,

ISP and Fiber Finance, Part 1

Where Cash Leaks in Fiber Networks 

Fiber network operators frequently report robust subscriber growth while cash conversion underperforms forecasts. Receipts arrive later than projected, collections require disproportionate reconciliation effort, and finance teams are absorbed in backward-looking fixes rather than shaping strategic investment cycles. These symptoms are not ephemeral execution hiccups. They are structural finance and operational disconnects.

At the core, most broadband CFOs do not lose money through an identifiable failure. Instead, revenue leaks through a network of process and system seams between commercial commitments and financial realization. Each gap, in isolation, appears tractable. Collectively, they create persistent leakage that erodes cash flow and distorts profitability.

The principal leak vectors share a common root: finance, network operations, and commercial systems do not operate on a unified control framework. In fiber ventures—the capital intensity of last-mile infrastructure amplifies this risk—static silos between sales, fulfillment, billing, and contract enforcement inevitably erode financial discipline.

Six Common Structural Revenue Leaks

  1. Activation-Driven Billing Is Not Guaranteed
     When billing triggers are not tightly coupled to service activation events, invoicing lags delivered value. Days or weeks of unbilled service consume working capital. The financial impact is not hypothetical; every hour between activation and first invoice reduces project IRR and extends payback periods.
  2. Manual Processes Amplify Inconsistency
     Reconciling orders, activations, and contracts after the fact forces finance into a cycle of corrections and credits. Manual reconciliations increase cycle times, inject errors, and obscure true performance. Systems with post-hoc reconciliation loops will always underperform systems with real-time control.
  3. Pricing and Promotion Drift
     Without standardized pricing enforcement embedded in operational workflows, errors persist. Promotions fail to expire; contract terms are not reflected in daily operations. Over time, these policy drifts distort ARPU and margin forecasts.
  4. Blended Wholesale/Retail Economics Obscure Profitability
     When wholesale and retail revenue streams are consolidated without granular economic separation, finance teams cannot attribute performance accurately. This opacity inhibits pricing discipline and distorts investment decisions.
  5. Inaccurate Customer and Location Data
     Billing and revenue assurance are only as accurate as the underpinning data. Inconsistent address or customer records propagate downstream errors, inflate collections cycles, and increase dispute volumes.
  6. Disconnect Between Commercial Systems and Billing
     When the customer portal, provisioning system, and billing engine do not share a common operational backbone, revenue capture becomes contingent on human handoffs. Revenue leakage often resides in these transition points between systems, not in a single failed transaction.

Growth Without Control Amplifies the Problem

Operators often assume that subscriber growth will naturally generate cash. This belief disregards the non-linear impact of operational friction. Growth amplifies complexity faster than cash inflows—if billing, contract governance, and activation are not controlled at the transaction level. Manual processes and disconnected systems scale poorly; without embedded controls, growth increases hidden leakage.

Slower order-to-cash cycles, recurring credits, and noisy month-end closes are not merely symptoms. They are the financial consequence of control gaps between commercial commitments and revenue realization.

The Path to Financial Control

Stopping revenue leakage does not require more headcount. It requires tighter operational control, embedded into the core systems that execute the customer life cycle:

  • Activation-driven billing that ties invoicing precisely to fulfilled service events.

  • Standardized pricing and promotion logic enforced across sales, provisioning, and billing.

  • Contract-driven fees and terms that flow automatically into billing rulesets.

  • Accurate customer and location data that underlies billing, collections, and forecast models.

  • Audit-ready workflows that provide real-time visibility into exceptions and reconcile upstream/downstream state.

These controls ensure that revenue is recognized as services are delivered, not after finance discovers a gap.

Why This Matters

When finance, operations, and commercial systems share a common operational backbone, finance stops chasing discrepancies and starts steering the business. That shift—from reconciliation to control—is central to making fiber economics sustainable at scale. COS Business Engine embodies these principles, supporting wholesale, retail, and Open Access models without fragmenting finance operations. When systems share a unified data and control framework, leakage declines and financial performance becomes predictable.

