Nokia Corteca first to introduce open standards for WiFi management

• Nokia Corteca software suite now fully supports prpl lifecycle management (prpl LCM), helping operators to monetize value-added applications in the broadband home.
• Corteca uses open standards such as prpl, OCI, and Broadband Forum’s TR-369 protocol, fostering a multi-vendor, open ecosystem for seamless interoperability.
• Nokia is the first to commercially deploy TR-369 Wi-Fi management with Singtel.

Espoo, Finland – Nokia today announced significant enhancements to its Corteca software suite, making it the industry’s first platform to adopt open standards and protocols for both home networking and application lifecycle management. The Corteca Home Controller now supports prpl LCM, the Open Container Initiative (OCI), and the TR-369 User Services Platform (USP) protocol, giving operators a vendor-agnostic solution that simplifies the management of in-home broadband gateways, Wi-Fi connectivity, and applications.

Nokia’s platform standardizes the management and interoperability of applications installed on broadband devices. The Corteca Developer Toolkit enables 3^rd party software providers or CSPs themselves to create applications based on prpl LCM. By using TR-369 and OCI, Corteca allows operators to take a consistent, standardized approach to install, uninstall, or update any of the applications it delivers to customers. Leveraging open standards unlocks the CSP from vendor lock-in, enables new monetization opportunities, and helps the industry create better in-home experiences for the end-user.

Built on open standards, Corteca provides operators with a highly efficient cloud platform for managing broadband devices, in-home Wi-Fi connectivity, and the applications running on those devices. With the Home Controller, operators can deliver a managed Wi-Fi service across a multi-vendor environment that improves the overall in-home Wi-Fi experience for its subscribers. Nokia offers a B2B marketplace for operators to select the applications they want to deploy with a growing catalog of partners spanning various use cases, such as cybersecurity, online gaming, diagnostics, work-from-home, and many more!

Alzbeta Fellenbaum, Principal Analyst, Broadband & Bundling at Omdia, said: “With the increasing need for CSPs to be able to differentiate and compete beyond their traditional broadband connectivity services, the ability to offer a wide variety of value-added services and applications has become essential. Using open standards protocols such as prpl LCM, OCI or TR-369 that enable open APIs, allows CSPs to drive down cost, increase their competitiveness, and explore new monetization opportunities. The open approach benefits both CSPs and consumers. While CSPs gain the flexibility and speed to innovate and optimize service delivery, consumers experience improved performance, security, and personalization.”

Tom Gaffney, Director of embedded security at F-Secure, said: “Our history of providing cybersecurity solutions to CSPs spans many years and during that time, we’ve had to adapt and innovate to keep up with the changing industry landscape. Partnering with Nokia on containerized applications has been a win-win. We are both aligned to the same open standards, and using the Corteca Developer Toolkit reduces the time and effort needed to bring our software to broadband devices and connected homes globally.”

About the standards and protocols

• The prpl Life Cycle Management (prpl LCM) is open-source, platform-independent software that leverages common high-level application programming interfaces (API), giving service providers an ideal platform to manage value-added applications. Prpl LCM is an open-source project that works with open industry standards, such as the Open Container Initiative (OCI) and the Broadband Forum TR-369.
• TR-369, also known as User Services Platform (USP), is a Broadband Forum standard that provides a unified platform for managing connected devices, Wi-Fi, and applications in the home. It enables service providers to deliver consistent and reliable management across a variety of devices and services, ensuring interoperability and reducing operational complexities.
• The Open Container Initiative (OCI) is an open governance structure for the express purpose of creating open industry standards around container formats and runtimes.
• Corteca complies with World Broadband Alliance (WBA) Operator Managed WiFi reference architecture v1. The framework combines multiple available standards to streamline Wi-Fi data collection, Wi-Fi management, configuration, and optimization of home networks, simplifying the analysis and decision-making process for carriers.