New Developments in Open Access Networks

Open Access is hot! While being big in Europe mainly it has been little traction for Open Access networks in the US. In recent years this has started to change, and in the last year or so, investors and tier1’s have announced investments of capital and efforts in Open Access Networks. Isak Finer was recently brought in as en expert on the topic on a Panel hosted by Broadband Breakfast.

As you have surely noticed, the interest in Open Access Networks is growing by the day, but there is still some confusion about what it really is. Therefore, we have teamed up with our friends at Connected America to arrange a pre-conference day focusing exclusively on Open Access. The program starts at lunch and ends with an Open (Access) Bar close to the venue.

Find Out More Join the Conference Register for the Open Access Bar

12 pm – 1 pm | Lunch

1 pm – 1:50 pm | Keynote 

Understanding the Increasing Popularity of Open Access and key business model considerations for success – Insights from Mikael Philipsson, CEO, COS Systems 

The future of fiber is a digital society with Everyone and Everything relying on digital infrastructure. Paired with the current trends of consolidation, more expensive build costs and a race to invest in fiber roll out – all roads lead to shared infrastructure and open access. Mikael Philipsson, former CTO and CEO at one of the largest Open Access networks globally, IP Only (now Global Connect), led this journey on a national scale in Sweden, which has a fiber penetration of 98% today. He shares his insights on why Open Access is the right choice and how to structure the business case to make Open Access a success.

2 pm – 2:50 pm | Panel Discussion I

Three Layers of an Open Access Network: A Thorough Look at Roles and Responsibilities

Moderator: Keith Ponton, Senior Practice Lead, Arcadis
Panelists:

Gregg Shepperd, Senior Engagement Leader at Fujitsu Network Communications

Beni Blell, Vice President, Head of Sales and Marketing, Hexatronic 

Gabe Gomez, VP Customer Experience, Syringa Networks

Pankaj Gulati, Head of Products and Platforms, Ubiquity 

The key characteristics of an Open Access Network are the separation of the network infrastructure, the neutral operations of the network, and the independent service providers selling their services to subscribers. This panel will explain these different roles and show that you can run an efficient fiber network by working with specialized partners without doing everything yourself.

3 pm – 3:50 pm | Panel Discussion II 

Exploring the Advantages of Open Access Networks for Internet Service Providers and Their Operations Support Requirements 

Moderator: John Zannos, Partner at Digital Ubiquity Capital
Panelists: 

Phil Roberts, Chief Executive Officer at Valo Networks

Brian Hollister, CEO and Co-Founder at Bonfire Infrastructure Group

Dan Johnson, Product Manager, Connect Fast

Aaron Hildreth, Founder, Intellipop Internet Services 

On an Open Access Network, all parties rely on each other for success. Internet Service Providers often have financial or workforce constraints limiting their ability to build fiber at a large scale. On an Open Access network, their Capex investment is minimal, and they can focus on providing high-quality services and support to their subscribers. But to be able to do this, they need a strong operator partner offering tools to efficiently sell, deliver, and troubleshoot on the shared network.

4 pm- 4:50 pm | Panel Discussion III

Navigating the Choice of Tech Stack for Open-Access Networks: Key Considerations for Success.

Moderator: Isak Finér, CRO, COS Systems 
Panelists: 

Robin Harder, Woven Product Lead at Arcadis

Sean Dundon, Director – Partner and Channel Development at VETRO FiberMap

Rob Laudati, VP – Product & Partnerships, Render Networks

Don Eben, CEO, Core Network Strategies

Despite the digital nature of fiber networks, a lot of legacy systems, technology, and manual processes are still in use. The Open Access model of sharing one infrastructure creates a whole different set of requirements and challenges that legacy technology can not solve. This panel explores the benefits of a “digital first” approach and how important integrations and automated workflows are becoming – especially in Open Access Networks.

5 pm- 6:00 pm | After-Panel Drinks and Socializing

Grab a beer and take the opportunity to grow your network of Open Access experts. Courtesy of the Open Access Day sponsors.

7 pm – 10 pm | Open (Access) Bar 

COS Systems and all other Elite Sponsors are inviting you to continue the fun and discussions at Bar Louie,  360 W Las Colinas Blvd #100, Irving, Texas 75039

Find Out More Join the Conference Register for the Open Access Bar

One of the most important events in the industry is taking place and of course, we’re attending.

Are you planning, building, or running an FTTH network? Let us help you run your FTTH project as efficiently and profitably as possible by automating your processes from pre-sign-ups to billing your customers.

