Connected home device boom demands user services focus
Details
Faye Sutton
| 02 February 2021
Increasing demands for faster, more efficient and more reliable ways to manage connected devices will make 2021 the year of service and device lifecycle management, according to research from the Broadband Forum.

connected homeThe rapid growth of internet connected devices in the home has accelerated due to the pandemic, as people work from home and children spend hours online each day home-schooling.

A new study published last week highlighted that the number of installed connected devices is expected to rise by a further 70% by 2025. Similarly spending on smart home systems is expected to rise to a projected $157 billion worldwide by 2023, for example.

Broadband Forum chairman and co-director of the Broadband User Services Work Area John Blackford said: “Given that we expect the rapid rise of connected devices in the home to continue this year and beyond, our recent survey report emphasised that the number of users and vendors using (user services platform) USP continues to increase too. The Broadband Forum will be responding to this focus on user services by making regular updates and developments to the USP. We are already working on the next versions of the Device:2 root data model (TR-181) and the USP standard to add new functionality and further solidify USP as the go-to interoperable ecosystem for the connected home.”

The Broadband Forum’s Open Broadband – USP Agent (OB-USP-Agent) project, which recently published its Canary release, aims to increase the number of new USP deployments per year. By providing a functional and free open source implementation of the USP standard, interested parties can easily understand USP, try it out in a USP deployment or use it as a foundation for their own protocol implementations. Jointly developed by device and infrastructure vendors as well as operators, it helps prove the quality of USP and supports further standard developments. The number of new participants in the OB-USP-Agent project team has risen by more than 60% in the last 12 months.

With an increase in the number of connected devices comes a rise in the importance of remote management and updates for devices and Wi-Fi management. New standards in the home like Wi-Fi 6, coupled with new technologies extending IoT capabilities like 5G and gigabit-fibre deployments, are adding to both the challenges and complexities for service providers in connected homes. The pandemic has also highlighted the growing need for increased automation for operators seeking to reduce the costs associated with sending technicians to install or reconfigure a device.

“We recognise the importance of using USP and open broadband as it ensures the easy integration of productised solutions to our overall offering and allows us to reap the benefits on offer,” said Jason Walls of QA Cafe and Chair of the Broadband Forum Connected Home Council. “The increase of user and vendor participation in the Broadband Forum’s Open Broadband – USP Agent project team further underlines the breadth of participation from across the industry and highlights the importance of the work being conducted.”