Thread Group and Broadband Forum Establish Liaison Agreement to Connect IoT Mesh Networks with Broadband Infrastructure

Collaboration between standards bodies will make it easier for IoT devices and broadband networks to work together in smart homes and commercial buildings

SAN RAMON, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Thread Group, the industry alliance of more than 240 companies supporting the Thread wireless mesh networking protocol for IoT, and the Broadband Forum, the leading open standards organization for broadband networks, announced a liaison agreement to improve interoperability between Thread mesh networks and broadband-managed environments. The agreement establishes the opportunity for consumer electronics vendors and service providers to work together to offer fully managed service.

Implications for Smart Homes and Buildings

Today, there are more than 19 billion connected IoT devices globally sitting behind broadband home gateways, which IoT Analytics expects will nearly double by 2030. Because broadband service providers increasingly manage the smart home and commercial IoT networks, the rapid expansion of wireless device networks highlights the critical need for seamless coordination between connected device services and broadband connectivity.

Thread provides the low-power, IP-based wireless mesh layer that connects IoT devices to each other and to the internet. The Broadband Forum provides the open standards that govern how broadband networks deliver, manage, and monitor those connections. This agreement represents a shared commitment by both organizations to develop together and align the evolving connectivity needs of smart devices, service providers, and choice for consumers. The result is simpler device setup, more reliable connections, and fewer compatibility issues between IoT products and broadband equipment.

Key Details

• Both organizations are IP-based and vendor-neutral. Collectively, they have nearly 400 member companies that will bring the benefits from this collaboration to connected homes and buildings worldwide.
• Thread Group and Broadband Forum will share technical specifications and best practices to improve interoperability between Thread mesh networks and broadband-managed User Services Platform (USP)/TR-369 environments.
• Contributors from both organizations will define joint interoperability requirements across consumer and enterprise IoT applications.
• Thread Group has certified over 1,000 products built on its low-power, IP-based wireless mesh protocol. Thread enables all devices, regardless of manufacturer, to operate on one unified network.
• Broadband Forum has published more than 250 globally adopted specifications across its 30-year history, with standards deployed across billions of broadband devices worldwide.
• Thread Group also has liaison agreements with the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA), the DALI Alliance, BACNet, and the KNX Association.

Executive Perspectives from Vividh Siddha, President, Thread Group

“Thread now connects more than 1,000 certified products inside homes and buildings. Broadband connects those spaces to the world. With Point-Topic estimating there are over 1.5 billion broadband subscriptions globally, aligning these two layers by design means fewer integration problems for operators and a better experience for the people who live and work in these spaces.”

Executive Perspectives from – John Blackford, Chairman of the Board, Broadband Forum

“Our members manage broadband standards deployed across billions of devices worldwide. Thread’s IP-native mesh networking fits naturally into that ecosystem. This liaison gives both communities a framework to solve real interoperability challenges and bring better-connected products to market faster.”

Summary

With this liaison agreement, Thread Group and Broadband Forum will align their open, IP-based standards and accelerate IoT adoption in broadband-connected homes and commercial buildings. Importantly, the agreement creates a direct channel for engineers and product teams to share specifications, define interoperability requirements, and develop joint best practices. The way forward depends on coordination between the wireless mesh layer and the broadband network layer, and this liaison formalizes that coordination between two of the industry’s most established standards organizations.

Resources to Learn More

To see how the organizations will work together to simplify onboarding, improve reliability, and enable more scalable managed IoT services, please join the joint webinar using this link on July 16, 2026.

For more about Thread’s role in the connected home and commercial building IoT, visit Thread Group at threadgroup.org. To learn more about open standards for broadband networks, visit Broadband Forum’s broadband-forum.org/about-bbf.

• What is the Thread Protocol: threadgroup.org/What-is-Thread
• Broadband Forum: broadband-forum.org
• Thread Group Liaisons: threadgroup.org/thread-group#ourliaisons
• Thread Group Newsroom: threadgroup.org/newsroom

About Thread Group

Formed in 2013, the non-profit Thread Group is focused on making Thread the foundation for the Internet of Things in homes and commercial buildings. Built on open standards, Thread is a low power wireless networking protocol that enables direct, end-to-end, secure, and scalable connectivity between more than 1,000 certified IoT devices, mobile devices, and the internet. Because Thread is IP-based, it seamlessly integrates with many environments, apps, devices, and clouds. The Thread Group provides a rigorous certification program to ensure device interoperability and positive user experience. Thread is backed by more than 240 industry-leading companies including Amazon, Apple, ASSA ABLOY, Fortune Brands Innovations, Google, Lutron, Inventronics, Nordic Semiconductors, NXP Semiconductors, Qualcomm, Siemens, Silicon Labs, and Samsung SmartThings.

About Broadband Forum

The Broadband Forum is the communications industry’s leading organization focused on accelerating broadband innovation, standards, and ecosystem development. A non-profit industry consortium, the Broadband Forum develops open standards and open-source software for fixed and wireless-wireline converged broadband networks that drive multi-vendor interoperability.

Its expertise is sourced from more than 150 supplier and service provider companies, with over 250 globally adopted specifications published across its 30-year history. For more information, visit broadband-forum.org.