Coming next: Controls That Stop Revenue Leakage, Fraud, and Service Theft

Learn More and Contact Us Today

/by
, , ,

U.S. Fiber Network Utilization:


Presenter discussing fiber broadband network utilization strategy with colleagues

The Investment Strategy Reshaping Broadband Infrastructure

By Mikael Philipsson  |  January 16, 2026

Part of the Broadband Investment Series

Why Network Utilization Is Now the Core Fiber Investment Thesis

Everyone says fiber wins. Investors are asking a sharper question: where, and under what model, does fiber win sustainably? The answer explains both the scale of recent U.S. broadband investments and why capital has become more selective about which operators and architectures it backs.

Investors are not just funding fiber. They are rethinking how digital infrastructure creates durable value.

For years the U.S. broadband playbook was straightforward: own the network, own the customer. That model is breaking down. The real shift is not about faster speeds. It is about network utilization at scale: build fiber once, operate and automate it as infrastructure, open it to multiple service providers, and complement it with open-access-ready fixed wireless to extend reach, accelerate time to revenue, and compound returns without overbuilding.

How the New Model Works

The legacy single-operator model is giving way to investor-backed structures that maximize network utilization from day one. The shift fits infrastructure capital’s requirements: long-life assets, diversified revenues, and repeatable expansion logic.

The structure works as follows. The NetCo owns and finances the physical network and sells wholesale access to service providers. It secures anchor-tenant commitments, operates on open access economics, and clusters market expansions to ramp take-rates without ramping risk. NetCos concentrate on layer 1 build pace with economies of scale, layer 2 automation with defined SLAs, and network utilization as the long-life compounding yield driver.

Three Case Studies

Case 1

Brookfield / Intrepid Fiber / T-Mobile

Intrepid’s open access builds in Colorado and Minnesota continue to scale with T-Mobile as the retail ISP anchor. Public updates point to eight additional communities in each state and a plan exceeding 400,000 locations passed across both. The thesis is build once, add tenants.

Case 2

AT&T + BlackRock / GigaPower

Marketed as the largest commercial open access fiber platform in the U.S., the JV is live in approximately 70 communities across six states and is preparing a second ISP. Adding that second provider is the utilization multiplier that boosts yields without duplicating physical plant.

Case 3

AT&T Wholesale Fiber Expansion

Beyond GigaPower, AT&T signed agreements with four open access providers — Boldyn, Digital Infrastructure Group, PRIME FiBER, and Ubiquity — to extend serviceable footprint. This is capital-light coverage: scale reach via wholesale rather than owned and financed build.

Why This Model Is Structurally Disruptive

Service Providers

Asset-light expansion becomes viable. ISPs can enter new markets and add bundling options at scale over third-party fiber without carrying the capital cost of the network.

Communities and Municipalities

Active partnership with infrastructure builders accelerates permits and reuses existing assets. Communities gain future-proof connectivity for schools, healthcare, and public services, with standardized open access technology that ensures additional providers can be added over time.

Investors and NetCos

Infrastructure-profile returns with long-term secure cash flows and a diversified revenue base from multiple tenants added progressively. Risk is structurally lower than single-operator models.

What This Means for Each Operator Type

ISPs: The retail game is becoming operator-light. You can enter new geographies on other operators’ fiber and still own the customer experience. Modern OSS/BSS with API certification is required to interconnect cleanly across wholesale catalogs in open access networks.

Municipal and community networks: Partner actively with infrastructure companies or build your own and partner with credible service providers. Open access technology is no longer experimental. It is the operating standard in markets where this model is most advanced.

Investors: Utilization is your primary lever. Secure an anchor tenant first, then curate a second and third ISP to lift yield without overbuilding. Standardized onboarding makes each additional ISP incrementally cheaper to add.

