Why Standardized TMF APIs are a Breakthrough for ISPs in the Wholesale Broadband Market?
As broadband access becomes a fundamental utility, internet service providers (ISPs) are under increasing pressure to deliver customer facing services faster and more efficiently than ever before. However, when sourcing access from multiple wholesale fiber providers, ISPs often hit the same bottleneck: inconsistent APIs, proprietary processes, and costly integration work.
Fortunately, that’s changing – thanks to industry-standard APIs and collaborative efforts like the TM Forum’s “Broadband as a Service – The Future of Wholesale Broadband Ordering” Catalyst projects.
At Axiros, we understand these challenges firsthand. As a TM Forum-aligned vendor and active participant in these initiatives, we provide device and service lifecycle management solutions designed to streamline integration, accelerate onboarding, and ensure seamless broadband delivery across multiple wholesale networks.
In this blog, we’ll explore how standardized TM Forum Open APIs are revolutionizing wholesale broadband, the operational benefits for ISPs, and how Axiros’ TMF-compliant platforms help bridge the gap between wholesale ordering and customer service activation—empowering ISPs to move faster, scale smarter, and improve customer experience.
The Status Quo: A Siloed, Costly Model
Every wholesale broadband provider seems to speak a different technical language. For ISPs, this means:
Onboarding a new wholesale partner can take months
Custom integrations require expensive, ongoing IT maintenance
Operational agility is limited by fragmented data models and business rules
The result? Slower go-to-market timelines, higher costs, and limited ability to scale across regions or countries.
Catalyst Projects: A Common Language for Broadband
The TM Forum’s Catalyst initiative – particularly Phase II of “Broadband as a Service” – is solving this problem head-on. Backed by major players like Deutsche Telekom, BT, Vodafone, and AT&T, this project defines a standardized broadband ordering framework based on TM Forum Open APIs, including TMF640 (Service Activation and Configuration).
Deliverables include:
A reusable service model for broadband access products
TMF Open API specifications for the service and resource domains
Extending the TMF Open APIs with Domain Context Specialisation (DCS)
End-to-end reference implementations
For ISPs, this is a blueprint for interoperability across multiple wholesale providers.
How Standardization Benefits ISPs
Here’s why this matters to your business if you’re an ISP sourcing wholesale access:
Onboard Wholesale Partners Faster
With wholesale providers adhering to a common TMF Open API based interface, your team can integrate once and reuse across markets – dramatically reducing onboarding time and effort.Reduce Operational Complexity
Standard APIs and data models eliminate the need for one-off adaptations. You can plug into multiple networks using the same workflow, tools, and backend logic.Accelerate Product Launches
Want to roll out gigabit fiber services across a new city or country? With pre-integrated, standards-based interfaces, you can move from contract to deployment in weeks – not months.Future-Proof Your Technology Stack
Regulators in markets like Norway or Germany are encouraging more open, neutral access models. By adopting TM Forum-aligned processes now, you’ll be ready to scale with minimal disruption.Improve Customer Experience
Faster provisioning, consistent order tracking, and fewer service delivery failures mean happier customers – and less strain on your support teams.
How Axiros Helps ISPs With TMF-Compatible Products
To fully realize the benefits of TMF-640 and standardized broadband orchestration, ISPs also need device and service lifecycle management that’s equally flexible and compliant. That’s where Axiros can play a vital role.
Axiros offers an TMF compliant Auto Configuration Server (AXESS) platform that complements TMF-640 based service ordering by:
Automating Device Provisioning and Onboarding
Once a broadband service is ordered via TMF-640, AXESS can automatically decompose the service order into multiple resource activations and provision the customer-premises equipment (CPE) and other network elements (e.g. OLT, SIP Softswitch) using TR-069, USP, or other protocols - eliminating manual touchpoints.Enabling Zero-Touch Service Activation
Integrated with the TMF Open APIs, AXESS enables zero-touch activation of services across multi-vendor CPEs, bridging the gap between service orchestration and customer experience.Enhancing Operational Insights
With built-in monitoring, diagnostics, and real-time streaming capabilities, AXESS allows ISPs to continuously validate service quality and take proactive action -reducing churn and support costs.Supporting Full Lifecycle Management
Whether it’s firmware updates, software module management, WiFi optimization, or service reconfiguration, Axiros supports the entire device lifecycle while staying compliant with TMF specifications.Aligning with Catalyst Principles
Axiros aligns closely with the goals of the TM Forum Catalyst projects, making it easier for ISPs to plug into standardized wholesale broadband environments without reinventing internal OSS/BSS logic.
In short, Axiros bridges the last mile between wholesale network ordering (via TMF-640) and real-world service delivery at the customer’s home – empowering ISPs to move faster, scale smarter, and deliver better.
The Future Is Standardized – and It’s Already Here
For ISPs, TM Forum’s standardization efforts aren’t just about technical compliance – they’re about unlocking agility, reducing costs, and providing consistently excellent service. By pairing TMF Open API integration with a robust, TMF-compliant device management solution like AXESS, you gain a complete framework for efficient broadband delivery, from order to activation and beyond.
See It in Action at TM Forum!
Axiros is proud to participate in TM Forum DTW24 – Ignite, taking place 17–19 June in Copenhagen. Visit us at Booth 223 to learn how our TMF-compliant solutions are accelerating broadband service delivery.
You can also see our joint Catalyst initiative in action at the Composable IT & Ecosystems Innovation Zone:
“Broadband as a Service – Phase II: The Future of Wholesale Broadband Ordering.”
Written by Michael Meister
Michael Meister is a Technical Account Manager at Axiros and has been with the company for over 15 years. Throughout his career at Axiros, he has taken on various roles and contributed significantly to the development and evolution of the company’s flagship product, AXESS ACS. With deep expertise in device management and provisioning technologies, Michael brings a wealth of experience and insight to his current focus on supporting customers and optimizing deployment strategies across diverse network environments.