Siemens enhances broadband CPE play

CHICAGO--

Siemens Subscriber Networks today announced a new software package that automates several elements of the broadband lifecycle.

The company’s Broadband Plus! is the first of what should be about a half dozen similar announcements this week from DSL customer premises vendors incorporating the DSL Forum’s new device management specification known as TR 69. Broadband Plus, however, incorporates both Siemens’ SpeedStream Residential Gateway and tango Subscriber Manager.

“We’re announcing our approach going from being focused on the [broadband] land grab to being able to offering more intelligent devices at the end of the network,” said Patrick Fitzgerald, vice president of marketing for Siemens Subscriber Networks.

The residential gateway, which already been part of the Siemens product line, now will come included with support for 802.11g wireless networking. Additionally, it will include significantly more intelligence than previous generous, geared to streamlining operations for carriers. “The key is focusing in on the cost model and make sure a service provider can make this a standard product for deployment,” said Fitzgerald. “If you look at the data as it relates to wired and wireless gear being sold, we’re just at the tipping point for wireless.”

On the carrier side, tango includes both a policy-based management piece that maintains a database of subscriber-specific attributes and their related devices and a delivery manager piece that allows real-time, on-demand service delivery to subscribers from a carrier portal.

“One of the things you need to have on the table is the ability to tie into the portals,” Fitzgerald said. “One of the other things that’s needed is simple data services like virus protection, the ability to manage peer to peer networking. But when video becomes prime time, our back-end service software will be in position to support it.”

Additionally, with the new launch Siemens is opening up support to third-party vendors that it will be using to imbed into the residential gateway. One of the first goals is completing the suite to be able to ship product directly from Siemens to end user with no intervention from carriers.

“We believe over the next year a significant market opportunity exists to get to a no-touch model,” Fitzgerald said.