The core chip is still essential to power cable modems, gateways and other forms of broadband consumer premises equipment (CPE). But it is becoming more and more obvious that these same chips are beginning to become channels for differentiated software and service enhancements, which can be marketed and sold by broadband service providers.

MaxLinear is a chip manufacturer. After acquiring Intel’s DOCSIS and Wi-Fi business last year, it has expanded its entry into the wired and broadband CPE market. By establishing a new partnership with Inango Systems, it has taken a step forward in the service direction. According to the deal announced this spring, MaxLinear is integrating Inango’s service orchestration platform, a move that will enable ISPs to layer and sell services on top of their benchmark broadband products.

Israel-based Inango CEO Jonathan Masel said that a virtual gateway that can provide services such as parental control, IoT security, and Wi-Fi analysis is one of the products that ISPs are particularly interested in using this technology. There is also some interest in providing SD-WAN capabilities for CPE products that focus on the field of small and medium-sized enterprises.

Although Inango provides a central virtual gateway component, it can also write services added to the top and/or integrate services from third-party partners. Bundle everything together to support a model similar to an app store that can be accessed from a cable modem or other types of broadband edge devices.

Inango’s architecture requires a small software client that can run on traditional CPE and new models with more memory. MaxLinear will effectively integrate Inango into its new software development kit and play a role in the co-sales and co-licensing of the underlying orchestration platform itself.

MaxLinear plans to conduct preliminary work centered on laboratory tests, and plans to release new Inango components as part of its software development kit (SDK) before the third quarter of 2021. Dorol Tal, vice president and general manager of MaxLinear’s broadband access department, said that its other CPE silicon platforms, including optical fiber, will be launched before the end of the year.