The Broadband Forum has published its Open Broadband - USP Agent (OB - USP Agent) Implementation. The code release is intended to reduce time-to-market for interoperable, standards-based smart home solutions.
OB-USP-Agent is intended to give vendors a code base to either integrate into their devices or use as a reference implementation as they utilize the Forum's User Services Platform (USP).
"By combining the best of standards-based deployments with the latest software developments, OB-USP-Agent opens up the possibilities of the connected home to the entire broadband industry," said Kevin Foster, Broadband Forum chairman and head of broadband standards and ecosystems at BT. "With the release of the open source implementation, I am confident that the important role USP has to play in Internet of Things (IoT) deployments will become even clearer, providing operators and vendors with the tools to deliver a future-proof connected home experience that enhances consumers' day-to-day lives."
OB-USP Agent is the latest development of USP, which evolves the TR-069 standard by using the same data models to build a network of controllers and agents to allow applications to manipulate service elements.
OB-USP Agent is intended to let service providers, consumer electronics manufacturers and end-users securely manage connected devices, carry out upgrades, and onboard new devices. Remote monitoring and troubleshooting of connected devices, services and home network links is also enabled.
ARRIS, now part of CommScope, has developed and contributed an open source USP Agent that participated in previous USP Plugfest events and was tested against the existing USP compliance test plan.
"The key to accelerating the connected home is to develop standards-based, open source solutions that the entire industry can utilize and benefit from," said John Blackford, co-director of the Broadband User Services (BUS) Work Area at Broadband Forum, OB-USP-Agent project leader, and product management director at CommScope. "This is exactly what we designed OB-USP-Agent to do – provide vendors with new tools that can help bring innovative services to market faster. The OB-USP-Agent fosters interoperability and avoids proprietary management solutions that are less flexible and become too costly for operators to scale."