The open source User Services Platform (USP) Agent has been provided by Broadband Forum member ARRIS International plc. Greenwave Systems has also successfully deployed USP in its Internet of Things (IoT) applications.
Broadband Forum has announced an open source User Services Platform (USP) Agent to facilitate connected home and accelerate interoperable Internet of Things (IoT) deployments.
A non-profit industry organization composed of the industry’s leading broadband operators, vendors and thought leaders, Broadband Forum is focused on accelerating broadband innovation, standards and ecosystem development.
Created as part of Broadband Forum’s Open Broadband initiative, the Open Broadband – USP Agent (OB-USP-Agent) project will provide vendors with a code base that they can either integrate into their devices or use as a reference implementation as they utilize USP. A necessary catalyst to adoption in today’s software development world, OB-USP-Agent will facilitate USP deployment and result in faster time-to-market for USP-based solutions and innovation.
Thanks to this standards-based solution, operators now no longer have to depend on costlier and less flexible proprietary management solutions.
An evolution of the TR-069 standard
Published in April 2018, USP is an evolution of the TR-069 standard, currently installed in more than one billion households globally.
Using the same data models as TR-069, USP builds a network of controllers and agents to allow applications to manipulate service elements. This allows service providers, consumer electronics manufacturers and end-users to securely manage connected devices, carry out upgrades, for example, for critical security updates and onboard new devices.
Customer support is also improved by remote monitoring and troubleshooting of connected devices, services and home network links.
“USP is designed to be flexible, scalable and secure, and the new open source agent implementation builds on this by allowing vendors to integrate it into their devices or use it as a reference implementation,” said Barbara Stark, of AT&T, USP Project Lead at Broadband Forum.
“This is a natural evolution for USP as the industry moves more and more towards software development. We are confident the new agent will not only help to increase interoperability but also support operators looking to launch new connected home services as additional revenue streams,” Stark added.
A boon for service providers looking to capitalize on IoT market
The open source USP Agent has been provided by Broadband Forum member ARRIS International plc, which has already used the agent in previous USP Plugfest events and tested it against the existing USP Compliance Test Plan.
“OB-USP-Agent marks an important step in the evolution of USP, aiding adoption rates on devices,” said John Blackford, Product Management Director at ARRIS and Co-Director of the Broadband User Services (BUS) Work Area.
He added, “Through the vast number of TR-069 deployments, USP is the evolution of a platform that already has a proven track record and we are confident it will support service providers looking to capitalize on the IoT market by enabling an open market without vendor lock-in.”
Project participants can leverage and extend this code as innovation around OB-USP-Agent grows. The project has been launched and the code is available for Broadband Forum members. A public release will be made available later this year.
