JERSEY CITY, N.J.—OpenVault is reporting that Vantage PNM, its AI-powered proactive network maintenance solution, is helping broadband providers reduce mean time to repair (MTTR) and is delivering quantifiable results that strengthen operators’ bottom lines.

Vantage PNM, a cornerstone of OpenVault’s Vantage suite, uses AI to transform telemetry into actionable intelligence that empowers operations and customer-facing personnel to detect and repair imminent and emergent network issues. The result is more resilient networks, reduced costs and superior broadband Quality of Experience that can reduce churn by improving reliability and issue resolution, OpenVault reported.

“AI’s ability to bring machine speed to customer service representatives, field techs and operations teams is elevating their efficiency and effectiveness,” said Mark Trudeau, CEO and founder of OpenVault. “Early adopters of Vantage PNM are learning that it delivers immediate and recognizable impact to their churn rates and their bottom lines.”

Vantage PNM’s AI capabilities are already in trials or deployments at North American operators. AI Helpdesk responds to conversational questions from operator users with instant evaluations of device connectivity, correlated impairments within the same node, and recommended next steps. AI Smart Button opens an Insight Panel with one click, providing easy-to-follow resolution guidance based on analysis of RF impairments and detected network anomalies. As a result, technicians resolve issues faster and reduce repeat visits, OpenVault said.

OpenVault also reported operational results of initial utilization of Vantage PNM’s AI features by broadband operators that confirm the impact on bottom lines. These include:

• Identification of emerging issues early, reducing or even eliminating support calls and truck rolls and helping to prevent service issues for entire subscriber groups.
• Reduction of critical modem alerts by 15% and an increase of first time fix rates to over 70% through early detection of upstream degradation in a cluster of modems and prediction of a 35% likelihood of service impact within 48 hours.
• Dramatic reduction in truck roll expense through 22% faster onsite resolution and 50% fewer repeat visits.

Built for broadband providers, the company said that Vantage PNM is grounded in authoritative industry references from SCTE and CableLabs, as well as operator-specific telemetry aligned to SCTE standards and CableLabs specifications. Vantage PNM’s AI-powered tools also feature guardrails that protect customer privacy and operator security.

The result is faster, more precise targeting of issues, delivering improved business outcomes through faster, better and more efficient diagnostics and repair of issues. In addition, Vantage PNM AI is providing a real-time, 360-degree view of the network, enabling better resource utilization and the ability to create new service opportunities, such as personalized support, smarter upgrades and premium reliability tiers.

“AI is no longer optional – it’s essential,” said Brady Volpe, Chief Product Officer at OpenVault. “As broadband technology expands, the sheer volume and complexity of performance data will overwhelm traditional manual troubleshooting. Embedding AI directly into Vantage workflows enables operators to interpret data at scale, resulting in faster resolutions, higher first-pass fix rates, and a smarter, more resilient broadband experience.”

JERSEY CITY, N.J.—OpenVault has released new data showing that DOCSIS 3.1 and higher services are driving significant across-the-board increases in speed and consumption, most notably a 3X rise in median usage.

The Q3 2025 edition of the “OpenVault Broadband Insights” (OVBI) report found that median monthly usage for DOCSIS 3.1 subscribers in the third quarter of 2025 was 530.54 GB, 207.7% higher than the median monthly usage of 172.43 GB for subscribers on legacy DOCSIS 3.0 plant.

In addition average monthly total, downstream and upstream usage all were 80% higher or more for DOCSIS 3.1 subscribers than for DOCSIS 3.0 households, specifically.

“While network pressure is stabilizing, absolute levels remain elevated, reinforcing the continued need for proactive capacity planning, upstream optimization, and intelligence-driven demand modeling going into 2026,” the report concludes. “DOCSIS 3.1 clearly has emerged as a driver of increased consumption; to maximize the DOCSIS 3.1 experience, broadband providers should invest in Profile Management Application and Proactive Network Maintenance solutions that can optimize network performance.”

For this edition of the OVBI, OpenVault utilized data collected by its SaaS suite of broadband management solutions across contiguous DOCSIS 3.1 and DOCSIS 3.0 networks servicing more than 100,000 homes. Data sources included the Vantage PNM proactive network maintenance and Vantage PMA profile management application products that are helping operators provide the pristine environment required to optimize DOCSIS 3.1 performance.

Key findings include:

• Average Usage – Monthly average consumption in Q3 2025 was 640.8 GB, an 8.6% increase over the 590.1 GB recorded in Q3 2024.
• Median Usage – While average usage fell from Q2 to Q3, median usage rose from 431.4 GB in Q2 to 438.87 in Q3.
• Upstream – Upstream usage increased 17.4% in Q3 2025, outpacing the 13-14% year-over-year growth rates that have marked Q3 since 2021.
• Power Users – The pace of year-over-year Q3 growth of super power users of 2 TB or more per month on average has slowed, from 35.1% in 3Q23 to 24.6% last year to 22.5% in 2025.
• Average total usage was 719.36 GB per month for DOCSIS 3.1 subscribers, an 85.10% increase over the 388.73 GB of DOCSIS 3.0 users.
• Average downstream usage was 660.97 GB for DOCSIS 3.1, vs 358.85 GB of DOCSIS 3.0 users for an increase of 84.20%.
• Average upstream usage was 58.4 GB for DOCSIS 3.1 subscribers, 95.40% more than the 29.88 GB of DOCSIS 3.0 users.
• The networks studied exhibited increases of more than 53% in downstream (624 Mbps vs. 407 Mbps) and upstream (66.4 Mbps vs. 43.37 Mbps) speeds. Further, consumers on DOCSIS 3.1 networks are more than twice as likely to be Power Users of 1 TB or more per month, and more than three times as likely to be in the emerging category of Extreme Power Users of 5 TB or more.
• Almost one-fourth – 23.57% – of DOCSIS 3.1 subscribers used 1 TB or more during 3Q25, 118.20% more than the 10.80% on DOCSIS 3.0 plant, while the 0.19% of subscribers consuming 5 TB or more was 221.70% more than the 0.06% on DOCSIS 3.0. Data also showed that 5.01% of DOCSIS 3.1 subscribers were Super Power Users of 2 TB or more, vs. 1.87% of DOCSIS 3.0 households, an increase of 167.90%.

