AminoOS – A Sustainable Foundation for Extending Device Lifetime Value

IP delivery technology has changed beyond recognition from the first IP systems to the modern streaming protocols we see today. To remain competitive, our customers ask us to support new features on existing hardware, which demands commonality across the hardware they have deployed. Amino fulfils these requirements, extending the life of existing devices and addressing increasing demand for environmentally sustainable solutions by focusing on its device platform software - AminoOS.

Born out of necessity, it has resulted in benefits and novel applications. AminoOS has been used to help operators resolve difficult issues with suppliers and with the technical limitations of existing platforms. Additionally, it has been deployed multiple times on non-Amino hardware.

Vodafone Iceland, owned by Syn hf and operating as a Vodafone franchise, delivers TV, broadband and telephony services to subscribers in Iceland, with 32.8% market share. Amino had been a long-term supplier for VFI but in recent years Vodafone were purchasing set-top boxes from Samsung. Samsung announced in 2019 that they would withdraw from the market - leaving their customers with deployed devices and no ability to support them.

The approach many operators take in a similar situation, is to cap the deployment, migrate to new hardware and then decommission the unsupported devices as quickly as possible. This is an incredibly wasteful approach resulting in many millions of perfectly useable devices being prematurely disposed of. Even if the devices are recycled, turning them into low- value recycled materials and replacing them with new equipment, using more precious resources, it is environmentally unsustainable.

Familiar with AminoOS software, Vodafone approached Amino to explore how we could solve the problem together.

Amino had prior experience of porting AminoOS onto third party hardware platforms and agreed to assess the options available to VFI. Vodafone was able to share the RFP from the original procurement process for the hardware, and from that Amino created a gap analysis and developed a proposal for VFI.

It was clear that Vodafone needed feature development on these devices to ensure their longevity and meet VFI's video service goals. Amino agreed to support new features such as Wi-Fi, which had not previously been deployed to the field.

Amino's approach combines its experience in deploying hardware, implementing security solutions and customising AminoOS with a professional services approach to assessing the feasibility of the project.

Upcycling devices that will continue to exploit the capabilities of hardware - even as the software and services evolves - requires a software platform which is sufficiently configurable and flexible to support diverse hardware and software requirements. The reality is that most hardware vendors have multiple software stacks with multiple branches for individual customers making the task of deploying a set of features to new hardware a time consuming and complex task. Amino recognized this challenge several years ago and designed AminoOS to migrate customers onto a single platform and build from a single software branch. While that may seem obvious to the casual observer, only engineers in a product organisation which has tried it can understand how complex it is to achieve and then to maintain in an organisation with the normal demands of cost, speed, and features.

This approach gives our customers, and Vodafone Iceland specifically, an environmentally sustainable solution to consolidating, modernising, and future-proofing their deployed devices. Amino's approach allows significant reuse of its investment in AminoOS and in doing so allows the underlying hardware to be salvaged. Out of the necessity to create a product which can support a multitude of operators in a rapidly evolving market, we have created a product and solution which is uniquely suitable to meet the challenges of reducing the environmental impact of hardware.

Many companies are currently rushing to assess their supply chain, use of materials and power efficiency of their products. That's important, but another difference we can make is to ensure the longevity of the hardware. Given the resources already expended to create the present generation of devices, there is an absolute market need for solutions that ensure our industry does not prematurely and unnecessarily dispose of hardware and intensify the issue of electronic waste. Amino has shown that these devices can continue to deliver services to consumers for many years. Amino has had a reputation for devices which are 'bullet proof' and continue to function in the network for many, many years. Using AminoOS, we have enabled Vodafone Iceland to do the same with Samsung devices and to do so without having to make the choice between cost and sustainability. The approach offered by Amino has delivered both.