A new standard for a User Services Platform from the Broadband Forum targets the smart home. It defines capabilities for implementing, deploying and managing devices in the broadband home. According to the Broadband Forum, the standard marks the first time that there is a unified, common approach to securely deploy, manage, and control network-aware consumer electronics, including home and enterprise Wi-Fi and the Internet of Things (IoT).

By abiding by a single standard, a vast number of devices from different suppliers can be integrated into service providers’ offerings, enabling them to offer new services to end-users, the Broadband Forum said.

Broadband Forum User Services Platform

With USP, service providers, consumer electronics manufacturers and end-users can perform lifecycle management of connected devices and implement improvements, like critical security updates.

Newly installed or purchased devices and virtual services can also be added, while customer support is improved by remote monitoring and troubleshooting of connected devices, services and home network links, according to the Broadband Forum. Additionally, the specification is designed to enable secure control of IoT, smart home and smart networking functions and helps map the home network to manage service quality and monitor threats.

“As an evolution of the popular TR-069 standard, USP makes use of the same data models, but instead of simply having a single Auto Configuration Server, there are now many end points that control not only the devices but also individual executables on each one,” said Barbara Stark, Broadband Forum USP project lead, in a prepared statement. “This means deployments with IoT devices, smart Wi-Fi, set-top boxes, and smart gateways can be controlled by anyone in the household, while permission levels for service providers can be created to allow any necessary updates or troubleshooting of the network and devices connected to it. Ultimately, we designed USP to be flexible, scalable and secure.”

The USP specification was developed by the Broadband User Services (BUS) Work Area which is led by co-directors John Blackford, of ARRIS International plc, who is also a Broadband Forum board member, and Jason Walls of QA Cafe.