BBF Projects

The Broadband User Services Work Area provides the broadband industry with technical specifications, implementation guides, reference implementations, test plans, and marketing white papers for the deployment, management, and consumption of services by the broadband end user.

Work Area Directors:

• John Blackford, CommScope
• Jason Walls, QA Cafe

Operators are constantly looking for ways to make their operations more efficient and more cost-effective. A common method used is automation of the configuration and control of network elements. One challenge to doing this effectively is ensuring interoperability between network components of different vendors.

The Common YANG Work Area addresses this challenge by defining YANG data models for functionality which is common across access network equipment of various physical layer technologies.

• The prime objective of the Common YANG Work Area is the specification of YANG modules that are applicable to multiple Work Areas and/or involve expertise from multiple Work Areas.
• Next to this, it also maintains the BBF YANG Best Current Practices (OD-360), BBF-wide YANG processes, procedures and tools.
• In the future, Common YANG has the mission to specify NETCONF/YANG test plans and certification for the defined YANG modules.

The Work Area is also responsible for identifying YANG work in other SDOs that could or should be used by BBF YANG projects, and will work directly with such SDOs as and when appropriate in order to assist in meeting BBF requirements and timescales.

Since its creation, Common YANG has published a series of YANG modules which meanwhile have become accepted by the wide industry:

• TR-355: YANG Modules for FTTdp Management
  • Defines YANG data models for the management interfaces to support FTTdp, in order to enable interoperability for FTTdp management
• TR-383: Common YANG Modules for Access Networks
  • Defines YANG data models for the management of Broadband Forum specified access network equipment used across many deployment scenarios
  • With these modules, service providers can efficiently manage a range of broadband services supported over any access technology, including VDSL, G.fast and Passive Optical Networks (PON).
• TR-374: YANG Modules for Management of G.hn Systems in FTTdp Architectures
  • Defines a YANG Module for all standardized parameters and associated types for G.hn configuration, status monitoring, performance management, testing and diagnostics

Work Area Directors: Joey Boyd, Adtran and Sven Ooghe, Nokia

To define the requirements and data models for deploying Broadband Forum network architectures in fiber access technologies so as to accelerate deployments and ensuring interoperability.

Work Area Director: Marta Seda, Calix

The Physical Layer Transmission Work Area provides test plans, technical documentation, and marketing papers to enable multi-vendor interoperability in deployments for both access and in-premises networks.

Work Area Directors:

Herman Verbueken, Nokia

Evan Sun, Huawei

This Work Area focuses on the introduction of Software Defined Networking (SDN) and Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) in conjunction with general purpose hardware to create the basis for cloud-based, edge and access networks. Building on this framework, projects address migration and coexistence of physical and virtual elements, into the broadband network, define interfaces, test cases Use Cases and scenarios, reference implementations and automation.  Activities work with and coordinate with Open Broadband (OB) program regarding open source, like Open Broadband-Broadband Access Abstraction (OB-BAA) and testing Open Broadband Laboratories (OBLs).

Work Area Directors: Bruno Cornaglia (Vodafone) and Mengmeng Li (China Mobile)

The WWC Work Area addresses the needs of operators, which have integrated, wireline or mobile networks deployed so they can leverage their assets with combined subscriber offerings with a converged core. It aims to deliver more value with deployment options for integrated, wireline, and mobile operators and suppliers. It focuses on optimizing the Total Cost of Ownership by consolidating network, common control plane, and streamlined backend by a comprehensive, well-specified, deployed Wireless-Wireline-Convergence architecture and functions to deliver broadband services with the 5G Core.

The Work Area incorporates capabilities from the 5G toolkit to realize a variety of use cases, including topics such as multi-/hybrid access, enhanced work from home, access sharing scenarios and convergence of voice with the 5G system.  Broadband Forum is taking an important role in developing 5G, continuing the productive cooperation with 3GPP, and making recommendations for the connection points between the fixed and 5G mobile core networks in order to drive functional network convergence.

Work Area Directors: Christele Bouchat (Nokia), Manuel Paul (DT)