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Managing fiber network operations is complex, from mapping and demand aggregation to installation, billing, and support. Operators often face delays, errors, and inefficiencies due to challenging hand-offs between teams and systems. COS Business Engine offers a comprehensive solution to streamline every stage of your operations, reducing errors, accelerating timelines, and enhancing the customer experience:
Integration Capabilities and Flexible APIs
- COS Business Engine APIs: Business Engine provides robust APIs and webhooks for integrating third-party tools likeVETRO FiberMap enabling seamless data exchange and continuous mapping updates. This integration lets operators efficiently manage both physical network and subscriber data.
- Network Management: Integrating with third-party mapping and network management software allows Business Engine to automatically update serviceable addresses, network statuses, and work orders. This seamless integration ensures that network data remains accurate and actionable, streamlining operations and enhancing service management.
Automated, Demand Driven Planning
- Demand Aggregation Tools: Business Engine’s demand aggregation functionality helps operators gauge interest across mapped areas, which is crucial for informed planning. Using Business Engine’s pre-signup features, operators can identify high-interest areas and prioritize them based on updated mapping data, targeting areas with high demand and optimizing ROI.
Automated Installments and Provisioning
- Installment Workflow: Business Engine automates tasks from initial connection to diagnostics. Integrating third-party mapping data allows for dynamic updates to deployment phases and service eligibility, streamlining the build-out process based on real-time geographic and technical information.
- Zero-Touch Provisioning: Once a location is ready for service, Business Egnine enables zero-touch provisioning, which automatically activates services and captures critical deployment data, such as ONT diagnostics, for smooth service delivery.
Subscriber Management and Service Provisioning
- Automated Subscriber Services: Operators can use Business Engine’s marketplace and customer portal to allow self-service for service selection. Our integration with third-party mapping solutions allows automatic updates to network availability on subscriber portals, enabling customers to instantly check service eligibility based on the latest build-out status.
COS Business Engine’s integration with fiber network management platforms like VETRO or OSPInsight/IQGeo, combined with automated workflows for installments, service activation, and demand aggregation, delivers an end-to-end solution for fiber network operators to manage their infrastructure seamlessly.
Why is Data Integrity Important?
Data integrity is crucial for the success of any system, particularly one like COS Business Engine, managing complex network operations and customer interactions. Here’s why maintaining data integrity is essential:
Accurate Decision-Making: Reliable data allows network operators to make informed decisions. For instance, precise diagnostics and service provisioning data enable quick troubleshooting and ensure customers receive the correct services.
Operational Efficiency: Automated processes in COS Business Engine depend heavily on clean, validated data. Inaccuracies can disrupt workflows, leading to service delays, billing errors, or provisioning failures, all of which increase operational costs and workloads.
Customer Satisfaction: Accurate data ensures a seamless user experience. Customers rely on precise information about service availability, pricing, and billing. When data integrity is compromised, issues such as incorrect billing or service disruptions arise, ultimately leading to dissatisfaction.
Compliance and Revenue Assurance: Inaccurate data can result in billing disputes or compliance challenges, especially in Open Access or wholesale networks involving multiple service providers. High data integrity ensures accurate billing and minimizes revenue loss from “free riders” or errors.
Security and Trust: Data integrity protects against unauthorized changes or corruption, ensuring sensitive customer and network data remains secure. This transparency fosters trust between service providers and customers or partners.
Within COS Business Engine, data integrity is a fundamental aspect of the platform’s design, supporting accurate and reliable operations. The platform employs several methods to maintain high data quality:
- Automation and Validation: The system automates tasks like service provisioning and billing, relying on accurate data inputs. Thousands of validations are built into the platform to prevent errors and maintain data integrity.
- Real-Time Data Monitoring: Integration with network management systems provides real-time status updates, enabling proactive network performance monitoring and issue resolution.
- Centralized Database: Key data such as subscriber information, service locations, and billing details are stored in a centralized database, ensuring consistency across different platform modules.
- API Integration and Data Synchronization: APIs facilitate seamless integration with third-party systems, ensuring data remains synchronized and accurate.
By automating processes, implementing rigorous validation, and ensuring continuous monitoring, COS Business Engine reduces human error and enhances data quality. This, in turn, supports efficient, secure, and reliable network operations.
How Open Access Can Increase Scalability with Minimal Staff
Open Access networks help scalability with minimal staff through several key mechanisms:
- Division of Responsibilities: In Open Access, the network operator is responsible for maintaining the physical infrastructure, while multiple Internet Service Providers (ISPs) offer services like internet, TV, and phone over the network. This means that ISPs handle customer-facing, time-consuming tasks such as billing, and customer support, which significantly reduces the workload for the network operator’s staff.