The entire report is at https://openvault.com/resources/ovbi/.

ALLENTOWN, Pa. & JERSEY CITY, N.J. —Service Electric Cable TV and OpenVault have announced that the operator is deploying the OpenVault Proactive Network Management (OV PMM) solution.

The deployment will allow SECTV to leverage OpenVault’s AI- and ML-powered optimization technologies to increase its ability to automatically identify network issues that may impact performance for its customers in northern and eastern Pennsylvania and in western New Jersey. OV PNM’s proactive detection capabilities are designed to boost field support and customer service efficiency through rapid access to relevant data and information, the two companies explained.

“From engineering innovations to the first availability of HBO, SEC TV’s history has been punctuated by its leadership in providing greater value for our subscribers,” said John Walson, president of Service Electric Cable TV. “OpenVault’s leadership in harnessing technology breakthroughs will give our teams the information they need to more quickly resolve service issues, driving greater customer satisfaction.”

OV PNM is designed to provide operators with unparalleled visibility into broadband infrastructure and intelligently diagnose and resolve the root causes of hybrid fiber coaxial (HFC) network problems. It also allows providers to detect plant faults before customer calls, reducing truck rolls and maximizing customer uptime.

“In a competitive broadband environment, time truly is money,” said Josh Barstow, chief commercial officer of OpenVault. “By deploying OV PNM, Service Electric Cable TV is prioritizing the fastest possible detection and repair of anticipated or actual network impairments, assuring delivery of service quality that creates happier, loyal subscribers and drives financial success.”

For more information visit openvault.com.

MEDIACOM PARK, N.Y. & JERSEY CITY, N.J.—OpenVault has announced that Mediacom Communications is using OpenVault’s Profile Management Application (PMA) technology to optimize broadband Quality of Experience (QoE) and improve consumer satisfaction to new heights. 

The two companies said that Mediacom is implementing OpenVault’s industry-leading PMA solution to drive peak levels of available bandwidth and network performance for subscribers using DOCSIS 3.1 or higher modems. 

“Our goal throughout the broadband era has been to keep our Xtream internet capabilities ahead of customer expectations,” said J.R. Walden, senior vice president of technology and CTO for Mediacom. “OpenVault PMA ensures that we continue to maintain our competitive edge by giving our subscribers an outstanding experience whenever they are online.”

“As speeds have risen across the board, broadband providers have increasingly prioritized Quality of Experience as well,” said Mark Trudeau, CEO and founder of OpenVault. “Mediacom has been a leader in using OpenVault technology innovation to ensure that their subscribers get the internet quality they expect and deserve.”

OpenVault’s OV PMA optimizes modulation profiles used by DOCSIS 3.1 or higher cable modems on OFDM(A) channels. It then routinely monitors and adjusts these profiles based on changing RF impairments, to ensure that subscribers receive the best possible service quality. This results in improvement of up to 40 percent in overall network capacity and bolsters the resilience of DOCSIS 3.1 modems, particularly in the presence of impairments.

JERSEY CITY, N.J.—A new report from OpenVault highlights some of the major challenges facing broadband service providers with new data showing an anticipated spike in “Power Users” of 1 TB or more of broadband data and a growing disconnect in the traditional relationship between provisioned speeds and data consumption. 

The latest edition of the OpenVault Broadband Insights (OVBI) report found that the percentage of Power Users – including Super Power Users of 2 TB or more and Extreme Power Users of 5 TB or more – surged to 18.2% of all subscribers in 2Q 2024 and will exceed 20% of all subscribers by the end of this year. 

The 2Q 2024 edition of the report also highlights the increasing inability of broadband providers to predict usage patterns based simply on provisioned speeds.

Using data from operators serving millions of subscribers, the report graphs the wide variations that have emerged between speeds and consumption. 

For example, the network with the highest monthly downstream usage (730 GB) had the third slowest average provisioned downstream speed (247.1 Mbps), while the network with the lowest downstream traffic (393 GB) had the second fastest average downstream speed (559 Mbps). 

A second example shows how an operator with slower average provisioned speeds and higher average usage had half the congestion of a faster, less-trafficked counterpart. 

The findings illustrate the impact of network health on Quality of Experience (QoE), subscriber satisfaction, and retention, said OpenVault, a provider of broadband technology solutions and data-driven insights into worldwide broadband consumption patterns. 

“Given the new disconnect between speeds and consumption, operators are increasing their focus on network health,” the report notes. “Recognizing that faster speeds alone may not improve the QoE needle, they are now taking steps to ensure subscribers receive the speed and reliability for which they are paying.”

Other key findings in the 1Q24 report include:

• The monthly average data usage was 585.8 GB, up 9.7% year over year from 533.8 GB in 2Q23.
• Power Users’ upstream activity grew by a prodigious 34% from the second quarter of 2023, double the rate of Power Users’ downstream growth.
• Upstream usage was 41.5 GB, up 15.9% over the 35.8 GB observed in 2Q23 and well ahead of the 9.3% growth in downstream consumption during the same period.
• While downstream traffic experiences seasonal fluctuations, upstream consumption is almost invariably headed upward. Upstream usage of 41.5 GB increased 2.7% vs. 1Q24’s 40.4 GB, while downstream traffic of 544.3% representated a 3.7% decline from 1Q24’s 565.4 GB.

