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DSL Forum's BroadbandSuite initiative makes its mark in Europe (27/10/2006)

BroadbandSuite(tm) fuels next generation broadband growth in Europe and facilitates ubiquitous broadband access

The DSL Forum, an international consortium of more than 200 member organisations, is sharing details of its major new BroadbandSuite(tm) initiative at Broadband World Forum Europe in Paris this week.

The BroadbandSuite "blueprint" from the DSL Forum extends Forum specifications to directly address the needs of next generation applications and devices behind the modem/gateway, focusing on excellence of experience. By developing an access-agnostic IP-centric solution that sets common remote management standards and home networking solutions, the BroadbandSuite will stimulate the growth of European broadband, and drive better value and satisfaction for consumers.

According to industry analyst Point Topic, seven of the 'Top Ten' broadband nations in the world are in Western Europe. Although the geographical divide is reducing in most of them, as broadband extends its reach, there is still a deep social divide in the take-up of broadband and internet access, between different types of household.

The goal is to bridge both the social and the geographical divides and wear down the barriers to broadband access across Europe. Recent European Commission (EC) initiatives, such as the i2010 Government Action Plan, are aimed at increasing efficiency throughout the economy by encouraging wider use of broadband technology in Europe, and fuelling growth in advanced services. The i2010 plan is designed to create an open and competitive single market, increase investment in ICT research and develop an inclusive information society in Europe.

"Through the development and application of BroadbandSuite, the DSL Forum will contribute directly to these objectives in many ways", said Tim Johnson of Point Topic. "Common network specifications, developed through the BroadbandSuite, will help service providers to deliver their products more easily and cheaply. That will bring down the price, which all research shows is one of the biggest barriers to using broadband. By moving from its pure DSL focus to access agnostic remote management specifications, the DSL Forum will support the changing European broadband infrastructure which increasingly is deploying fibre, wireless and cable to fill the gaps and to address geographical barriers. Finally, the work to develop common device specifications and interoperability is a going to make it much easier to sell and support new multimedia products. That's also going to bring down prices and raise the value of broadband services from the customer's point of view. All these developments are going to be crucial to the success of i2010 and the many national programmes with the same aims."

"Creating the environment for next generation broadband services to evolve is fundamental to the work of the DSL Forum, in Europe and beyond", said Michael Brusca, chairman and president of the DSL Forum. "Our BroadbandSuite initiative is a critical step to ensure that broadband access for all is a realistic and achievable goal."

www.dslforum.org