ARRIS Deploys First-Ever User Services Platform

Today, ARRIS is announcing the first-ever User Services Platform (USP) deployment with a major operator. The groundbreaking USP protocol is the natural evolution of the Broadband Forum’s flagship TR-0..

Today, ARRIS is announcing the first-ever User Services Platform (USP) deployment with a major operator. The groundbreaking USP protocol is the natural evolution of the Broadband Forum’s flagship TR-069 protocol. It promises to enable faster, more efficient device management and control for operators, service providers, and consumers. It is based on the standardized protocol that the Broadband Forum developed to manage, monitor, upgrade and control connected devices in the home.

Integral to USP, we’re launching two new ECO software components as part of our ARRIS HomeAssure™ home network management platform. With the addition of ECO Control and ECO Envoy, HomeAssure expands to include a USP Controller and a USP Agent. This complements the existing CPE WAN Management Protocol (TR-069) support that was already in place with ECO Manage. Other components include ECO Assist for CSRs, ECO Self-Services for the subscriber, ECO Monitor for network operations, and ECO Inquire for reporting.

As Robin Mersh, CEO of the Broadband Forum, told us: “User Services Platform builds on the footprint and experience drawn from the nearly one billion installations of TR-069 in service globally. Architected for the realities of the intersection of an IoT world with the connected home, USP has support for multiple management endpoints that can both control a device as well as manage individual executables on the device. USP provides permission levels for different users, whether that’s the consumer or the service provider, which is extremely advantageous for those with multiple IoT devices in their home.”

The home network is becoming extremely sophisticated. It connects to more devices than ever before to deliver an expanded array of consumer services. But, homeowners want their home network and devices to be intuitive and easy-to-use. As Robin Mersh continued, “The USP protocol will enable consumers to purchase and start using smart home and network-enabled IoT devices and services as easily as they buy an app for their smart phone.”

For service providers, the benefits are even more vast. USP allows multiple service providers to interact with devices in a secure manner through an always-on communications mechanism that can retrieve information from a specific device faster than ever. Security and privacy are also improved through role-based access control mechanisms, which allows various controllers to be assigned different sets of permissions based on the service elements with which they need to interact. In addition, USP defines both protocol-level encryption and application-level security, so even in scenarios where communications are proxied through an intermediary, the data is still safe.

We’re eager to share more about our first-ever USP deployment during  SCTE in Atlanta (#2507) and Broadband World Forum in Berlin (#D114, Hall22B), as well as a live demonstration of USP in the Broadband Forum Interop Pavilion (#FA9, Hall22A).

For more information visit: www.broadband-forum.org.