- Automation: This business model requires a platform like COS Business Engine that supports automation throughout the network lifecycle. Integrations with external platforms like Nokia and Vetro automate tasks like provisioning and network mapping and activate services without manual intervention when a customer places an order. Similarly, automated billing processes for ISPs ensure that the operator does not need to handle financial transactions, reducing administrative overhead.
- Efficient Use of Infrastructure: Open Access maximizes the use of existing infrastructure by enabling multiple service providers to operate on the same physical network. This shared infrastructure model allows the operator to scale the network to serve more customers without proportionately expanding staff.
- ISP Handled Customer Support: Since ISPs manage customer support, troubleshooting, and issue resolution for their subscribers, the operator’s staffing needs for customer service are significantly reduced. ISPs use integrated platforms and tools like a subscriber marketplace to manage customer interactions, freeing the operator from directly interacting with end-users except for infrastructure maintenance.
Conclusion
By automating core operations, leveraging self-service tools, and delegation customer-facing roles to ISPs, Open Access allows network operators to scale efficiently with a minimal workforce, focusing on maintaining and expanding the network infrastructure.
An integrated marketplace such as COS online marketplace outperforms traditional phone service in several key ways, thanks to its automation, self-service functionality, and scalability:
24/7 Accessibility: COS’ online marketplace is always available, allowing customers to browse, purchase, and manage services at their convenience, independent of any business hours.
Instant Service Activation: COS Business Engine’s marketplace integrates automatic service activation, so when a customer purchases a service, it is immediately provisioned and ready for use within minutes. This eliminates the delays that often occur with phone-based transactions, where manual intervention is needed.
Self-Service Efficiency: The platform’s self-service capabilities allow customers to resolve many issues independently. Service selection, billing, and account management can be handled without waiting on hold for support, which reduces the workload on customer service representatives (CSRs) and speeds up issue resolution.
Accurate Information: Customers get the latest information and details on services, pricing, and terms directly from the marketplace. This reduces the risk of miscommunication that can occur with phone interactions.
Enhanced User Experience: COS marketplace is designed to offer a superior user experience. Customers can easily navigate the interface to find what they need, avoiding the complexity of phone menus and long wait times. The platform also supports multiple service providers in an open-access model, offering more choices and driving higher satisfactions
Conclusion
By combining automation, convenience, and user control, COS’ online marketplace provides a faster, more efficient, and user-friendly alternative to phone-based services.
Dark Fiber refers to unused fiber optic cables that have been laid but are inactive. These cables are termed “dark” because they are not “lit” by the equipment needed to transmit data. Communities and organizations often invest in dark fiber as a long-term infrastructure strategy, anticipating future needs for increased bandwidth.
Dark Fiber in Network Infrastructure
In network terminology, there are three main segments:
- Backbone: Comparable to highways, these are major routes connecting cities and regions.
- Middle Mile: These routes distribute data within a specific area, like city streets.
- Last Mile (or Drop): These driveways connect individual homes to the network.
Dark Fiber Backbone Open Access Model
In the Dark Fiber Backbone Open Access model, a community invests in the passive infrastructure layer—primarily the backbone—and allows private service providers to lease access. This model ensures that the community has the necessary infrastructure to attract private investment without needing to manage the active network components.
Pros of Dark Fiber Backbone Open Access
- Cost Efficiency: Minimal investment is required to improve broadband quality.
- Simplified Operations: No need for network operations knowledge or electronic equipment investment.
- Private Investment Encouragement: Potentially reduces costs enough to attract private providers to invest in the community.
Cons of Dark Fiber Backbone Open Access
- Uncertain Provider Commitment: No guarantee that providers will build out the network.
- Selective Coverage: Providers may only invest in profitable areas, leaving some residents without service.
- Dependence on Providers: Community services may not reach all residents without agreements with private providers.
- Limited Customer Choice: High initial investment by the first provider creates a barrier to new entrants, leading to potential monopolistic issues such as high prices and low service quality.
The Road System Analogy
To better understand the Dark Fiber model, consider the following analogy:
- The backbone is like the highways connecting cities, ensuring regional connectivity.
- The middle mile is akin to the smaller streets within a city, distributing traffic.
- The last mile is like the driveways at homes, connecting individual residences to the larger network.
Without the backbone, a city cannot effectively connect to the global network, and without the middle mile, houses have nothing to connect to. In the Dark Fiber model, the community invests in the backbone, enabling private providers to build out the middle and last mile as needed.
How COS Business Engine Supports Dark Fiber Open Access
Our COS Business Engine software enables communities to manage their dark fiber infrastructure efficiently. By providing a platform for leasing and managing access to dark fiber, it ensures that private providers can easily utilize this infrastructure to deliver high-quality services to end-users.
Learn More About Dark Fiber
To explore the concept of dark fiber and its benefits for your community, check out our resources:
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We provide FTTH operators and network owners with software for automating and digitizing every aspect of their FTTH venture. From survey and demand aggregation, to sign up, deployment and billing – to help bridge the digital divide.