TR-069 Gears Up for Ten More Years as Device Management Evolves to Services Management

DENVER, June 25, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- TR-069, the provisioning tool that has revolutionized broadband device management for telecommunications operators worldwide, stands on the edge of a new era. TR-069's capabilities are rapidly developing to encompass the Smart Home of the future, including the M2M (Machine-to-Machine) environment and the Internet of Things (IoT).

TR-069, which defines the CPE WAN Management Protocol, was introduced ten years ago and is the iconic technology at the center of discussion throughout this week's Broadband Forum quarterly meeting in Denver, Colorado; a location that personifies TR-069's growth, being the home of cable. TR-069's future development is a key topic of the meeting, as members from leading operators, vendors and test laboratories meet to discuss the challenges of the fast converging telecoms industry.

"TR-069 is something the Broadband Forum has become well known for. Its role and positioning is evolving as the Smart Home changes with the advent of Network Functions Virtualization, SDN and M2M technologies. Management of devices is evolving into management of services," said Broadband Forum CEO Robin Mersh.

Mersh continued, stating that: "The most recent sector of the market to adopt TR-069 has been the cable operators and several have been here in Denver for this week's meeting. The interests of the operator community, regardless of access technology, create some real opportunities."

Kamalini Ganguly, Senior Analyst, Ovum (the authors of the landmark report on industry adoption of TR-069 in 2012), added: "The CPE WAN TR-069 protocol is now ten years old and continues to go from strength to strength. It is increasingly being adopted by all types of broadband providers as the number of connected IP devices within the home continue to grow at a rapid pace. The list includes a growing number of cable companies who need to support QAM, IP and hybrid video on multiple devices. There are other benefits too, Rogers Cable implemented the protocol a few years ago to remotely manage their DOCSIS 3.0 gateways and introduce cloud based home networking services. And Liberty Global will be using it to remotely provision and manage CPE for a new VoIP service." 

The tool has continued to be acknowledged and endorsed by important industry figures such as 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), Small Cell Forum Ltd., International Telecommunication Union, Standardization Sector (ITU-T), European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc. (IEEE), and the Home Gateway Initiative (HGI).

While the industry continues to evolve, tools such as TR-069 are integral to the management of cable and telecom operators alike as simple but coordinated management is paramount to deliver quality next generation broadband services. However, like the industry itself, TR-069 too needs to continue to develop. TR-069 needs to be smart, evolving to incorporate virtualization in broadband services, the M2M environment and the Internet of Things. These are the challenges that the Broadband Forum is currently addressing.

"TR-069 and its data models are popular and well understood. The advent of IoT and virtualization presents us with a magnificent opportunity to take TR-069 forward, making it capable of not only managing broadband equipment, but facilitating communication between applications and the services they provide, for both management and control of the broadband ecosystem. We're excited for what is coming down the road, and the ability to flex the Broadband Forum's technical rigor and pragmatic outlook to get it done," added Mersh.

For more information about the legacy of TR-069 and where it is headed, view this video from QA Cafe https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXCsovXL8CU

For more information about the Broadband Forum, please go to http://www.broadband-forum.org or follow @Broadband_Forum on Twitter. For further information please contact Brian Dolby on +44 (0) 7899 914168 or Dana Hare on +44 (0) 1636 812152 or send an email to [email protected]  or [email protected].

To see this press release, please visit: http://www.broadband-forum.org/news/download/pressreleeases/2014/BBF_Q2meeting_TR-069_FINAL_25June2014.pdf

About the Broadband Forum
Broadband Forum, a non-profit industry organization, is focused on engineering smarter and faster broadband networks. Our work defines best practices for global networks, enables service and content delivery, establishes technology migration strategies, engineers critical device & service management tools, and is key to redefining broadband. Our free technical reports and white papers can be found at www.broadband-forum.org. Twitter @Broadband_Forum.

SOURCE The Broadband Forum