Three Shifts That Will Reshape the National Landscape

  • Coverage without capital expenditure for national brands. Large operators expand rapidly into new markets via wholesale rather than building everywhere themselves. AT&T’s joint ventures, partnerships, and fiber agreements demonstrate the result: faster footprint growth with lower balance-sheet strain.
  • Rise of regional NetCos. Brookfield-backed Intrepid Fiber is the early pattern: wholesale-only, anchored by a scaled ISP, then adding more providers in clustered markets. These NetCos become the quiet backbone for multiple retail brands.
  • More competition in open access cities. Open access only scales when the technology does. The industry is moving from custom, one-off integrations toward standardized interconnectivity between service providers and NetCos. That shift enables faster ISP onboarding, real competition, and higher utilization of existing fiber assets.

Utilization Is the Strategy

The debate between owning the customer and owning the network misses the point. What matters is how well each role drives utilization of the asset it controls.

Investor-backed NetCos are demonstrating that fiber becomes true infrastructure when it is built once, operated at scale, and opened to multiple service providers through standardized technology. The most effective rollouts increasingly combine fiber with open-access-ready fixed wireless to extend reach, accelerate time to revenue, and improve utilization without overbuilding.

The operators who win will not be defined by who builds the most. They will be defined by who utilizes best, across fiber and complementary access layers.

Talk Strategy

COS Systems works directly with fiber network operators, NetCos, and municipal broadband providers across North America and Europe.

Get in Touch

/by
, ,

Meet the latest addition to our team – Zack Mitchell

Meet Our Team – Quick Q&A with Zack

We’re excited to welcome Zack to our growing US team at COS Systems. Based in Wake Forest, NC, he’ll be working closely with our North American customers and partners to help assess and summarize issues, along with assisting in the implementation of new features. Get to know him in this quick Q&A.

Tell us a little bit about yourself – who are you, and what is your background?

A results-driven expert in the fiber industry, I bring nearly 8 years of experience, from field operations to data analytics. This background provides a comprehensive understanding of customer needs in a Field Service Management Tool.

You’re joining our growing (US) team – what will you be working on, and how does your role strengthen COS Systems in North America?

I will serve as a liaison, working closely with our developers to translate end-user needs. This will enable the development team to focus more time and energy on feature construction.

What caught your interest in COS Systems?

The Software and the Culture

What are your goals for the coming months in your new role?

To support our customers with increased documentation, release notes, and demos 

What are you most excited about when it comes to working with COS customers and partners in the US?

I’m excited to build strong relationships and further understand the needs of our customers

Tell us a fun fact about yourself.

I used to race dirtbikes when I was in grade school

What’s your go-to productivity hack when things get busy?

Stop and recalibrate. I find it super helpful in times of busyness to stop, take a deep breath, and reshift focus to the highest priority items.

 If you could instantly become an expert in one new skill, what would it be?

Carpentry. Imagine being able to build any piece of furniture you want, completely custom to you.

 What’s your favorite way to unwind after a long workday?

Watching trashy reality tv shows with my fiancé and laughing at the absurdity.

Lastly, what’s one word your friends or colleagues would use to describe you?

Confident

Connect with Zack!

/by
, ,

Meet the latest addition to our team – Nicholas Gerrer

Meet Our Team – Quick Q&A with Nick

We’re excited to welcome Nick to our growing US team at COS Systems. Based in Deerfield Beach, FL, he’ll be working closely with our North American customers and partners to drive product development and provide local support. Get to know him in this quick Q&A.

Tell us a little bit about yourself – who are you, and what is your background?

I’m Nick, and I come from a background in software engineering across a variety of business domains, including domain and hosting resellers, legal technology, and managed home repair. I’ve spent the past 10 years working in engineering departments, where I focused on leading technology initiatives and architecting business-critical systems. Originally from New York, I’ve always been passionate about leveraging the latest technology to solve real-world problems.

You’re joining our growing (US) team – what will you be working on, and how does your role strengthen COS Systems in North America?