The entire report is at https://openvault.com/resources/ovbi/.

OpenVault CEO and founder Mark Trudeau will discuss the findings and their implications for the industry on a webinar on Thursday, Sept. 12 at 11 a.m. EST.  Registration is available here. 

Missed any of our product coverage during your busy week? The TV Tech weekly product and services news wrap-up provides links to all of our coverage from May 13 to May 17, with the most recent news listed first, day by day from Friday back to Monday. 

If Bundling Is Back, What’s the Ideal Bundle?

Bundling is back in a big way, with all the major streaming companies and many pay TV operators exploring ways to simplify the consumer experience by offering bundles of content and streaming services.

IAB Tech Labs, Google Partner on New First Party Data Solution

In a notable development in the industry-wide effort to address privacy concerns while improving efficacy of marketing efforts in a cookieless ad landscape, IAB Tech Lab has launched IAB Tech Lab PAIR.

Matthews Launches New Multipurpose Grip Rail Telescopic Grid Pipe Solution

Matthews Studio Equipment has introduced Grip Rail, which the company said offers a better way to mount equipment on location, in the studio, or on the fly.

Dish TV and Hughes Debut New Bundled Services

Echostar’s Dish Network and Hughes Network Systems have announced a new bundled service offering that is designed to improve the connectivity and entertainment options in rural America with programming from Dish combined with the Hughesnet satellite internet service.

Netflix Ad Tier Hits 40M Monthly Active Users

During Netflix's second Upfront presentation to advertisers, Amy Reinhard, Netflix’s president of advertising, walked advertisers through the continued growth of Netflix’s ad-supported plan, which now has 40 million global monthly active users, up from 5 million a year ago.

ESPN, Fox, WBD Unveil Name for New Sports Streaming Service

More than three months after announcing plans to launch a major new sports streaming service, ESPN, Fox Corp. and Warner Bros. Discovery, have finally given the service a name: “Venu Sports”.

Telestream Taps Power of AI to Manage, Define Media Workflows

TV Tech recently sat down with Telestream CEO Rhonda Bassett-Spiers and CTO Simon Clark to discuss how the M&E industry is adapting the cloud, IP and AI to enhance and simplify media workflows.

WBD Unveils Advanced Advertising Features for Max

During its upfronts presentation, Warner Bros. Discovery announced a suite of new advanced ad products available on Max, that include shoppable ads, advanced contextual targeting and interactive video formats.

Disney+ Debuts First Concert Film to Stream with IMAX Enhanced Sound

Disney+, IMAX Corporation, and DTS have announced that “Queen Rock Montreal” is now streaming on Disney+, making it the first concert film to be streamed with IMAX Enhanced sound powered by DTS, the companies said.

Sony Pictures Post Production Services Completes Sound Facilities Expansion

Sony Pictures Post Production Services has announced that the final phase of a multi-year effort to expand and modernize its motion picture and television sound facilities has been completed.

ATEME Integrates Advanced HDR by Technicolor into TITAN Encoders

Encoder specialist ATEME has integrated Advanced HDR by Technicolor into its TITAN video compression solution, Technicolor said.

Comcast Plans Peacock, Netflix, Apple TV+ Streaming Bundle

Comcast is planning to begin offering a new streaming bundle of Peacock, Netflix and Apple TV+ sometime later this month at a “vastly reduced price,” Comcast chairman and CEO Brian Roberts said at the MoffettNathanson Media conference in NYC on May 14th.

OpenVault Harnesses Generative AI to Improve Broadband Networks

OpenVault has released new details about how it is leveraging the power of Generative AI to significantly and securely expand the capabilities of its Proactive Network Maintenance (PNM), Profile Management Application (PMA) and other troubleshooting solutions for broadband networks.

Chyron Releases Enhancements For LIVE Cloud Production Platform

https://www.tvtechnology.com/news/chyron-releases-enhancements-for-live-cloud-production-platform

Chyron has released a series of updates for its LIVE cloud-native production platform.

PBS Stations to Gain Access to Nielsen Local Dashboards

PBS has received a significant grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) to provide PBS Member Stations with Nielsen Local Dashboards, providing in-depth audience data.

JERSEY CITY, N.J. & COLOGNE, Germany—OpenVault has released new details about how it is leveraging the power of Generative AI to significantly and securely expand the capabilities of its Proactive Network Maintenance (PNM), Profile Management Application (PMA) and other troubleshooting solutions for broadband networks.

OpenVault, which bills itself as the only provider of solutions for both PNM and PMA, is integrating an array of AI functionality that will complement existing, trusted machine learning algorithms to optimize the convergence of wired and wireless networks. OpenVault AI applications are vendor agnostic and are being designed to simplify interactions with any operator’s customer service and field personnel and to expedite troubleshooting, the company reported. 

To protect broadband provider and consumer data, OpenVault said it is building on Open Source AI – not OpenAI or Chat GPT – to host and train AI models that are specific to the needs of its broadband industry customers. These models will be trained on historical and current data and applications – most notably OpenVault’s unique trove of network health and subscriber behavior statistics – that are unique to DOCSIS, Wi-Fi, and 5G networks and other operator needs.

The initial use case, a multifaceted support tool for technicians, is anticipated for later in the current quarter, the company reported. 

“AI will be a force multiplier for broadband technical teams, but the industry needs to take great care in choosing the right solutions,” said Brady Volpe, chief product officer for OpenVault. “Because the safety of data needs to be paramount, operators need to ensure that their AI implementations are decoupled from corporate tools such as OpenAI.”

