Operators outline their visions for the Next Generation Broadband Network at unique Atlanta event

27 April 2016: The Broadband Forum today announced it will host a three-day special meeting in Atlanta where ten of the world’s leading service providers, as well as major manufacturers, will gather to share their vision of requirements that drive the Next Generation Broadband Network.

The event, hosted by AT&T, will include presentations from AT&T itself, NTT, BT, Sky, Deutsche Telecom, CenturyLink, Orange, Telecom Italia, Vodafone and Spark New Zealand.

“Since we launched our Broadband 20/20 Vision last October, we have been delighted with the industry response and have made significant progress in areas including Software Defined Networking (SDN), Network Functions Virtualization (NFV), Cloud Central Office and the whole concept of Broadband Assured IP Services,” said Broadband Forum CEO Robin Mersh.

“There is therefore no better time to bring the broadband industry together. Operators and vendors are going through many readjustments as new technologies open up new possibilities and new challenges. The Broadband Forum exists to support the whole broadband eco-system that delivers the capability to meet the needs of the users, and the Atlanta special meeting will make sure we are on track to deliver the exciting new services that we all want and are most critical for the industry.”

The Special Meeting – which will take place at the Renaissance Atlanta Midtown Hotel from May 18 to May 20 – will discuss the requirements driving the next generation network as well as some proposed approaches such as the Flexible Access System Architecture project from NTT and the Central Office Reimagined as a Datacenter (CORD) project, with OnLab delivering an interactive demo and presentations, which will also involve the wider CORD community.

“There are some interesting developments which complement the work we are already doing around SDN, NFV, ultra-fast access and 5G, and the CORD demonstration will be a valuable experience for both our members and our guests,” added Mersh.

The Atlanta gathering comes as the Forum nears completion of a landmark document, which looks at virtualized service delivery to the Residential Gateway. Final approval on this document is currently taking place, with the final version expected to be released next month.

Details of the Atlanta meeting were revealed during the Broadband Forum’s quarterly gathering in Prague, which took place last week. The conference also saw Drew Rexrode, of Verizon, and Marcin Drzymala, of Orange – who are stepping down as Board Members – presented with the Forum leadership award in recognition of their work as “outgoing, commendable leaders” by Broadband Forum chairman Kevin Foster. Both were thanked for their efforts to support the growth and development of the Forum over several years.

For more information on the Broadband Forum’s work, visit: www.broadband-forum.org.