CableLabs has completed a pilot with Zoom to validate a new Quality by Design framework intended to help broadband networks and applications work together in real time to improve the user experience.
The organisations said the QbD framework allows the exchange of live performance metrics including latency, jitter and packet loss, giving operators a more detailed view of how services are performing and enabling automatic adjustments to improve quality.
CableLabs said the project reflects a wider shift in the industry away from a pure focus on network speed towards the overall quality of experience delivered to end users.
Shafi Khan, principal in the Future Infrastructure Group at CableLabs, said the collaboration helps close the gap between network performance and real-world application behaviour across homes, offices, Wi-Fi and fixed access networks. “To truly understand user experience, we need visibility into how applications actually perform across real-world environments, from homes to offices, over Wi-Fi and access networks. This collaboration bridges the gap between networks and applications, giving us the insight needed to develop technical best practices and implementation guidance that show how those applications perform so broadband operators can make more informed decisions.”
Through the work with CableLabs, Zoom developed its Client as a Sensor capability, introduced in Zoom version 6.1.0. The feature allows Zoom application performance data to be fed into the QbD framework so operators can better understand how the service is performing and respond in real time.
“CableLabs’ QbD framework plays an important role in creating a high-quality collaboration experience for our customers while helping operators better understand application requirements and optimize their network to provide the best performance,” said Pat Jensen, distinguished architect at Zoom.
CableLabs said the next phase of the project will involve Meta, extending the framework to applications that are unable to share real-time telemetry directly. In those cases, the system will rely on network monitoring and scoring methods to assess performance while preserving user privacy.
The initiative forms part of CableLabs’ wider work on context-aware networks, which combine real-time telemetry with agentic AI to create systems that can diagnose issues and adapt automatically.
CableLabs said it is now inviting operators, application partners and technology vendors to take part in the next stage of interoperability testing and development.
