Plume and SamKnows Partner to Provide Seamless CAF and RDOF Testing and Compliance Solution for Service Providers Using OpenSync

—SamKnows’ software agent is integrated with the OpenSync open-source framework to provide a fully automated, end-to-end testing and reporting solution and for CSPs deploying Plume’s cloud services—

Cable-Tec Expo 2022 — Plume, the personalized communications services pioneer, announced a strategic partnership with SamKnows, to deliver a seamless testing and reporting solution for Communications Service Providers (CSPs) deploying Plume’s cloud services and leveraging the OpenSync™ open-source framework. The partnership provides an end-to-end and fully automated solution for Connected America Fund (CAF) and Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) testing for all OpenSync deployments, simplifying the current process CSPs must take to obtain, analyze, and report data to comply with the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) regulatory requirements and secure funding.

Hardy Telecommunications was the first company to leverage the combined Plume-SamKnows testing solution: “As a recipient of A-CAM funding our main concern was finding a simple and effective way of conducting the FCC-required speed tests without investing in CAPEX and OPEX,” said Derek Barr, Assistant General Manager. “Plume and SamKnows worked closely with us, providing a detailed report that we simply uploaded to meet our FCC obligations. It’s taken a huge burden off our shoulders and allowed us to breathe easier; their support and responsiveness are helping us to provide an optimal broadband experience.”

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SamKnows’ software collects and translates data into a common language that can be shared between CSPs and government regulators. By choosing OpenSync-integrated Consumer Premises Equipment (CPE) combined with Plume’s SaaS Experience Management Platform, service providers can immediately benefit from SamKnows’ CAF latency testing and RDOF speed testing solutions. This is a mandatory and legal requirement in the U.S., and similar policies are being adopted by governments worldwide to ensure that CSPs of all sizes comply with technical and performance requirements necessary to obtain federal broadband development subsidies.

“Our partnership with SamKnows is vital to our existing and future CSP customers as they navigate and remain compliant with the FCC performance testing requirements for the Connect America Fund, Rural Digital Opportunity Fund and the forthcoming Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) programs,” said Liem Vo, Plume’s Chief OpenSync & Hardware Officer. “Integrating SamKnows removes the challenging prospect of meeting performance testing requirements, but more importantly, removes the need for our customers to develop their own testing solution while significantly reducing truck rolls to remain compliant with random testing locations.”

Prior to this partnership, CSPs had to manually run their own performance tests in multiple markets, wasting valuable time and resources deciphering and reporting complicated data. Now together, Plume and SamKnows expand the functional capabilities of OpenSync-integrated CPE to make the process more efficient and effortless to complete. The SamKnows router agent automatically analyzes data and seamlessly helps guide customers without having a device deployment process to manage.

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“The USAC CAF and RDOF reporting requirements mirror the FCC’s Measuring Broadband America measurement methodology, also a SamKnows program. With this integration, CSPs can focus on improving the internet, rather than worrying about compliance,” said Alex Hynes, Senior Technical Account Manager at SamKnows.

Together, Plume and SamKnows now offer a superior and cost-effective joint solution that is completely automated and actionable, provides robust analysis and reporting, eliminates time-consuming processes that are potentially prone to error and ensures customers are always compliant with performance testing requirements.