I’ll be focusing on developing our Wholesale Engine application. My background in architecting business-critical systems will help strengthen the product as we grow, and being US-based means I can work more closely with our North American customers and partners to ensure they feel fully supported.

What caught your interest in COS Systems?

A few things stood out to me. First, the company culture—it was clear from my conversations that COS Systems values its people and fosters a collaborative environment. I was also excited about the autonomy I’ll have as an engineer to make meaningful contributions. On the technical side, the opportunity to work within the Laravel framework and ecosystem was a big draw. And ultimately, I wanted to join a company that genuinely cares about innovation—not just as a buzzword, but as part of how they operate.

What are your goals for the coming months in your new role?

In the short term, I want to get up to speed on the COS product offerings, build relationships with key customers, and understand the US market landscape. Long-term, I’m aiming to become a go-to resource for our products and contribute to technical decisions that shape their future.

What are you most excited about when it comes to working with COS customers and partners in the US?

I’m most excited about learning a business domain that’s new to me, helping solve real challenges for customers, seeing the impact of our solutions firsthand, and building long-term partnerships. The US market has so much opportunity for growth, and I can’t wait to be part of it.

Tell us a fun fact about yourself.

I’ve recently started prioritizing international travel with the goal of visiting a new destination at least once a year. I love learning about new cultures and ways of life—last year was Thailand, and next up is Italy. I also play ice hockey weekly in recreational adult leagues.

What’s your go-to productivity hack when things get busy?

I throw on classical music or electronic dance music when I want to focus on writing code or developing architectural solutions.

 If you could instantly become an expert in one new skill, what would it be?

Speaking another language fluently. I’d choose this because of my love for international travel.

 What’s your favorite way to unwind after a long workday?

Playing video games, watching sports, and catching up on TV.

Lastly, what’s one word your friends or colleagues would use to describe you?

Adaptable

Connect with Nick!

/by
, ,

Updated UI Tools for Faster Daily Operations in Business Engine

Over the past year, our team has delivered a series of thoughtful UI improvements designed to make your daily work smoother, faster, and more intuitive.

In this update, Spencer walks through several key enhancements. First, the streamlined navigation: daily operational tools are now placed front and center on the left side, while deeper configuration menus move to a separate section, making everything easier to find. Up top, the notification center now includes release notes and improved alerts to keep you informed at a glance.

We’ve also added better visibility into integrations, allowing operators to quickly check system status and run syncs when needed. Search has been upgraded across the platform—from multi-order lookups to clearer default filters—making it quicker to find the exact data you need. The super search now highlights “perfect matches,” meaning one keystroke brings you straight to the right customer, order, or location.

Finally, fly-ins and customer/location cards have been redesigned to show more information on a single screen, reducing unnecessary clicks and helping you access diagnostics, history, and services faster than ever.

These changes may look simple, but together they create a smoother, more powerful user experience—one that helps you stay efficient and focused in your day-to-day operations. We hope you enjoy this sneak peek behind today’s advent calendar door and look forward to hearing your feedback as the UI continues to evolve.

Reach out if you want to learn more or if you want to see it live!

/by
,

COS Advent Calendar 2025

Don’t miss this year’s edition of our popular COS Advent Calendar!

Discover the magic of the COS Advent Calendar. Each day reveals a new surprise, making the holiday season even more special, with best practices, new features, case studies, white papers, and how-tos!

To the Advent Calendar

/by

How modern broadband turns “somewhere else” to “right here”

Published: November 6, 2025
One of our customers recently said their favorite proof this matters isn’t a speed test—it’s when a neighbor taps Join and the call just works. The same customer told us about one of their residents, a dad, who described gaming with his 10-year-old while uploading class photos and sending a video to a colleague—simultaneously. A couple of years ago, that screen just spun. This is important for communities because that one smooth connection is the first domino: homes can support work, school, care, and play without juggling or dropping the ball. That’s what modern broadband does—it keeps opportunity right here, in your house, your neighborhood and your community.

