The ability to see deeper into the consumer's home network to identify problems is imperative as service providers strive to improve quality of service.
To help achieve this, the DSL Forum has approved Technical Report 143 (TR-143) Network Service Provider initiated throughput performance testing. TR-143 was developed by the Forum's BroadbandHome Technical Working Group and defines Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) throughput performance test mechanisms using the framework established in the Forum's existing CPE WAN Management Protocol (CWMP), TR-069.
It works by placing an agent into the home gateway router, so service providers can gather more data, troubleshoot remotely, and test continuity, performance and response times.
As faults are identified and resolved remotely, despatching a man in a van should become less common, saving service providers time and money. Also, monitoring performance and continuity data can mean that problems are detected before customers are affected, thereby improving customer satisfaction and decreasing the number of calls made to service providers' call centres.
George Dobrowski, President and Chairman of the DSL Forum, commented, 'By managing the home network remotely and having the ability to capture more robust data, service providers will better meet the quality of experience expectations of their consumers.'