“Training, understanding impairments and optimizing networks in real time are applications that are ripe for AI,” added Tony Costa, CTO for OpenVault. “By combining our expertise, our vast data insights into network performance and consumer behavior, and the power of Generative AI we can singularly focus on helping our customers make the most of technology convergence.”

Volpe will be discussing the impact of AI during the “Artificial Intelligence: Network Planning, Management and Preventive Maintenance” session in Room 2 from 3:45 PM until 4:45 PM CET tomorrow, May 14 at ANGACOM in Cologne, Germany. OpenVault will be at Stand 7.A29 throughout the May 14-16 ANGACOM event.

JERSEY CITY, N.J.—Broadband use continues to climb and will approach or surpass 700 GB per month on average this year and 1 TB (Terabyte) within five, according to the latest edition of the OpenVault Broadband Insights (OVBI) report.

Last year, monthly average broadband consumption surpassed 600 GB for the first time, reaching 641 GB per month. The growth extended the multi-year trend of 9% or greater annual growth in usage. Based on this growth, the Q4 2023 edition of the OVBI projects broadband use will exceed 1 TB per month on average by the end of 2028.

The report also revealed the percentage of high-volume broadband users continues to grow. So-called “power users” of 1 TB or more have climbed 437% and “super power users” of 2 TB or more have grown 1,235% since 2018. “Extreme power users,” a new category consisting of those who consume 5 TB or more of broadband per month rose 71% in 2023 alone, according to the OVBI report.

Commercial customers are contributing to significant growth in upstream traffic, which has risen by 158.48% since 2018, it said.

“The combined impact of these growth factors is amplifying the need for increased operator focus on network performance and Quality of Experience (QoE), especially as operators deploy DOCSIS 3.1 and DOCSIS 4.0 technologies,” the report said. “Studies show that slow or inconsistent internet speed and repeated connection issues erode customer satisfaction and loyalty more than any other factor.”

Among the latest findings:

• Monthly average data use was 641 GB, up 9.3% year over year from 586.7 GB at the end of 2022 and up 16.5% from the 550.2 GB in Q3 ‘23.
• The 71% rise in extreme power users of 5 TB or more was just part of the growth across all power user categories: power users of 1 TB or more per month now account for 21.6% of all subscribers; while the percentage of super power users grew 37% to 4.7%.
• Nearly 40% of all users provisioned for gigabit speeds are power users.
• Commercial subscribers’ 68 GB of monthly upstream usage is 74% higher than the 39 GB used monthly by residential subscribers.

OpenVault chief product officer Brady Volpe and CEO and founder Mark Trudeau will discuss the findings during a webinar Feb. 15 at 11 a.m. EST. Registration is available online.

The entire report is available online.

DENVER, Colo.—OpenVault has partnered with Harmonic to integrate OpenVault’s Profile Management Application (PMA) technology with Harmonic’s market-leading cOS broadband platform (formerly CableOS).

The integration will simplify the optimization of bandwidth and performance for operators with DOCSIS 3.1 or higher networks, the companies said.

OpenVault’s OV PMA software adds a significant new functionality to broadband CMTSs, increasing effective usable bandwidth and network resiliency for operators. The integration of OV PMA software enables the CMTS to identify network impairments and maximize network capacity when they are present, resulting in superior experiences for broadband subscribers, the companies said. 

“As the first member of the Kyrio PMA Partner Program, we’ve been out front in creating and evangelizing the power of PMA,” said Mark Trudeau, CEO and founder of OpenVault. “Our partnership with Harmonic is the first example of how vendors can make OV PMA an essential part of operational capabilities, driving performance and resiliency higher in DOCSIS 3.1 or higher network.”

PMA was developed to leverage the programmable PHY layer to increase the usable capacity in DOCSIS 3.1 networks. The goal of PMA is to optimize the amount of data that can be transferred on an OFDM(A) channel in a given amount of time based on real-world impaired plant conditions.

OpenVault’s OV PMA optimizes modulation profiles used by DOCSIS 3.1 cable modems on OFDM(A) channels. It then routinely monitors and adjusts these profiles based on changing RF impairments, to ensure that subscribers receive the best possible service quality. This results in improvement of up to 40% in overall network capacity and bolsters the resilience of DOCSIS 3.1 modems, particularly in the presence of impairments, OpenVault said. 

OpenVault will be showing OV PMA and its complete suite of solutions in Booth 1916 at SCTE Cable-Tec Expo October 17-19 at the Colorado Convention Center.

JERSEY CITY, N.J.—As operators race to rollout more fiber into their networks and ever faster gigabit networks, consumers continue to increase their data consumption. A new OpenVault Broadband Insights (OVBI) report finds that monthly average data usage was 533.8 GB in Q1 2023, up 8.8% year over year from 490.7 GB in 1Q22.

The study also found significant activity by heavy broadband users, with heavy users hitting new records of data consumption. In addition, the percentage of subscribers on gigabit speed tiers more than doubled over the previous year, reaching 31.6% in 2Q 2023. 

In a first-of-its-kind breakdown of broadband usage by application category, the OVBI report notes that power users stream more than 2.2 TB of data per month, nearly six times as much as average users. Furthermore, power users’ gaming consumption of 498 GB per month was 2,271% higher than average users’ 21 GB per month. OVBI defines an average user as one who consumes 400-600 GB per month.

“As subscribers flock to faster and faster speed tiers, there is increasing pressure on operator networks to deliver uninterrupted and unimpaired user experiences,” said Mark Trudeau, CEO and founder of OpenVault. “With deeper visibility into the applications that subscribers are using, operators can proactively understand and strengthen the most vulnerable areas in their networks.”

In addition to the stark streaming and gaming differences between power and average users, the OVBI report also noted that average users dedicate a significantly greater portion of their bandwidth – 20% – to social media, well ahead of both power users (9%) and light users (6%). Light users of less than 100 GB per month expend 92% of their consumption on streaming and less than 1% on gaming. As always, the report leverages data aggregated from OpenVault’s suite of broadband management tools.

