TIP, CableLabs advance on 'OpenWiFi'

CableLabs said it has validated the interoperability of new hardware and software for broadband operators that runs the Telecom Infra Project's enterprise-focused OpenWiFi open source architecture.

Jeff Baumgartner, Senior Editor

June 27, 2023

3 Min Read
TIP, CableLabs advance on 'OpenWiFi'
(Source: Rosmi Duaso/Alamy Stock Photo)

Backed by "refreshed" testing facilities, CableLabs said it has validated a new generation of hardware and software for OpenWiFi, an open-source platform from the Telecom Infra Project (TIP) that aims to deliver interoperable systems for operator-managed Wi-Fi systems.

Initially focused on managed Wi-Fi enterprise deployments and venues such as multiple dwelling-units (MDUs) hotels and airports, OpenWiFi's software stack stems from OpenWrt. With OpenWiFi, TIP has made that stack "more reliable and less buggy" while adding enterprise features, such as QoS, and the inclusion of a cloud-based controller, Jack Raynor, co-chair of the OpenWiFi program group at TIP, explained.

The set of primary components of OpenWiFi include firmware that runs on the access point (AP), a cloud controller software development kit to manage the APs, and a power-over-Ethernet switch that can be managed by the same control plane.

Companies that participated in this interoperability testing wave included a handful of hardware suppliers (ActionTec, EdgeCore, HFCL, Indio Networks and Lindsay Broadband) along with cloud controllers from HFCL, NetExperience, Wavespot and Indio Networks.

Raynor said a big focus of OpenWiFi is on the value of hardware and software disaggregation and the ability to mix and match products and to avoid proprietary platforms and vendor lock-in. Disaggregation of those elements gives big service providers flexibility and drops costs for smaller operators interested in getting into managed Wi-Fi, he added.

Though OpenWiFi is enterprise-focused today, residential use cases are also generating interest, Raynor said. In fact, TIP, he added, is close to announcing a residential sub-group. If OpenWiFi heads into residential waters, it could end up as an alternative to other platforms such as RDK-B, an open-source platform managed by a joint venture of Charter Communications, Liberty Global and Comcast, which happens to be a member of TIP OpenWiFi.

The recent wave of testing activities came together after CableLabs was asked to refresh and recommission the interoperability lab. The new lab ran the latest validation tests on the 2.9 version of OpenWiFi.

The testing lab refresh at CableLabs follows the use of an initial layout using the 1.0 version of OpenWiFi, Josh Redmore, principal architect at CableLabs, explained. Guidance on how to proceed with new versions prompted a start-over and the recommissioning of the lab, he explained.

Among next steps, CableLabs has received interest from cable operator members to test a wider range of devices, including strand-mounted access points, Redmore said.

Shift to uCentral

That shift also entered the picture after OpenWiFi moved on from its prior use of the OpenSync protocol. More than a year ago it pivoted from OpenSync to uCentral, the native data modeling in OpenWrt that provides a lighter-weight and more cost-effective option for OpenWiFi, Raynor noted.

"We decided amongst the community members that [OpenSync] wasn't the ideal technology for us," Raynor said. "It [the shift to uCentral] lets us be lighter, flexible and to deploy lower-cost hardware, and in more places."

Small but wide adoption

From an operator adoption standpoint, the OpenWiFi market is still relatively small. Raynor estimates that about 50,000 access points running the 2.x stack have been deployed.

"I think we're on a very good track" about a year and a half into the project, he said. Examples of service providers around the globe that have adopted it include Boingo (US), Spectra (India), Multinet (Pakistan), ThinkWiFi and Mawingu (Kenya) and Virgin Media (a trial in Dublin).

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— Jeff Baumgartner, Senior Editor, Light Reading

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About the Author

Jeff Baumgartner

Senior Editor, Light Reading

Jeff Baumgartner is a Senior Editor for Light Reading and is responsible for the day-to-day news coverage and analysis of the cable and video sectors. Follow him on X and LinkedIn.

Baumgartner also served as Site Editor for Light Reading Cable from 2007-2013. In between his two stints at Light Reading, he led tech coverage for Multichannel News and was a regular contributor to Broadcasting + Cable. Baumgartner was named to the 2018 class of the Cable TV Pioneers.

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