Visit us at booth 529 to discuss how COS Systems can help your project excel, meet the team and learn about our latest product developments and integrations.

Or if you can’t attend – book at meeting with one of our experts.

 

Join Ashley in Keystone, Colorado May 23-25 for this year’s Mountain Connect conference. Or meet Mikael and Jessica in Vienna May 23-25 where we attend the world’s largest fiber summit, the FTTH Conference 2022.

Don’t hesitate to reach out to schedule a meeting and enjoy the weekend!

We’re starting off 2022 by heading out to see our clients, partners and potential customers. COS Systems and their expanded North American team are hitting the road and heading to conferences – In person!

Don’t miss us as we exhibit at NTCA’s RTIME Event February 13-16th. Stop by booth 26 to discuss how we can help you double your take rates!

Next Stop – New Orleans! COS is heading back to FISPA Live!

We’re excited to attend the leading telecom conference for fiber ISP’s. We were too late to get hold of a booth, but schedule a meeting with our team and learn how COS can help you plan for funding, increase take rates and bring zero touch automation to your operations.

Reach out to ashley.poling@cossystems.com!

Illustration of The Road to Broadband concept with roads representing progress and connectivity.

Now is the time for communities to invest in broadband infrastructure to improve citizens’ quality of life and promote economic prosperity. When opportunities arise, will your organization be ready? States, municipalities, community organizations, Tribal governments, and community groups must strategize NOW if they intend to get their proposed projects “shovel-ready” for deep, detailed applications and, ultimately, funding.

That’s why NoaNet is hosting these upcoming FREE “Road to Broadband” virtual workshops for communities on Nov. 30 and Dec. 16. There will be practical conversations to learn from communities and organizations that have been there.

Do like COS Systems! Join NoaNet for Broadband 101 if you want to grasp the basics- or stick with the workshop for both afternoons to get a solid understanding of the considerations of taking on a community telecommunications project in this step-by-step virtual workshop.

Speakers will include:
• PUDs, Cities, and Ports providing Broadband Solutions,
• Broadband Strategists,
• Grant Writers,
• The Washington State Broadband Office,
• The Community Economic Revitalization Board,
• Telecom Network Engineers,
• Technology Vendors,
• and more!

Click here to read more about the Workshop and to register! 

High-speed broadband technologies and services at Broadband Communities Summit 2021. Booth 416, Fiber Network session.

The Broadband Communities Summit is the leading event for community leaders, multifamily property owners and network builders and deployers interested in the building, managing, marketing and monetizing of high-speed broadband technologies and services.

With 200 COS Service Zones Demand Aggregation projects delivered and 200 networks operated with our operations platform COS Business Engine we know what it takes to deliver affordable FTTH profitably.  Come talk to us next week September 27-30th at the Broadband Communities Summit 2021.

Also, make sure to join the following session:

Sept 28th, 2:15-3:15 pm CDT –  So You’ve Decided You Need to Build a Fiber Network. Now What? A Step-by-Step Guide to Getting It Off the Ground…and Ensuring It Flies. Linh Nguyen – Customer Success Director, COS Systems will be one of the panelists and discuss how to successfully build a Fiber Network.

Make plans to visit us on the exhibit floor, we will be at booth 416! Get a free one-day exhibit pass, use VIP Code: EXVIP when registering. If you wish to attend as a full Conference attendee, use VIP-code: EXHVIP450 when registering; and receive the discounted price of $450*, that’s $500 off!

*Full rate is $950 ~ Offer good for new attendees only

zRural Broadband Conference 2020

Canada’s Rural and Remote Broadband Conference promises to provide strategic information sharing for community leaders, rural advocates, service providers and government officials. The summit presents a unique opportunity for stakeholders to come together and share their knowledge, experiences, lessons learned on the challenges and realities of creating a sustainable and ubiquitous digital economy for the rural and remote regions of CanadaThe agenda is focused on educating and informing community leaders and related stakeholders about the challenges and options surrounding the implementation of broadband solutions in their regions and the evolving technological landscape, specifically in rural and remote areas.

This Friday, November 27th, 2020 COS Systems CMO & VP North America Isak Finer will be participating in a session that you don’t want to miss!

Some communities are considering providing their own Internet services to ensure local focus is provided to address connectivity issues in their rural and remote locations. However, the path to becoming an Internet service provider can be complex. The panel will discuss the risk and rewards of various options including separating infrastructure ownership and operations while reviewing the pros and cons.

Make sure to join the Panel: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly Part 2 Becoming a Community ISP 12-12:55 PM EST.

