Introduction

USP (TR-369) is the evolution of the TR-069 standard, providing superior network performance, security, virtualized applications, and device scaling in multi-vendor, IoT-ready connected home environments.

The User Services Platform is a standardized protocol for managing, monitoring, upgrading, and controlling connected devices. USP allows service providers, consumer electronics manufacturers, and end users to:

• Create interoperable and vendor-independent managed Wi-Fi systems.

• Perform lifecycle management of consumer connected devices and containerized microservices.

• Support independent applications for application-enabled services gateways.

• Enable IoT and consumer electronics upgradability for critical security patches.

• Develop applications that gather the telemetry necessary to mass data processing, AI, and machine learning.

• Bootstrap and configure newly installed or purchased devices and applications.

• Let customer support monitor and troubleshoot connected devices, services, and home network links.

• Easily map the home network to control service quality and monitor threats.

• Securely control IoT, smart home, and smart networking functions locally or from the Cloud.

• Enable multi-tenant (i.e., multi-stakeholder) management and control.

USP represents the natural evolution of the Broadband Forum’s CPE WAN Management Protocol (CWMP), commonly known as TR-069. It uses an expanded version of the Device:2 Data Model to represent device operations (firmware upgrades, reboots, etc.), network interfaces, and service functions (IoT functions, VoIP, etc.).

CWMP Evolution to USP

The advent of the Internet of Things brings countless opportunities and challenges for service providers, with over a billion devices across the globe today making use of TR-069, what is the future of the protocol and what can we expect ahead?

The CWMP (CPE Wan Management Protocol), better known as TR-069, opened many doors for the ecosystem of providers, through which it is possible to deliver services with agility, which meet or exceed customer expectations, with proactive management and secure network, also bearing in mind the lower cost and greater efficiency for service providers.

With the rise of what we now call the smart home, the Internet of Things and the demand for increasingly interconnected and cloud-based environments, new demands and obstacles have emerged, opening the door to the creation of a new form of communication that meets the needs of current market needs.

There is a fierce race to monetize the IoT devices that are now part of the connected home and other environments. As a result, many companies are creating their own proprietary solutions; this is understandable given such pressure generated by the promise of Smart Home monetization. Unfortunately, these applications contribute to a poor ecosystem, where a provider ends up dependent and limited to a vertical solution, from a single vendor. This generates a low competition environment (which leads to greater risks), less innovation, and the potential for very high cost solutions.

The technologies behind Wi-Fi, device-to-device connectivity, the Smart Home and IoTs are constantly evolving and improving. It is important that when service providers look for a solution, they look for something that is "future proof", always thinking ahead.

Seeking to solve the challenges mentioned above, providers and manufacturers together developed the USP (User Services Platform), defined by the Broadband Forum's TR-369 standard, which is the natural evolution of the TR-069. This new standard is designed to be flexible, secure, scalable and standardized to meet the demands of a connected world today, and in the future.