As part of its continued analysis of usage by participants in the Affordable Connectivity Plan, OVBI also found a notable difference between fully-subsidized subscribers who pay the entirety of their monthly bill with the plan’s $30 allowance, and partially subsidized subscribers who use the $30 allowance to defray part of the cost of higher-priced plans with faster speeds. 

OVBI found that partially subsidized participants consumed 40.6% more data than non-ACP subscribers, while fully subsidized participants who receive slower speed tiers (50-75Mbps) consumed just 18.2% more data.

OpenVault will host a webinar to elaborate on the report on Thursday, July 26 at 11 a.m. EST.  Registration is here.  

The entire report is at https://openvault.com/resources/ovbi/. OpenVault also provides continuously updated broadband consumption figures in OpenVault’s Broadband Tracker. 

The company's broadband tracker is currently projecting that average broadband data usage will be more than 583 GB for July of 2023.

Average broadband consumption approached a new high of nearly 600 GB per month and the percentage of subscribers on gigabit speed tiers has more than doubled, according to the Q4 2022 edition of the OpenVault Broadband Insights (OVBI) report. 

Average per-subscriber consumption was 586.7 GB at the end of 2022, an increase of nearly 10% over the prior year, the research firm said. During the same period, the percentage of subscribers provisioned for gigabit speeds rose to 26%, more than 2X the 4Q21 figure of 12.2%. The report leverages data aggregated from OpenVault’s suite of broadband management tools.

“Demand for greater internet speed continues to increase,” the report notes. “Operators need to be mindful not only of this overall growth, but of growth among specific segments of subscribers and at specific times. Consumption by subscribers in the FCC’s Affordable Connectivity Program continues to outpace that of all subscribers, and rapid growth of peak time consumption – especially during and around the holiday season – both are considerations that need to be addressed in network planning.”

OpenVault’s continued analysis of the FCC’s Affordable Connectivity Program shows that median usage by ACP participants in 4Q22 was 531.9 GB, more than 34% higher than the 396.6 GB recorded by all subscribers. In addition, the OVBI noted for the first time a Christmas Day trend of significantly higher average usage beginning in the mid-morning hours and continuing into the afternoon.

Other findings in the 4Q22 report include:

• The percentage of power users consuming 1 TB or more per month in Q422 was 18.7%, a year-over-year increase of 16%.and 10x the percentage observed just five years ago, in Q417.
• Annual growth of super power users consuming 2 TB or more per month increased 25%, from 2.7% to 3.4%, a nearly 30x increase within the past five years.
• As migration to faster speed tiers continued, the percentage of subscribers in tiers under 200 Mbps declined by 43% in 4Q22.

The report is at https://openvault.com/resources/ovbi/. OpenVault will host a webinar to elaborate on the report on Thursday, Feb. 16 at 11 a.m. EST.  Registration is at https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_cEansDG1Qlq7GUuB9c5_aQ.

JERSEY CITY, N.J.—OpenVault promoted Keith Broach to executive vice president, Global Sales. He will oversee a multi-national sales team and partners to take the company’s suite of SaaS products to broadband providers worldwide.

In a press statement Mark Trudeau, CEO and founder of OpenVault, said, “The rapid growth of our global sales team and market reach has amplified the need for a world-class sales leader such as Keith. His industry expertise, leadership skills and strong relationships will optimize our sales team’s ability to help customers gain positive outcomes through deployment of OpenVault tools.”

OpenVault solutions target a range of needs, including network optimization and diagnostics as well as customer engagement and monetization. OpenVault and Kyrio, a subsidiary of CableLabs, recently announced that OpenVault is the first official member of the Kyrio PMA Partner Program for the development and deployment of Profile Management Application solutions that, according to the company, can increase capacity and reliability, particularly in DOCSIS 3.1 networks.

Broach was an optical systems engineer before shifting to sales during almost 10 years with Cisco. In 2009 he became director and then vice president of sales during a five-year stint with Cyan (now Ciena.) More recently he was vice president of sales with 6WIND; vice president, market development with Cobo; and NFV solutions director with Telco Systems. He began his career in network operations and network planning roles with Southwestern Bell and AT&T, respectively.

LOUISVILLE, Colo. & JERSEY CITY, N.J.—OpenVault has become the first official member of CableLab’s Kyrio PMA Partner Program for the development and deployment of Profile Management Application (PMA) solutions.

Kyrio is a subsidiary of CableLabs focused on software and testing solutions for the global broadband industry. The PMA concept was developed by CableLabs to leverage the programmable PHY layer to increase the usable capacity in DOCSIS 3.1 networks. The goal of PMA is to optimize the amount of data that can be transferred on a channel in a given amount of time based on real-world plant conditions. 

As part of its membership in the program, OpenVault’s research and development team will have access to Kyrio’s libraries of CMTS-specific profile translators, DOCSIS lab testing environment and subject matter expertise.

“The promise of PMA is increased capacity and reliability, particularly for the DOCSIS 3.1 networks that are the workhorses of the cable industry,” said Mario Di Dio, VP of software and network technology for Kyrio. “By partnering with companies such as OpenVault, Kyrio is rapidly advancing the feasibility of PMA solutions and is accelerating its availability for broadband operators worldwide.”

As the first member of the Kyrio PMA Partner Program, OpenVault has worked closely with Kyrio to accelerate adoption of PMA by resolving integration and testing concerns. OpenVault’s Capacity Booster product uses closed-loop automation to continually monitor every channel and modem in the network. OpenVault notes that its Capacity Booster innovation unlocks upwards of 40% more capacity.

