CCAPS vendor Plume has announced that CPE vendors ADTRAN, Askey, CIG, Hitron, Kaon, Sagemcom, Sercomm, Technicolor and Zyxel Communications are using OpenSync for their WiFi 6 devices.
OpenSync is open-source software that was initially designed by Plume in 2015 (at that time it was called PML) and deployed in its devices from 2016. In 2018, Plume changed the name to OpenSync and made it fully open source. The software has since evolved significantly. Plume claims that with this announcement OpenSync is now the most broadly supported open-source silicon-to-cloud framework for WiFi 6 globally.
All the CPEs announced today will come pre-integrated with OpenSync, providing access to Plume’s CEM Platform. 150 CSPs currently use the Plume Cloud to provide smart home services to over 22 million homes. This move is intended to boost that number and provide an attractive offer for CSPs building a new CCAPS business.
While WiFi 6 increases throughput, lowers latency, saves energy and enhances security, Plume argues even more benefits can be unlocked by utilising a combination of OpenSync and the Plume Cloud. OpenSync delivers vital control features and means all the CPE that support it – including gateways, extenders and SuperPods – can both plug-and-play and coexist on the same home network. “Wi-Fi 6 is an exciting milestone for home connectivity, however, this advancement alone is insufficient to deliver the personalised and fully-optimised experiences demanded by broadband subscribers today,” explained Fahri Diner, Co-founder & CEO at Plume.
ADTRAN’s CTO Robert Conger said utilising OpenSync would “vastly improve” the broadband experience while helping operators get to market faster and speed up time-to-revenue. This initiative will, he says, will “foster the creation of new and expanded high-value services.”
Sercomm CEO James Wang also believes the combination of next-generation CPE with OpenSync and the Plume platform will create a powerful combination for service providers. He notes that it will enable them not only to enhance wireless in-home performance, but also to deliver new cloud-curated experiences for their subscribers that will drive new ARPU opportunities.
Girish Naganathan, CTO of Technicolor Connected Home, thinks the partnership with Plume will boost WiFi 6 CPE take up. “This is further proof of our commitment to helping operators worldwide reduce the complexity of delivering reliable, high-throughput Wi-Fi coverage throughout subscribers’ homes,” he said. He argues that the combination will boost customer satisfaction and retention by supporting a better network and smart home experience.
Omnisperience view
This is a significant move in opening up the in-home opportunities for CSPs by widening the range of CPE they can offer their customers when rolling out CCAPS. Omnisperience believes the Connected Customer Assurance & Protection Services market has huge potential and forecasts that by 2023, 80% of service providers will have rolled out an offering in this area. CCAPS are a win-win for service providers because they have the potential to increase ARPUs and keep customers happier, while providing the strategic foundation for further revenue growth.
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