The gap we have to close

Too many areas still run on legacy networks and patchwork builds. Today’s life needs reliable, low-latency, symmetrical capacity. Only fiber scales for decades—not just product cycles.

Why rural communities get left behind—and what changes that

Traditional ROI favors dense metros. Rural means longer drops, fewer passings, thinner margins—the result being “have” vs “have-not” neighbourhoods. Communities are responding with public-private models: keep the physical network local, let private operators do what they do best, and share the upside as adoption grows—without the city having to “be the ISP”.

Open Access: the go-to model for turning demand into durable economics

Open Access separates the network into three layers—infrastructure (fiber/conduit), operations (active electronics), and services (ISPs and applications).One entity builds and maintains the fiber; many providers compete over it. Think airport + airlines: one shared, capital-intensive infrastructure; many consumer choices riding on top. This structure lifts take-rates (more choice → more buyers), reduces overbuild waste, and makes rural deployments cash-flow positive/ROI-positive on realistic timelines. It’s also future-proof: you can invite new providers or new classes of services (tele-health, smart ag, security) without touching the glass.

Two practical truths make Open Access work in the real world:

  1. Customer Self-Service. Subscribers shop, order, and manage accounts in a digital marketplace (the customer portal), so adds/moves/changes don’t swamp your team. Zero-touch provisioning turns “buy” into “live” in minutes.
  2. Automation across operations. Wholesale billing, tickets, work orders, and outage comms run off a single source of truth that ties addresses, services, providers, and network elements together—keeping OPEX in check as you scale.

→ fun fact, one of our customers runs their network with a team of two

The COS Systems piece (move fast, stay efficient)

  • COS Business Engine: runs the broadband business end-to-end—from surveys and sign-ups to activation, billing, and support.
  • Customer portal: address check, plan compare, checkout, payments, self-service changes, real-time status.
  • Provider portal: onboard ISPs, set products/promos/areas, manage marketplace listings, track orders and settlements.
  • Plus: automated orders & provisioning, wholesale billing/settlements, tickets, field ops, outages, reporting, and integrations.

Proof in the wild

City of Superior, WI: stood up a marketplace where residents compare providers, order, and manage accounts—fast path from concept to day-one take-rate.

Clearwater County, Alberta, Canada: Arcadis + Calix + COS—shared fiber platform serving multiple last-mile technologies with a consumer-friendly marketplace.

Kitsap PUD, WA: community-owned, open access; thousands of passings, 6+ ISPs, automated sign-ups to settlements—scaling without extra headcount.

How modern broadband turns “nowheres into “somewheres”

Own the long-lived fiber infrastructure, invite competition through more customer choice, and automate the journey. You get higher take-rates, lower churn, healthier unit economics—and real options for people who were told to “move for opportunity.” 

If you’re exploring how to take your “nowhere” to “somewhere,” let’s map demand, choose the right Open Access model, and stand up a marketplace your residents will actually use. That first flawless click on Join is closer than you think. 

Contact Adam today!

/by
, ,

Meet the latest addition to our team – Björn Sandman

Meet Our Team – Quick Q&A with Björn

Tell us a little bit about yourself – who are you, and what is your background?

I am 44 years old and was born and raised a little bit outside of Umeå. I have an education in computer science at Umeå University.

What caught your interest in COS Systems?

I worked at COS for nine years, then moved to the audiobook industry, where I’ve worked for seven years to expand my views. Now I feel it’s a good time to come back and bring new experience and perspectives.

What are your goals for the coming months?

Getting back up to speed and bringing some good practices to improve our processes. 

Why should people contact you and press the “connect with Björn” button?

I am always up for conversations about pretty much anything!

Tell us a fun fact about yourself.

I have an exceptionally acute sense of smell. While it offers little practical benefit, the drawback is that it makes me acutely aware of unpleasant smells.

If you could swap jobs with anyone at COS Systems for a day, who would it be and why?