“Initial operator demand for Capacity Booster trials has shown the incredible value of PMA in deferring the near-term need for node splits, reducing CapEx, and minimizing the impact of supply chain bottlenecks,” said Joe Lancaster, Chief Strategy Officer for OpenVault. “We look forward to our continued partnership with Kyrio as we maximize the value of PMA for the industry.”

For more information about the PMA Partner Program visit https://kyrio.com/pma-partner-program/. 

JERSEY CITY, NJ—Average broadband usage hit a record in Q4, 2021, with usage leaping past the 512 GB, breaking the half a terabyte mark for the first time, according to the OpenVault Broadband Insights (OVBI) report. 

Using data aggregated from its broadband management and analytics tools, the OpenVault data has shown a consistent increase in usage and speeds in recent years, with data consumption up 165% since Q4, 2017, when consumption was 202.6 GB. 

OpenVault also found that the average download speed of subscribers who consume more than half a terabyte or more of data per month is more than 2X the average speed of those subscribers who are consuming less than half a terabyte. 

The report also contains a breakdown of average consumption for six different speed tiers, ranging from 1.057 TB for subscribers provisioned for gigabit speeds to 185 GB for subscribers at speeds below 50 Mbps.

“Consumers have spoken through their use of the Internet,” the report said. “They are using applications that demand higher bandwidth and that rely on faster speeds and lower latency for an acceptable customer experience. It took about three years for bandwidth usage to double from 270 GB in 4Q18 to nearly 540 GB in 4Q21.” 

Other findings from OpenVault’s analysis of 4Q21 data patterns included:

• Power users who consume 1 TB or more per month represented less than 2% of all subscribers in 2017; today they represent nearly 16%, a growth factor of more than 750%.
• The percentage of super power users who consume 2 TB or more per month has risen even more sharply, from .12% of subscribers in 2017 to 2.65% today – a 20 fold increase.
• Nearly one in five subscribers (18%) now is provisioned for broadband speeds of 500 Mbps or faster.
• Consumption by subscribers on usage-based billing (UBB) plans continues to rise at a slower rate than by those on flat-rate billing (FRB) plans. For 4Q21, year-over-year median growth increased at a rate of 32% for FRB subscribers, almost 3X the 11% growth rate for UBB subscribers

The entire report is available here.

OpenVault also provides continuously updated broadband consumption figures here. 

HOBOKEN, N.J.—OpenVault has announced that it has acquired VelociData, Inc. in a deal that will combine OpenVault’s product portfolio and analytics expertise with VelociData’s research and development capabilities and its footprint with Tier 1 providers in the U.S. and Latin America.

OpenVault and its subsidiary, OpenVault Europe, provide cloud-based and on-premises solutions and tools that help service providers optimize network performance, increase revenue, and improve subscriber satisfaction. VelociData uses stream computing paradigms to enable real time capture of and prescriptive automation on immense amounts of data, as well as data correlation, the companies said. 

“The broadband environment is changing so quickly that it seems like each time we help our customers solve one data problem, a new one crops up,” said Mark Trudeau, CEO and founder of OpenVault. “VelociData’s focus on engineering and R&D gives us the resources and the synergies that will enable our product and sales teams at any scale to provide even more advanced solutions that will keep the broadband industry ahead of the fast pace of technology, consumer demand, and the competition.”

In announcing the deal, OpenVault said potential benefits from the acquisition included: 

• Immediate increases in the size and scale of its market footprint, both in the United States and internationally;
• Valuable Intellectual Property – notably a vast portfolio of more than 120 patents worldwide – in the area of data science;
• A proven, world-class team dedicated solely to R&D for accelerated availability of new products and solutions targeted specifically to the broadband industry;
• Acceleration of the strategy to provide additional Closed Loop Automation (CLA) solutions such as the Profile Management Application (PMA) and enhanced data collection functionality, such as Streaming Telemetry;
• Diverse deployment options for operators including public cloud, private cloud, on-premises, and appliances.

“Whether it’s better performance or subscriber usage insights, real-time data is the key to unlocking more value from broadband networks,” said Barry Rudolph, CEO for VelociData. “As part of the OpenVault organization, we will be able to help broadband providers not only to collect network data, but also to make that data actionable in ways that will immediately improve bottom line results while enabling future shifts to more highly automated intelligent networks.”

The VelociData acquisition follows a recent investment in OpenVault from three existing customers – Service Electric Cablevision, Service Electric Cable TV & Communications, and Blue Ridge Communications. The investment is targeted to drive expansion via mergers and acquisitions, organic growth, and increased visibility – most notably increased market activity in Europe and Latin America.

More information is available at openvault.com.

HOBOKEN, N.J.—The migration to faster speed tiers, with gigabit subscribers hitting 10.5% of broadband subs, is driving higher levels of broadband usage across all subscribers, according to the newly released "2Q 2021 OpenVault Broadband Insights" (OVBI) report.

The report found that 10.5% of subscribers were provisioned for 1Gbps service and 10.8% were consuming 1 terabyte or more of data, making 2Q 2021 the first time that both metrics had simultaneously topped 10%. 

The OVBI also reported that the percentage of subscribers provisioned for gigabit speeds and those provisioned for speeds of 100 Mbps or less – moved sharply in opposite directions. 

In Q2 2021, the 10.5% of subscribers provisioned for 1 Gbps or higher was more than double the 4.8% figure only a year earlier, while the percentage of subscribers provisioned for speeds of 100 Mbps or less fell by half, from 39.9% in 2Q20 to 20.1% in Q2 2021.

At the same time, year-over-year growth of median usage across both usage-based billing (UBB) and flat-rate billing (FRB) subscribers jumped 22.7%, from 223.3 GB in 2Q20 to 274.0 GB in the second quarter of this year. 

