The prpl Foundation (Framingham, MA) and its service provider members have launched a major acceleration effort to the prplMesh open-source Wi-Fi mesh software stack, which the Foundation this month announced will be made carrier-grade by the end of this year.
At that time, prpl Foundation stated that Internet Service Providers (ISP)s will be able to deploy fully open-source Wi-Fi mesh networks, "including standardized application programming interfaces (APIs) enabling new services and features more quickly and with better interoperability than previously possible," according to a statement by the Foundation.
As explained by the prpl Foundation:
prplMesh features a low-level, Linux-focused southbound API providing both chipset-agnostic multi-vendor-interoperability plus innovations in all the latest state-of-art Wi-Fi chips. The stack also features a high-level northbound API providing carrier-grade manageability from both local and remote cloud apps and services, and platform-independent portability to common router platforms such as prplOS and RDK-B.
prplMesh will enable a faster time-to-market for new apps and services by reducing dependence on vendor-proprietary components. End-users will benefit from a home network which is highly manageable from personal mobile apps, and expert-level management from their service provider via remote cloud agents.
The Foundation notes its open-source Wi-Fi mesh architecture enables robust whole-home Wi-Fi coverage that is self-organizing and easily manageable. By actively harmonizing the community on standardized APIs, plus having all this software available as an open-source commodity, ISPs may expect to benefit from quicker time to market and improved interoperability through common implementations.
Meanwhile, third-party vendors will be able to add valuable apps and services atop the Wi-Fi stack, while an ecosystem of these apps and services that are portable across different customer-premises equipment (CPE) platforms is enabled.
This 2022 acceleration of prplMesh, in collaboration with SoftAtHome, builds atop the release of prplMesh v2 and follows the successful 2021 acceleration of prplOS which manages other CPE services, the Foundation's statement noted.