning and maintenance,” said Jonathan Newton, Co-Director of the Access and Transport Architecture Work Area at Broadband Forum from Vodafone.

“These characteristics are all the more critical in a post-COVID world in which more people are using their home broadband access services to manage their lives, including working and shopping online,” added Mr Newton.

Any faults that can cause network outages can be navigated around as the new specification enables the brain of the network (known as the Control Plane, responsible for managing interactions with the customer home router) to intelligently determine whether a switchover to a new User Plane is needed. The User Plane carries network traffic and enforces policies such as Quality of Service (QoS).

Read the full story here.

Multicast steaming, Common YANG, UDP Speed Test, latency, and the connected home among the latest topics this quarter

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Fabrizio Guidotti, OutSys and Broadband Forum member, called for greater collaboration between broadband operators and video content providers for multicast streaming. Guidotti stated that the Broadband Forum is the right place, with the right culture, for all stakeholders to start the conversation.

Meanwhile, Joey Boyd and Sven Ooghe, Co-Directors of the Common YANG Work Area at Broadband Forum, penned a blog post on how Common YANG acts as the cement that combines and connects the bricks of work and projects that take place within the Broadband Forum. The duo described how Common YANG provides assistance to other Work Areas when defining YANG data models for specific applications.

There has been a continued push for a common understanding and approach on how industry players can measure performance more accurately, with speed no longer being the sole consideration. Al Morton, OB-UDPST Project Co-leader at Broadband Forum discusses how a simple, standardized, and open-sourced User Datagram Protocol-based Speed Test (UDPST) can deliver on this promise.

“Standards must come together, with latency as the cornerstone,” was the messaged expressed by Craig Thomas, Vice President Strategic Marketing and Business Development at Broadband Forum, and Greg Mirsky, PEAT Project Stream Lead in the ATA Work Area at Broadband Forum from Ericsson. The pair expressed in their blog that it is paramount that the industry has an agreed global standard for latency, and a consensus is agreed upon between multiple SDOs to create a clearer path for market deployments and universal adoption.

The topic of unlocking greater value from the connected home was published by Connected Home Chair and BUS Work Area Director Jason Walls in The Fast Mode. Walls advised that service providers deploying an open, standardized solution that provides a clear path towards new value and reduced costs is an opportunity that they must take now.