Residential gateways and set-tops to drive TR-069 growth, says Ovum

Rob Gallagher

The number of residential gateways, TV set-top boxes and other consumer premises equipment in use that support the Broadband Forum’s TR-069 standard will reach 356 million in 2016, as a growing number of service providers embrace the management protocol to support demand for ultrafast-broadband and smart-home services, according to research by Ovum. 

Residential gateways will account for the majority of TR-069-enabled CPE, rising from just under 200 million at the end of 2014 to 255 million at the end of 2016. During this period, the percentage of fixed-broadband connections equipped with a TR-069-enabled residential gateway will increase from 26% to 30%. TV set-top boxes will be the second-largest category, rising from 46 million at the end of 2014 to 69 million at the end of 2016.

Ovum estimates that there were 269 million TR-069-enabled devices by end-2014, an increase on a projection of 250 million made by the firm as part of a 2012 study commissioned by the Broadband Forum.

TR-069 defines a common communication protocol that enables service providers to remotely configure devices, enable end-to-end delivery of new services, and manage and support them.

Ovum’s forecast was commissioned by the Broadband Forum standards body responsible for TR-069 as part of a project that saw Ovum survey over 250 global industry executives, including over 100 in senior roles at broadband service providers, about their use of TR-069 and plans for the smart home.

“Our survey shows that service providers are already deriving significant value from TR-069, with over six out of ten reporting benefits such as simplified service delivery, faster fault resolution and lower installation costs,” said Rob Gallagher, Ovum research director.

“Adoption of TR-069 will accelerate as a growing number of DSL, fiber and cable service providers alike bake technology into their ultrafast-broadband, multiplay bundling and smart-home strategies. With the number of connected devices and applications set to grow, they see a clear need to better visualise, support and control activity on the home network, with eight out of ten stating that TR-069 will play a significant role in their smart-home strategies.”