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Partnerships & a community-driven approach bring fiber to the region and make a great social impact!

Interview with Willem Brinkert

 

What is the project about?

After the municipalities in the region of Braunau in Austria had been neglected by traditional incumbents, regioHelp/BG Communications was founded with the aim to serve the unserved and took it upon themselves to build full-cover FTTH, Open Access networks in and for the people in those municipalities.
regioHelp/BG Communications initially built a network for 900 subscribers in Munderfing. This inspired the neighboring municipalities, who saw its social impact and how it transformed Munderfing and motivated them to do the same.

regioHelp/BG Communications creates genuine partnerships with the municipalities in the region (who usually have no money or funding to invest in a fiber network), and everybody really wants to have the network deployed for the benefit of their communities.
While regioHelp/BG Communications brings planning, construction knowledge, and funding to the table, the municipalities collaborate by simplifying the permitting process. They also have existing contact channels with future customers/subscribers and are therefore responsible for the marketing of the network, trying to generate high take-up rates.

After a very successful pilot project in the first municipality, the second larger-scale project was initiated and is currently under construction. More than 40 municipalities joined in, leading to scale it internationally in Germany and Switzerland. With close to 1 million homes, with an average take-up rate of 65-75%, the value for the communities is clearly visible – everyone can be connected, and no one is left behind!

What is innovative about your project and how have you served your customers?

The effortlessness in reaching goals and pursuing projects shows that regioHelp/BG Communications is on the right track to bringing quality of life to rural areas in terms of telecommunications and connecting people.

We provide a full-cover network serving all of the people living in the region of Braunau. Not only is the network being built but it will eventually be handed over to the public to support the communities. While it’s still being developed, financed, and operated, the network already provides funding for the Red Cross and fire departments in the region: They receive 50 cents per active contract per month, which is a great contribution towards the community and its health and safety initiatives.
This gives the organizations that are both built and reliant on volunteer work the opportunity to get involved with their communities e.g. in financing youth work at the fire brigade.
All projects have a long-term perspective: after 40 years the municipalities take over the network from equity investors and are then able to monetize their network for the community.

Our target group is exclusively the public at the municipality level, representing and supporting the local communities. All participating municipalities are a part of the regioHelp cooperative.

regioHelp/BG Communication, COS Systems, and Nokia work closely together in a partnership to connect people. All partners believe that “affordable, high-speed internet access for everyone will bridge the digital divide and contribute to a more accessible and equal society.”

In this partnership, regioHelp/BG Communication is responsible for the planning and construction of the project, COS Systems provides the BSS/OSS COS (zero-touch automation software) and has an extensive background and a lot of experience in running open-access networks.
Nokia is not just a vendor – but an active partner of regioHelp/BG Communications, supporting the region with the connectivity needed to achieve its goals.
COS has a framework contract with BG Communications/regio help and wants to support them in distributing their concept to the world.

In our first pilot project, already in the fiber deployment after the first homes were connected and live with a take rate of 80%, the industry in Munderfing began to flourish! New businesses were started and attracted; including the opening of a co-working and seminar house for single entrepreneurs. Moreover, several German subsidiaries settled in Munderfing as it could offer fiber!
Munderfing has become the most attractive area in Braunau, and currently, there are more than 200 individuals and families on the waiting list for an apartment. Before the fiber network was deployed, Munderfing had 900 workplaces to offer; today there are over 3000.

 

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COS Systems and netElastic Join Forces to Deliver Next-Generation RADIUS Solutions to Open Access Broadband Service Providers

COS Systems and netElastic RADIUS Solutions Collaboration Logo with Village Background

Santa Clara, California, and Umeå, Sweden, August 22, 2023 – netElastic, an innovative software company providing high-performance routing solutions, and COS Systems, a leading provider of network management and billing solutions for Service Providers and Open Access Networks are excited to announce a strategic partnership. This collaboration brings together two industry leaders to revolutionize the delivery of RADIUS (Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service) solutions for service providers worldwide.

This partnership between COS Systems and netElastic addresses the growing demand for BSS solutions for Open Access networks. By combining COS System’s unique open-access billing solution with netElastic’s pioneering vBNG routers, the companies will provide service providers with a powerful, future-ready RADIUS platform.