The rate of increase was more than 64% greater than the growth in average usage during the same period, indicating that increased consumption is occurring across the subscriber base as a whole, rather than being concentrated among a few customers. 

The report also found that the percentage of subscribers using 500 GB or more increased 2.7%, from 28.2% in 2Q 2020 to 31.9% in 2Q 2021. Usage at the bottom end of the scale, among subs that used less than 100 GB, fell 4.7 %, from 34.2% to 29.5%.

“With both median usage growth exceeding average usage growth and upstream usage growth exceeding downstream usage growth, the impact on the network is far reaching and not driven by just a few subscribers or just by applications like streaming alone,” the report stated. “Network operators will continue to be challenged to manage their networks as they strive to balance higher usage with better customer experiences.” 

OpenVault will host a webinar on the report on Thursday, Sept. 9 at 11 a.m. EST.  Registration is available here.  

The entire report is available here.  

HOBOKEN, N.J.—While data usage moderated in Q1 2021, the OpenVault Broadband Insights report on data usage found that subscribers continue to upgrade to higher speeds, with the number of gigabit subscribers jumping by 261% from Q1 2020 and the number of gigabit subs increasing by 75% in a six month period. 

With the increases, almost one-tenth (9.8%) of all subscribers were provisioned for gigabit speeds at the end of Q1 2021, compared to only 3.8% in Q1 2020 and 5.6% in Q3 2020. 

The report also notes that slightly more than 80% of subscribers are provisioned for 100 Mbps speeds or higher, and that fewer than 5% are at 20 Mbps or slower. 

The report also found that monthly weighted average usage was 461.7 GB, up nearly 15% from 402.5 GB in Q1 2020 but down 4.3% from 482.6 GB in Q4 2020. However, the slight quarter-to-quarter decline is in line with historical first-quarter trends, OpenVault reported. 

Nearly all of the decline in monthly average usage occurred downstream. Monthly average upstream usage remained relatively flat when compared to the 31GB recorded in Q4 2020.

Usage-based billing operators are having more success at slowing the trajectory of bandwidth usage on their network than are flat-rate billing operators, the report stated, “despite UBB operators having a higher percentage of higher speed, higher ARPU subscribers. This widening gap in 1Q21 of total bandwidth usage between UBB networks vs. FRB networks and the revenue and profitability implications that it may represent bear watching.” 

The entire report is available here. 

HOBOKEN, N.J.—Broadband usage climbed 47% in the first quarter of the year—nearly surpassing expected growth for all of 2020—as the public quarantines to limit possible exposure to the COVID-19 illness, according to the latest usage report from OpenVault.

“Nearly all the growth in broadband usage we would have expected for 2020 has now been achieved in the first quarter, with much of it concentrated in the last two weeks of the quarter,” says the Q1 2020 OpenVault Broadband Insights report. “The COVID-19 pandemic changed broadband usage patterns in substantial ways, perhaps permanently.”

At the end of the first quarter, average monthly broadband consumption jumped to 402.5 GB, a 47% increase over the 273.5 GB registered for the same period last year and a 17% rise over the 344 GB in the fourth quarter of 2019, says the report. In April, monthly usage was on track for 460 GB, the report says.

OpenVault’s forecast made earlier in the year for monthly broadband consumption by the end of 2020 was 425 GB, according to the report.

The sharpest growth was among what OpenVault terms “power users,” who consume 1 TB or more, and “extreme power users,” who consume 2 TB or more. In the first quarter, 10% of broadband subscribers were power users, up 138% over the first quarter of 2019 when 4.2% were power users, it says.

Extreme power users in the quarter represented 1.2% of the total, a 215% increase from the same quarter in 2019.

The report also finds:

• Broadband quotas were relaxed in much of March, and subscribers with usage-based billing plans (UBB) responded, increasing usage 49.05% for the quarter, while those with flat-rate billing (FRB) plans grew usage 44.42%. 
• Median usage across UBB and FRB plans was 233.6 GB, up 60% from 146 GB in the first quarter last year and up 22% from 190.7 GB at the end of 2019. The rate of increase in median growth accelerated to 122% during the first quarter of 2020. 
• As more people rely on videoconferencing to work from home during the pandemic, upstream usage rose sharply in March.
• Increased use looks to be motivating subscribers to increase speeds. Subscribers provisioned for gigabit-speed service grew 97% to 3.75% in the first quarter—up from the same quarter in 2019 when 1.9% were so outfitted. The figure also represents a rise of 34% from the 2.8% level registered at the end of 2019. 

“Broadband operators will need to understand the implications of this shifting broadband usage behavior and plan their network performance capabilities accordingly,” says the report. 

PLUS: Broadband Usage Growth Flattening, Says OpenVault

The report is available on the OpenVault website. The company will host a webinar to elaborate on its finding May 20, at noon ET. To attend, register online. 

HOBOKEN, N.J.—The broadband usage curve is beginning to flatten in markets that have been quarantined because of the coronavirus, according to analytics company OpenVault.

Since people began staying at home to try and prevent the spread of coronavirus about three weeks ago, there was consistent double-digit growth in broadband usage. However, for the week of March 30-April 3, the total downstream data usage in quarantine markets declined 5.8% compared to previous weeks. Total upstream usage was still on the rise, but only increased by 2.3% from the prior week.

Since January 2020, daily broadband usage has surged because of coronavirus precautions. The biggest increase has been during typical business hours (9 a.m.-5 p.m.). As of April 3, the average daily downstream consumption during business hours was 6.35 GB, 42.46% higher than January’s 4.46 GB. Daily upstream during business hours increased 82.5% from January to April 3 (0.215 GB to 0.392 GB).

