TM Forum, CableLabs push industries' sharing

One area that links into our more general supplier conformance certification work is the extensive conformance and end-to-end interoperability testing that CableLabs already does for its members. TM Forum could partner in some sort of program to test all the way from the hardware side to management software.

But in order to get there, we still have a lot of work to do. We have activities underway to ensure our Business Process Framework (eTOM) is optimized for cable. Even though eTOM has always been an independent standard that isn‘t linked to any particular technology or solution type, it has its roots in the telecom business. Cable may have similar needs to traditional telecom, but because the two industries use very different taxonomies, we’re continuing to evolve eTOM -- and our entire Frameworx standard -- to meet the needs of any service provider.

TM Forum has a whole cable initiative, and we’ve brought a number of key MSOs on board as members, including Cox, Charter Communications, Rogers Communications, Time Warner Cable, UPC, British Sky Broadcasting, Com Hem, CableVision Argentina and others. But the work, as they say, is never done. We’d like to bring on more MSO members from beyond the Americas and Europe and really bring our expertise to the cable industry. In return, we’d like to learn from operators and suppliers that are on the cutting edge of content delivery and innovation.