The Broadband Forum is making a push for its TR-069 smart home communications standard to be widely adopted in the IoT and M2M space. it is citing a study from Ovum saying it “shows that service providers across the world are relying on [TR-069’s] versatility and reliability to support them in delivering IoT and M2M services.”
According to the Forum “Ovum … expects the number of TR-069 enabled devices in use to pass 356 million by the end of next year and service providers highlighted it as a key weapon in their smart home strategy. These devices will include more features and interface types than those for communications and entertainment; and will be largely a retail market. In fact, the survey showed that the top companies viewed by those surveyed as being most influential in defining and enabling smart home services were Google, Apple, Samsung followed by the operators.”
The Forum has not provided a copy of the survey or any detail of its findings, other than those quoted in its press release. We have sought more detail and will update this article if these becomes available. – SEE BELOW
According to Broadband Forum CEO, Robin Mersh, the Ovum survey was “the most in-depth ever undertaken on the role and presence of TR-069 and it has clearly demonstrated not only its importance to today’s network but in fact that its future may well prove to be even more significant as the services in the home multiply and the network becomes more and more software driven.”
He added: “We are totally committed to further development of the protocol to support service providers globally and to help them with the smooth integration of services made possible through the IoT and M2M environment.”
TR-069 widely endorsed
According to Wikipedia TR-069 (Technical Report 069) more commonly known as CPE WAN Management Protocol (CWMP). It defines an application layer protocol for remote management of end-user devices. “As a bidirectional SOAP/HTTP-based protocol, it provides the communication between customer-premises equipment (CPE) and auto configuration servers (ACS),” Wikipedia says. “It includes both a safe auto configuration and the control of other CPE management functions within an integrated framework. The protocol addresses the growing number of different Internet access devices such as modems, routers, gateways, as well as end-user devices which connect to the Internet, such as set-top boxes, and VoIP-phones.”
It adds: “Other forums, such as the Home Gateway Initiative (HGI), Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) and WiMAX Forum endorsed CWMP as the protocol for remote management of home network devices and terminals (such as the DVB IPTV set-top box).”
This article by Mersh in the May 2013 edition of Cabling Installation & Maintenance provides a useful overview of the standards in layman’s terms.
UPDATE – Ovum report on TR-069. The Broadband Forum as provided a link to the Ovum report, entitled Efficient and Automated Smart Home Rollout. What The Forum did not say in its press release is that Ovum produced the report in conjunction with the Forum and with sponsorship from Axiros, a Munich-based software company that “boasts significant experience and name recognition in TR-069 device management solutions.”