It’s not just during business hours, however, that an increase has occurred. Peak hours  (6 p.m.-midnight) have seen a 21.15% downstream surge since January, and upstream usage has risen 35.95%. Overall, daily usage grew from 12.19 GB in January to 16.22 GB as of April 3.

Areas that have not had to deal with restrictive social distancing policies have seen less growth, according to OpenVault. In those areas, broadband usage has increased 38.2% during business hours and an 8% surge during peak hours.

PLUS: FCC: Networks Usage Surges 35%, Providers Meeting Demands

“It’s too early to say that the industry has weathered the storm of additional usage, but signs point to the greatest surge of growth by far as being behind us,” said Mark Trudeau, CEO and founder of OpenVault. “Operators will need to keep close eyes on any incremental increases—particularly during peak hours and in the upstream—as well as the impact of new quarantines in additional markets, but their networks seem in the meantime to be well-prepared to handle this increased data consumption.”

For more information, visit www.openvault.com.  

HOBOKEN, N.J.—Broadband usage continues to climb with median monthly use this year expected to exceed 250 GB for the first time, according to a new report from OpenVault.

According to the report, “Broadband Industry Report (OBVI) 4Q 2019,” the monthly figure represents nearly a 25% jump from the 2019 monthly media of 190.7GB.

The report also forecasts that by the end of the year, “power users” who use more than 1TB per month will make up 12% of all broadband subscribers—a 60% increase from the end of year figure for 2019. “Extreme power usage,” totaling more than 2TB per month. will account for 1.4% of subscribers, an 80% increase for the end of last year, the report said.

At the same time usage has grown, average provisioned speeds have climbed, the report said. Average provisioned speeds grew 24% from 103.1Mbps to 128.3Mbps last year.

“These trends are critically important planning metrics for operators to consider,” especially those using slower DSL, early generation DOCSIS or wireless-based platforms, the report notes. “As these operators upgrade their networks, they can use predictive modeling to better plan for the impact on their network. OpenVault has found that network operators who transition to FTTP or DOCSIS 3.1 see a doubling or more of bandwidth consumption as a result.”

In the United States, weighted average broadband usage in Q4 2019 stood at 344 GB—27% higher than the weighted average of 270 GB recorded for the same quarter in 2018. Median usage climbed 32% in the U.S. from 144.1 GB to 190.7 GB for the same period, the report said.

Power usage in the United States rose in the fourth quarter, when more than 7.2% of subscribers used more than 1 TB per month—an 80% increase from Q4 2018—and extreme power users grew 123% to .76% of all subscribers, the report said.

In Europe, average monthly usage climbed 24% from 158.7 GB to 196.3 GB, and median usage rose 31% from 93 GB to 122.4 GB.

The full report is available online. Registration is required.

OpenVault will hold a webinar examining the findings Tuesday, Feb. 25, at 2 p.m. ET. To attend, register online.

HOBOKEN, N.J.—Amid the parties, family meals, visits from Santa and religious celebrations that contribute to the tapestry of holiday traditions in America, it may be time to add a new element: massive broadband usage.

According to the latest estimate from industry analytics firm OpenVault, broadband consumption is expected to grow to as much as 330GB per subscriber—a 19% increase from the Q3 2019 average of 275GB per subscriber.

“The holiday season is prime time for spikes in broadband usage that put increased stress on operators’ infrastructures,” said Mark Trudeau, CEO and founder of OpenVault. “As the ribbons and bows come off countless new devices and they are connected to the internet, they combine with cord-cutting, broadband network upgrades and higher speed packages to drive usage to record levels, ultimately setting the stage for the year ahead.”

Relying on historical trends identified over the past several years, the analytics firm anticipates the mean broadband usage during the Christmas/January holiday season will hit between 315GB and 330GB per subscriber.

To put that usage into perspective, holiday season broadband consumption stood at 38GB in 2012 and climbed to 270GB for the 2018 holiday season, OpenVault said.

Last year, the company also began tracking growth in the U.S. consumer device landscape. It recorded a 5.3% increase in connected devices the week after Christmas as compared to the week before, OpenVault said.

More information is available from the OpenVault website.

HOBOKEN, N.J.—While cutting the cord is often done as an effort to save money off traditional pay-TV services, it also typically leads to a surge to broadband usage, which in turn can open doors for other revenue opportunities for service providers.

This comes from a report by analytics company OpenVault on the third quarter of 2019 for the broadband industry. It’s primary finding was that cord cutters’ average broadband usage has reached 520.8 GB a month, an increase of 7% in Q3. That is almost double compared to the monthly weighted (usage-based billing and flat-rate billing) average subscriber's usage at 275.1 GB.

Among cord cutters, 12% qualify as “power users,” meaning people who consume more than 1 TB or more of data per month. That is nearly triple the weighted average subscribers in Q3 2019, who come in at 4.2%. In the last year, the total number of power users have increased by 62% year over year. OpenVault points to FRB subscribers as the drivers of that, noting that they sign up for 1 TB plans 30% more than UBB subscribers, and 64% more for 2 TB plans.

Even though lessening a bill is often cited as a reason for cutting the cord, OpenVault found that two-thirds of cord cutters maintained the same broadband packages, while 29% upgraded; 4% downgraded.

“A cord cutting event usually signals a need for faster broadband speeds,” the report reads. “Cord cutters are opting for high-bandwidth OTT services, and are using multiple devices in the home to consume video, often simultaneously. This behavior lends itself to higher speed, higher margin broadband packages to ensure an acceptable broadband CX and the cord cutting event is the best time for operators to educate customers an upsell them accordingly.”

Despite not reaching the usage numbers of cord cutters, monthly weighted average usage increased as well in Q3 by 25% (118.2 GB to 147.4 GB), signaling that consumption is increasing across the entire market.

OpenVault’s full report is available for download.