A new standardised software solution for broadband gateways has been made available by the RDK consortium.
RDK-B (broadband) has already been picked up by SoC and CPE suppliers, and is now making its way onto software roadmaps of operators around the globe.
“It’s well known that our X1 set-tops rely on the RDK-V software solution,” said Sree Kotay, Executive Vice President and Chief Software Architect, Comcast Cable. “What is less known is just how far we have come with RDK-B over the past year. We already have the RDK-B software solution enabled in broadband gateways in subscribers’ homes today, and RDK-B will serve as the underlying software on our broadband devices going forward.”
RDK-B provides common methods to manage complex broadband functions such as home-networking interfaces, including Wi-Fi and Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA), wide area networking, local area networking, device management and diagnostics, smart home / IoT (Bluetooth, Thread, Zigbee) and video service (multicast video). Both software solutions are available at no cost to RDK licensees in an open source manner, and RDK community member companies can contribute software changes and enhancements to either RDK stack.
Already 15 million devices are running RDK designs, principally in subscriber homes held by partners Liberty Global, Cox Communications, and Comcast.
“Liberty Global has deployed an RDK-V solution to power our Horizon service, and those deployments continue to scale across our global footprint,” said Bill Warga, Vice President of Technology at Liberty Global. “We also recognized that broadband devices, similar to STBs, would greatly benefit from having more software commonality, standardization, and openness. We are very strong proponents of RDK-B, and we look forward to working with the RDK community to drive its adoption even further.”
The open RDK software solution enables TV and Internet service providers to standardize certain elements of customer-premises equipment and also to easily customize the applications and user experiences that sit on top.