Björn Wännman, it would be interesting to see things from the sales side.

What’s your go-to productivity hack when things get busy?

Not really a hack, but focus on a task at the time and try to ignore other things.

If you could instantly become an expert in one new skill, what would it be?

I’ve worked on both front-end and back-end development, but I’ve often relied on others for the visual design. If my design skills were stronger, I’d be more independent.”

What’s your favorite way to unwind after a long workday?

Usually, any form of exercise does the trick. Either a run, a long walk, or maybe a visit to the gym

Lastly, what’s one word your friends or colleagues would use to describe you?

Energetic

Welcome back Björn!

CONNECT WITH BJÖRN

/by
, ,

Meet the latest addition to our team – Emma Hjalmarsson Wahlström

 

 

Meet Our Team – Quick Q&A with Emma 

Tell us a little bit about yourself – who are you, and what is your background?

Hi! I’m Emma, born in Umeå in northern Sweden. I recently made a big life change—from hairdresser to software engineer. I took a two-year program in .NET System Development with AI competence, a hands-on education where we started building projects right away. It was incredibly fun and rewarding, and it really sparked my passion for development. I graduated in 2023 and have since worked at a startup, where I got to apply and grow my new skills. And now I’m thrilled to be here at a global, well-established company, continuing my journey as a Junior Software Engineer at COS.

What caught your interest in COS Systems?

Before I applied, I’d heard great things about COS from people who had worked with some of the employees here. When I walked into the office for my interview, everyone was so welcoming and warm—that feeling only grew stronger at my second interview. COS is a well-established company with a solid, well-structured system that I truly respect. The employees seem perfectly suited to their roles, and it’s clear everyone genuinely enjoys what they do.

What are your goals for the coming months?

I want to learn as much as possible about the company as a whole and grow into my role as a Junior Developer. I’m naturally curious and love understanding how things work. I’m also excited to get to know my colleagues—both here in Sweden and across other continents—and to better understand what everyone is working on at COS.

Why should people contact you and press the “connect with Emma” button?

I’m still new to the company and to my role as a Junior Developer, so I might not always be the right person for work-related questions just yet. But I do love a good chat, and if I can make someone smile, that makes my day. My hairdressing background means I’m naturally tuned in to listening and staying open to any kind of conversation. I’ve learned that when you do that, you often discover things you’d never have looked for on your own.

Tell us a fun fact about yourself.

I pick up different dialects terrifyingly fast—it honestly embarrasses me sometimes! I’ll be mid-conversation and suddenly realize I’m talking just like the person I’m with. Help!
I also lived for a year in Barcelona, and I spent some time living in Hemavan, a ski resort in northern Sweden, while working in Mo i Rana, Norway. Fun fact: the road between Hemavan and Mo i Rana is only about 10 miles, but it’s incredibly tough to drive. Some days the road completely disappeared under the snow, and once I was even chased by a moose (true story!). They’re way faster than you’d think—I had to speed off in my car to get away!

If you could swap jobs with anyone at COS Systems for a day, who would it be and why?

Since I’m still new, I haven’t learned exactly what everyone does yet. But from what I’ve seen, I’d choose Maren Buchmüller, Head of Marketing—just to try something completely different. It also seems like a lot of fun!

What’s your go-to productivity hack when things get busy?

Headphones on and 8D music—it’s magical how focused I become. I also make sure to take short breaks throughout the day; I prefer many small ones rather than one long break, and I always try to get some fresh air.

If you could instantly become an expert in one new skill, what would it be?

I’d love to instantly become an expert in more programming languages, cybersecurity, and machine learning.

What’s your favorite way to unwind after a long workday?

An audiobook while I’m driving or out for a walk is my go-to. A good workout—or a good meal paired with a great TV show—also helps me relax after a long day.

Lastly, what’s one word your friends or colleagues would use to describe you?

  •  Caring.

Welcome aboard Emma!

CONNECT WITH EMMA

/by