RDK Management, an organization now led by Jason Briggs following the recent departure of Steve Heeb, hits device deployment milestone as Google continues to drive service provider scale with Android TV.
The Reference Design Kit, an open source software platform for video set-tops, broadband gateways and even some IoT devices, has eclipsed 80 million device deployments worldwide, RDK Management announced Wednesday.
That total is up by about 20 million from the 60 million RDK devices announced roughly a year ago. RDK supports both video consumer premises equipment (via RDK-V) and broadband devices (with RDK-B), including DOCSIS, DSL and GPON gateways, reflecting a trend toward blended networks and the use of multiple access technologies.
RDK has also been adapted to support multiple IoT interfaces, including Bluetooth, Thread and Zigbee, and devices such as connected cameras. The organization said RDK now covers a tech ecosystem of more than 500 companies, up from 430 a year ago, that includes a mix of CE manufacturers, chipmakers, software developers, system integrators and service providers.
Figure 1: Liberty Global's new 4K-capable Mini TV Box is a streaming device underpinned by Reference Design Kit software.
(Image source: Liberty Global)
The biggest group of RDK deployment totals from cable operators and telcos across North America, Europe, Latin America and Asia are from Comcast and Liberty Global, two of the three operators that back the RDK Management joint venture. Charter Communications has the third highest RDK deployment total, a position it inherited via its 2016 acquisition of Time Warner Cable; Charter has not embraced RDK.
RDK Management said more than 30 service providers have deployed RDK. The full slate of operators weren't listed, but those known to be on the list include Comcast; Liberty Global; Cox Communications; J:COM (Japan); Megacable (Mexico); Melita (Malta); MEO, NOWO and NOS (Portugal); PYUR (Germany); Rogers Communications, Shaw Communications and Vidéotron, (Canada); SFR (part of Altice Europe); Vodafone; VTR (Chile); and Ziggo (the Netherlands).
RDK is also expanding its presence amid a wave of platform competition that is also attempting to scale up with service providers. Google has made significant progress on the video side with Android TV as Amazon tries to jump in with a relatively new version of Fire TV that's optimized for cable operators. Technicolor, alone, recently announced it had surpassed the shipment of 10 million Android TV devices.
Change up top
RDK Management confirmed that Steve Heeb, the president and GM of the organization since the fall of 2013, recently left to pursue other opportunities. Jason Briggs, who has served on RDK's senior management team since its inception, is now leading the organization as executive director.
"With more than 80 million device deployments, RDK adoption continues to accelerate and serve as the foundational software platform for service providers across their various OEMs and network topologies for video, broadband and IoT devices," Briggs said in a statement.
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— Jeff Baumgartner, Senior Editor, Light Reading
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