About the Broadband Forum

The Broadband Forum is a global consortium of approximately 200 leading industry players covering telecom equipment, computing, networking and service provider companies. Established in 1994 originally as the ADSL Forum and later the DSL Forum, the Broadband Forum recently united with the IP/MPLS Forum. With this union, the Broadband Forum is now the central body for next generation IP network specifications.

Broadband Forum History

Since 1994, the Forum has developed more than 100 specifications, which range from defining Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) technology to delivering maximum effectiveness in broadband deployment and management. Embracing work that addresses all forms of DSL, the forum changed its name to DSL Forum in 1999. Over the years, the forum expanded its work to address fiber architecture, management and digital home support to ensure that service providers can effectively deploy and manage their hybrid networks from a single IP-centric platform, and to better represent this expanded scope, changed its name to the Broadband Forum in 2008.

Earlier in 2005, the Forum launched the BroadbandSuite™, which grouped the technical work into solution sets, covering not only transport but network management and digital home support. The current BroadbandSuite highlights the three main solution sets of the Broadband Forum: Network, Management and User oriented specifications.

Some of the key Network specifications to date are global test suites for ADSL, SHDSL and ADSL2/2plus. The VDSL2 performance/functional test suite should be complete by year end 2009. These along with bonding will provide a complete portfolio of DSL technologies and new work is looking at PON, EPON and end-to-end Ethernet standards. Work addressing energy efficiency test plans will assist the industry in establishing measurable adherence to global energy reduction commitments. Finally, new work around Core and backhaul enhancements will ensure effective broadband convergence.

Management work includes specifications for network management, policy control and OSS. Some of the key areas that have been addressed are protocol independent management models, broadband troubleshooting best practices, ADSL2plus profiles, Layer 2 control mechanisms and current work around developing the policy control framework for fixed line operators.

In the User related work, establishing the remote management protocol of the digital home (TR-069 family of technical reports) was a major milestone as it was access agnostic, and is now broadly referenced by other organizations as the de-facto standard protocol for global remote management. Adding Object Models for new device types as they emerged has empowered service providers to effectively provision and maintain the host of new applications and devices that come online. Current work moves beyond the home to address business service/device management as well as fixed mobile convergence requirements including Femtocell AP.



IP/MPLS Forum History

Prior to uniting with the Broadband Forum, the IP/MPLS Forum had a long parallel history of industry leadership. The IP/MPLS Forum started initially as three distinct forums and grew out of the evolution of IP transport technology.

The ATM Forum started in 1991, and they were focused on developing the solution set for ATM provisioning, management, and applications. Key deliverables from this period were the 1996 Anchorage Accord, and more than 200 specifications, many of which are still referenced today.

Frame Relay Forum also commenced in 1991 and until recently, provided the most chosen solution for wide-area packet transport, evolving from X.25 and serving primarily the business market with PVC options.

Finally the MPLS Forum, begun in 2000, focused on Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS), a protocol that synthesizes the best of the earlier connection-oriented model with packet-based IP. The key development from this organization was the development of global standard implementation agreements, industry-wide educational programs, and multi-vendor interoperability testing.

In 2003, the MPLS Forum and Frame Relay Forum merged to create the MPLS and Frame Relay Alliance. They were known for strong interoperability initiatives and driving multi-service implementation agreements.

In 2005, the ATM Forum and the Alliance merged to form the MFA Forum, which was later re-named to IP/MPLS Forum to bring greater clarity regarding its work. Their goal was to migrate Service Providers and their customers from legacy transport options to advanced implementations of IP/packet based technologies in the global arena. Major accomplishments included:

• 10+ major specifications developed
• MPLS Inter-Carrier Interconnect specifications
• MPLS Mobile Backhaul Initiative (MMBI) and
• MPLS Certification and Interoperability Programs

In 2008, the IP/MPLS Forum Board conducted its annual analysis of the long term evolution of the networking industry. They found that their MPLS solutions were well aligned with the work and mission of a variety of global organizations who would benefit greatly from the IP/MPLS Forum expertise. To best serve the industry, the IP/MPLS Forum determined to follow technology convergence and to look to unite with another organization that had a similar vision of the future and the activities required to continue to drive the global success of MPLS. In that search, various organizations shared similar goals, scope or membership but there was one that stood out as the strongest candidate - the Broadband Forum.

In May 2009, the two Forums united, and are focused on driving the evolution to next generation IP networks and empowering fixed mobile convergence evolution. With the Broadband Forum's focus spanning from broadband network to digital home management, their work complements the work of the IP/MPLS Forum, which primarily addresses the core and access aggregation. Expanding the Broadband Forum's objectives to encompass the next phase of IP/MPLS Forum work will ensure seamless broadband network optimization and convergence for the industry.

How We Work

Best practices for auto-configuration, flow-through provisioning, equipment interoperability and other key facilitators of scalable, global, mass-market deployment of broadband, are developed through a contribution based system and fast-tracked based on service provider and industry market priorities.

A Service Provider Action Council (SPAC) provides an opportunity at each meeting for the providers to meet separately and discuss best practices, issues and opportunities as well as to come together as a collective voice to identify the top initiatives for each year. With this input, the Broadband Forum stays aligned with real world requirements and the Technical Reports (TRs) that are released, have immediate application.

Each member company contributes to the work of the Forum by participating in technical and marketing working groups, sharing their knowledge, experience and expertise to create common, agreed protocols, processes and best practice recommendations for use by the industry and for standards and other related industry bodies.

This work takes place at quarterly, week-long meetings and through the continuous activity of working groups.

Technical Working Groups	Marketing Working Groups
BroadbandHome	Strategic Communications
End to End Architecture	Summit and Best Practices
Fiber Access Network	Ambassador Speaking Program
IP/MPLS & Core	Global Membership Development
Metallic Transmission	Marketing Reports & MRDs
Operations & Network Management

Through its marketing activities - an extensive, continuous global public and industry education campaign, the Broadband Forum also ensures a growing international understanding of the benefits of broadband.

In meeting its core objectives, the Broadband Forum continues to establish essential and proven processes for broadband delivery that accelerate the delivery of broadband to the mass market and optimizes the quality of service and experience to the customer.

Technical Reports (TRs), Marketing Reports (MRs) and past IP/MPLS specifications are all available for use throughout the global industry and are available free from our website at http://www.broadband-forum.org/technical/trlist.php.

For a more in-depth look at the technology factors driving the evolution of the earlier Broadband Forum, check out the Presidents' Reflection Essay, contributed to by the first four presidents of the Broadband Forum.