Netopia's Broadband eService Technology (BeST) server-based software promises to centrally manage installed broadband gateways and help service providers support customers over any type of Internet connection.

by Wayne Kawamoto [June 12, 2002]

Netopia, a provider of broadband gateways and service delivery software, announced its Broadband eService Technology (BeST) platform. BeST, a server-based software solution, promises to help broadband service providers remotely support and centrally manage installed broadband gateways and enable real-time customer support over any type of Internet connection.

The company says that through proactive gateway management and enhanced interactive customer assistance, broadband service providers will be able to remotely install broadband and administer it, improve call resolution rates, reduce customer support call time, enhance quality of service, and increase customer satisfaction.

For broadband customer support organizations, Netopia claims that its BeST platform offers "over-the-network" access to a customer's gateway and PC with diagnostic tools for remote troubleshooting. BeST is designed to improve help desk call resolution rates by allowing support teams to move from problem, to diagnosis and resolution. With a click of a button, customer support agents should be able to access a customer's remote gateway to view and modify configuration tables, update or upgrade firmware, analyze historical changes, and compare and restore settings to known "working state" conditions.

To resolve PC-based problems, BeST is designed to allow support agents to access a customer's desktop, remotely view and control the PC, chat, push files, install software, and modify operating system and application preferences and settings.

For network operations centers (NOC), BeST is designed to let administrators manage installed gateways by network, location, or type, on an aggregate basis through IP, SNMP, or customer data. By centralizing the management of all gateways connected to the broadband network, BeST is designed to reduce the time needed to effect network-wide changes, allowing NOCs to better control their environment and quickly respond to connectivity issues.

According to the company, its BeST platform allows NOC administrators to make sweeping configuration modifications and network-wide firmware updates and upgrades and also to filter views of installed gateways to deliver preemptive fixes. All actions may be scheduled or triggered by network events. Enterprise-class database support should provide scalable management, filtered searches, and centralized access to networking and gateway information.

BeST is the next generation of Netopia's service delivery platform and incorporates technology from Netopia's PC and gateway management software, such as Timbuktu, netOctopusm and eCare. BeST is Web-enabled and uses technologies that include Java Servlets and Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE) server technology, XML, enterprise-class database connectivity, and fine-grained role-based security.

BeST is also designed to be open and extensible and leverage various APIs, integrate into legacy systems with minimal effort, and scale with broadband needs.

According to the company, its BeST platform provides the following capabilities:

Broadband management tools
BeST is designed to enable broadband service providers to view, modify and change configuration tables, update and upgrade firmware and perform historical analysis. The BeST platform may offer "over-the-network" access to configuration data and diagnostic tools for remote troubleshooting as well as thin client technology to view, access, and operate the broadband subscribers desktop.

Standards-based extensibility
BeST is designed to manage Netopia's line of broadband gateways and "smart" modems, including Netopia's new Cayman family of smart gateways, as well as a variety of third party broadband gateway devices.

Easy integration
BeST should integrate into existing management systems and may be custom integrated into specific applications. Also, Netopia's Professional Services Organization may assist broadband service providers with integration into CRM and OSS applications.

Policy controlled access
User authentication should enable permission-based views and access to BeST features from a standard browser.

Value-added broadband service delivery
BeST may be used to deliver value-added services through installed gateways. By using software feature key technology, when supported, or automated firmware upgrades, service providers should be able to increase their average revenue per user (ARPU) by provisioning high-value broadband services.

"Netopia's new BeST platform enables true, remote gateway administration," said John Stephens, vice president Broadband Services, Netopia. "With the power to discover and manage remote gateways from a unified platform, BeST simplifies, speeds, and reduces the cost of broadband management. In addition to reducing the cost of provisioning broadband. We are confident BeST will become the foundation from which broadband service providers automate the deployment of valuable, new services which will translate into recurring revenue opportunities."

"Netopia is dramatically improving the broadband value proposition for service providers and their customers," said, Alan Lefkof, president and CEO, Netopia. "With the advent of smart modem technology, the limited functionality, high support costs, and lack of up-sell opportunities of traditional DSL modems, or 'dumb' modems, is no longer tenable. 'Dumb' modems are quickly falling into obsolescence with broadband service providers opting for intelligent routers that are low-cost, self-installable, upgradeable, secure, and manageable. BeST is a robust platform from which service providers can support and manage this new class of gateways."

Availability and pricing
BeST is available immediately on a fully licensed basis, or as a managed service hosted by Netopia.

Fully hosted, the modules range between $.30 and $1.00 per user.

Additionally, Netopia offers a field trial program to evaluate the benefits of BeST and measure the effective return on investment.

—End