Their aim is better experience for users, reduced latency and a wider choice of in-home applications – the Forum is inviting more parties to get involved
The Broadband Forum has announced three new open broadband projects will provide open source software blueprints for application providers and broadband service providers. The Forum says they “will deliver a foundation for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) for network automation, additional tools for network latency and performance measurements, and on-demand connectivity for different applications”.
The Forum’s Technical Chair, Lincoln Lavoie, commented, “These new projects will play a key role in improving network performance measurement and monitoring and the end-user experience. Open source software is a crucial component in providing the blueprint for [broadband service providres] to follow and we invite interested companies to get involved.”
The new project do not exactly have names that trip off the tongue:
• Open Broadband-CloudCO-Application Software Development Kit (OB-CAS) aims to simplify network monitoring and maintenance for broadband providers, while offering a wider selection of applications from software vendors. Another ambition is to simplify network operations, automating them through the Forum’s established cloud standards which use AI, including machine learning, to improve end-users’ experience.
• Open Broadband – Simple Two-Way Active Measurement Protocol (OB-STAMP) will build “an easy-to-deploy component” that makes it easier to measure a network’s performance between customer premises equipment and the IP edge. Broadband service providers will be able to monitor their subscribers’ home networks proactively to measure latency and, ultimately, avoid network failures. Four vendors have already signed up to join the efforts to reduce the cost and time associated with deploying infrastructure for measuring networks’ latency.
• Open Broadband – Subscriber Session Steering (OB-STEER) builds on the Forum’s upcoming technical report WT-474. It is scheduled to create a reference implementation of the Subscriber Session Steering architecture to deliver flexible, on-demand connectivity and simpler network management. Interoperability of Subscriber Session Steering is highly important as it will be implemented in access network equipment and edge kit from various vendors..
“The development of open source software and open broadband standards are invaluable to the industry, laying the foundations for faster innovation through global collaboration,” said the Forum’s CEO, Craig Thomas (pictured above). “The Broadband Forum places the end-user experience at the forefront of all of our projects and is playing a crucial role in overcoming network issues.”
