According to the Fiber Broadband Association, fiber deployment is reaching unprecedented heights. Investments by both private equity and government programs, such as the Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program in the U.S., the Connecting Europe Broadband Fund (CEBF), and Canada's Universal Broadband Fund, to name a few, are pushing more fiber-optic cable into residential homes and multi-dwelling units (MDUs). MDUs, in particular, represent a significant and largely untapped market due to deployment barriers, as much as 25% of the addressable American market, while across Europe that number is closer to 40%. The opportunity to connect both residents as well as the small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) that often operate in MDUs presents a significant revenue opportunity for service providers.
However, a diverse and complex device landscape complicates the fiber market opportunity. Legacy routers and modems are still operating in many homes, rental units, and businesses. Many of these devices don't support the protocols that will allow them to be easily integrated into a service provider's managed network. At the same time, in both homes and MDUs, new IoT devices are playing an increasingly larger role. Smart devices, such as refrigerators, washing machines, doorbell cameras, and more, as well as a variety of sensors, security systems, and point-of-sale machines and guest Wi-Fi for retailers, are becoming increasingly integral to daily life and work.
With $42.5 billion in BEAD funding available to support fiber rollouts in the U.S., €600 million for the CEBF, and $3.225 billion for the Canadian fund, competition for new customers and revenue streams will be fierce. But the opportunity fiber rollouts presents only exists if service providers can effectively integrate both legacy and new devices into their networks, as well as manage and orchestrate the data traffic they all generate efficiently. The ability to easily, rapidly, and flexibly integrate all devices to extend access and monetize fiber assets will allow service providers to protect existing customer bases, tap new revenue streams, and increase average revenue per user (ARPU) with new services.
Customers Expect High Performance, Requiring Seamless Interoperability
Fiber access offers high bandwidth, low latency, and extreme reliability. As more residential homes and MDUs get fiber connections, residents and businesses in those buildings will expect to reap the promised benefits. Existing and potential customers will assume that once their building has access to fiber that all their devices will start to operate much more efficiently.
But if customers rely on legacy devices that don't support modern protocols, delivering the promise fiber offers may not be possible. And if service providers are unable to bridge the gap between customer expectations and reality, they risk leaving devices behind and alienating both their existing and potential customer base. Even if the problem is with the device itself, such as poor Wi-Fi performance, inability to support new services, or security risks, most customers will assume it's the service provider's fault, even though the internet connection itself might be fully operational. Subscribers may leave or service providers may need to pay to replace legacy devices to bring them onboard. Far from fiber being an opportunity for revenue growth, it can then become a financial and customer churn risk.
Conversely, IoT device proliferation represents untapped potential for service providers. Many of these devices are commercial-grade, with advanced apps and software stacks behind them that are designed to take advantage of advanced communication protocols. If service providers can integrate these devices into their management and orchestration processes, they can offer a more holistic, unified subscriber experience, that also marries consumer electronics, to further tap the connected home and connected business.
Enable Monetization with a Unified Infrastructure
To efficiently scale operations and leave no device behind, service providers need an OSS solution that can deliver the quality of experience (QoE) consumers and businesses expect from a fiber connection. That solution must be able to manage all legacy and next-gen devices in homes and MDUs, regardless of the technology. A unified device management infrastructure delivers this, providing a consistent, high-quality experience for all fixed broadband customers, regardless of the access technology in the home or business.
A device management solution capable of supporting all devices should be built on a TR-369 protocol-based infrastructure that allows older devices to communicate using modern protocols. This enables service providers to seamlessly manage all devices, deliver a consistent end-user experience, and future-proof services as new technologies continue to roll out across the network.
The ability to rapidly launch value-added services (VASs), especially high-ARPU services like network security, application-based prioritization, and parental controls, across a diverse range of devices without hardware swaps will be a significant competitive advantage. With a TR-369 protocol-based infrastructure, operators can rapidly deploy VAS applications into containers on TR-369 residential gateways/CPEs/Wi-Fi routers and set-top boxes in connected homes.
In a multi-vendor environment with a variety of devices available and deployed, the BBF.247 standard provides the fiber ONU/ONT interoperability service providers need to enable seamless integration of all devices and support new customers as they connect to the passive optical network (PON). On-premises, carrier-grade Wi-Fi (BBF.398) ensures high-speed, secure, and reliable connectivity in homes and businesses, even in dense MDU environments.
Finally, as fiber rollouts increase in scale, network operations will become more complex and difficult to manage. Network and OSS automation simplifies integration of all devices and eliminates the friction associated with deployment and delivery of new, revenue-generating services.
Exceed Customer Expectations with a Fully Integrated Solution
The potential of a fully integrated, no-device-left-behind approach that enables service providers to fully monetize their fiber rollouts has been showcased in a new industry project. Incognito and technology partners Vecima, Inango, Harmonic, F-Secure, Hitron, Sercomm, and KAON BROADBAND demonstrate OSS service and network automation in fiber interoperability in homes and MDUs. This project showcases how next-gen and legacy devices can coexist, enabling operators to maximize their FTTx investments. The Fiber Broadband Association awarded Incognito's solution the Most Innovative Proof of Concept (PoC) Award at Fiber Connect 2025, demonstrating the power of service and network automation to maximize the value of fiber investments. As part of the award-winning project, Incognito's solutions offer the combination of capabilities service providers need to effectively monetize the expanding opportunity in fiber-based connectivity.
The project also includes Incognito's Broadband Command Center (BCC) as the industry's leading independent provisioning solution offering automated end-to-end device provisioning and management for fiber and cable networks, increased network security, and centralized DHCP in a single platform.
Additionally, the project leverages Incognito's Service Activation Center (SAC), reducing the time and cost for orchestrating and activating services with a modular, productized, cloud-ready software platform. This multi-network solution can be deployed and operational in weeks, automating service activation and provisioning processes across multiple access domains, including fiber, mobile, cable, and Metro Ethernet.
Last but not least in the project, Incognito's Digital Experience (DX) Solution leverages an award-winning TR-069 Auto Configuration Server, which features TR-369 User Services Platform support. This equips service providers with a unified, secure platform to remotely manage in-home networks and devices, resolve connectivity issues, cut down on operational support costs, and launch innovative high-ARPU services.
With Incognito OSS solutions, service providers can ensure they leave no device or revenue stream behind as they tackle the challenge of integrating legacy and IoT devices into new fiber network rollouts. They can deliver new services to existing customers, reduce churn while expanding into new markets, and increase ARPU across the board.
Contact our team to learn more about Incognito's no-device-left-behind approach.
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