If you’re interested in reading more about Open Access and True Open Access you should check out our page www.cossystems.com/openaccess. There’s also a piece about it on the news section of our website.

Broadband Communities Summit: Join Webinars & Workshops for High-Speed Broadband Insights

The Broadband Communities Summit is the leading event for community leaders, multifamily property owners and network builders and deployers interested in the building, managing, marketing and monetizing of high-speed broadband technologies and services.

Did you miss the Broadband Communities Summit? Don’t worry. Our webinars are still available. Go to https://bbcsummit.vfairs.com/ and register for free. When you have registered you can log in and everything from the BBC Summit will be available.

When you’ve logged in, click on “Auditorium” on the top menu, then continue by clicking on the text “Click here to view the presentations”. There you can find the program and information about all the webinars.

It’s divided in three categories, “Multifamily/General Session”, “CLIC/Economic Development” and “Rural/Editor’s Choice”. Scroll down to half of the list under the tab “Multifamily/General Sessions” and you will find our Exhibit Hall Virtual Marketplace Presentation on COS Service Zones and the New Speed Test Release. The webinar Build Your Network as an Open and Automated Platform for Future Providers, Services and Revenue and the workshop Zero Touch Provisioning of True Open Access Networks can be found under the tab “Rural/Editor’s Choice”. They are listed first under the headline September 24th at the second half of the list.

Our webinars:

Sep 22nd – Exhibit Hall Virtual Marketplace Presentation on COS Service Zones and the New Speedtest Release

Sep 24th  – Build Your Network as an Open and Automated Platform for Future Providers, Services and Revenue – Fast internet is just one of a multitude of services that can be delivered on your fiber infrastructure. By building your network from the start with the ability to virtually slice every fiber for specific services and for specific providers – while also being able to price those slices separately – it will be possible to deliver all the services of the future on one shared infrastructure. Yes, this introduces a whole new level of complexity. And, yes, automation is crucial. But it is already being done today, and we’ll show you how!

Sep 24th – Workshop: Zero Touch Provisioning of True Open Access Networks  – COS Systems has been automating service provisioning on fiber networks in Europe since 2008. In this workshop you will get to experience how this works and meet the engineers who made it possible. COS Systems is now introducing this functionality in North America in partnership with Nokia and you will also learn about their end-to-end electronics platform and architecture strategies for automated networks open to multiple service providers.

If you are interested in reading up on how we can automate the provisioning of services you should check out page 76-78 in the march/april edition of the BCC Magazine

Broadband Communities Summit: Join Webinars & Workshops for High-Speed Broadband Insights

Broadband Communities Summit: Join Webinars & Workshops for High-Speed Broadband Insights
The Broadband Communities Summit is the leading event for community leaders, multifamily property owners and network builders and deployers interested in the building, managing, marketing and monetizing of high-speed broadband technologies and services.

Next week September 22-24th, 2020 COS Systems representatives will be participating in several different sessions that you don’t want to miss. Make sure to join the following:

Sep 22nd 2:35-2:45 pm CDT – Exhibit Hall Virtual Marketplace Presentation on COS Service Zones and the New Speedtest Release

Sep 24th 10-10:50 am CDTBuild Your Network as an Open and Automated Platform for Future Providers, Services and Revenue – Fast internet is just one of a multitude of services that can be delivered on your fiber infrastructure. By building your network from the start with the ability to virtually slice every fiber for specific services and for specific providers – while also being able to price those slices separately – it will be possible to deliver all the services of the future on one shared infrastructure. Yes, this introduces a whole new level of complexity. And, yes, automation is crucial. But it is already being done today, and we’ll show you how!

Sep 24th 11-11:50 am CDT – Workshop: Zero Touch Provisioning of True Open Access Networks  – COS Systems has been automating service provisioning on fiber networks in Europe since 2008. In this workshop you will get to experience how this works and meet the engineers who made it possible. COS Systems is now introducing this functionality in North America in partnership with Nokia and you will also learn about their end-to-end electronics platform and architecture strategies for automated networks open to multiple service providers.

If you are interested in reading up on how we can automate the provisioning of services you should check out page 76-78 in the march/april edition of the BCC Magazine. There is also a piece about it on the news section of our website. 

Make plans to visit us on the exhibit floor in the virtual Exhibit Hall! Use VIP Code: EXHVIP when registering; and receive a one-day exhibit only pass that gives you free access to the exhibit floor and sessions that day. If you wish to attend as a full Conference attendee, use VIP-code SpeakerVIP350 when registering to get a full conference pass for $350, thats $100 off.