COS Systems Business Engine, a proven network management solution (BSS/OSS) supporting Service Providers and Open Access Networks with an automated end-to-end solution to streamline fiber network management will integrate seamlessly with netElastic’s virtual BNG, a software-based solution that enables service providers to deliver high-performance broadband services. This integration will empower open access service providers to efficiently manage subscriber access and authentication through a centralized RADIUS solution, allowing them to choose virtually any RADIUS-capable BNG solution to manage subscribers.

“We are thrilled to collaborate with netElastic Systems whose disaggregated approach to BNG makes it an attractive solution, creating a wider overlap with fiber operators using COS. This collaboration brings key L3 functionality to enable automation in forward-thinking, unique business models.” said Mikael Philipsson, CEO of COS Systems. 

“While programming an OLT directly is good enough for many ISPs, open-access networkers need fine-grained subscriber control to provide services that allow them to differentiate in the market.” said Tom Mitchell, VP of Strategy and Business Development at netElastic Systems. “RADIUS is the open standard that enables this and netElastic’s virtual Broadband Network Gateway (vBNG) is the ideal router to bring it all home.”

COS Systems and netElastic are committed to helping service providers around the world deliver exceptional broadband services with unmatched reliability and performance. The partnership will focus on providing best-in-class RADIUS solutions to meet the evolving needs of service providers and their subscribers.

About COS Systems:

COS Systems is a leading provider of cloud-hosted network management and billing solutions for service providers. COS Business Engine is a proven network management solution (BSS/OSS) supporting Service Providers and Open Access Networks. The end-to-end platform provides subscribers self-service and digital sales and marketing through an online marketplace. Service orders will be automatically activated within a minute and billing follows with no operator interaction. It offers a great user experience, increasing take rates and revenue. COS Systems has a global customer base and serves a wide range of service providers, including municipalities, utilities, network operators, and fiber ISPs. Learn more about COS Systems at www.cossystems.com.

About netElastic:

netElastic is an innovative software company providing high-performance routing solutions for broadband providers. netElastic developed one of the first software-based broadband network gateways (BNGs) and has been a leader ever since. netElastic vBNG brings greater scalability, flexibility, and lower costs to BNGs. netElastic’s software-based CGNAT solution provides the most important CGNAT features at a fraction of the cost of traditional proprietary CGNAT solutions. For more information, please visit www.netelastic.com

Reach out to learn more
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Watch Isak Finér on Beer and Broadband

How much bandwidth do subscribers actually need? And can the digital divide be closed even in a country with one of the most unequal distributions of wealth and income in the world? Watch the latest episode with these exciting guests

 Steve Briggs, CEO of Isizwe from South Africa
 Bradley Fisher, CRO of Distributel from Canada
 Isak Finér, CRO of COS Systems from Sweden

and their host
 Nick Dinsmoor, CMO of Bonfire from the United States

 

sak Finér, CRO of COS Systems, discussing broadband connectivity on the Beer and Broadband podcast.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

or listen to the episode on Spotify.

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Calix Partnership Upgrade

We are thrilled to announce that we are now one of Calix elite partners! As Calix’ leading BSS/OSS partner with open access/wholesale functionality, we are really excited about the upgraded partnership and are looking forward to future projects and continuous collaboration.

Calix Partners deliver services and solutions that simplify the management of fiber and broadband networks through custom design and operations, excite the customer subscribers, and help grow their business.

Elite Partners hold the highest tier in the Calix Partner Program. They are rapidly growing industry disrupters, changing the way our businesses and customers operate and evolve. Elite partners are the most aligned and highly integrated early adopters of Calix technologies, hold the strongest relationships, and share a large number of joint customers. They also support Calix initiatives and in return receive dedicated relationship management and a seat at the table for strategic innovation from Calix.

 

A symbolic bridge representing the strengthened Calix Investor Relations, fostering collaborative growth and innovation with COS Systems as a strategic partner in the telecommunications industry.

Read more about Calix here

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A republished gem – Read our White Paper on the different Open Access models out there

It has been read, often quoted, and used to explain Open Access by many.

What was once written as a blog post on COS System website in 2019 has now been updated and edited into a White Paper.

Download your copy of Isak Finer´s White Paper here, or fill in the form below.

A girl reading Isak Finer's Open Access White Paper on her iPad, exploring the significance of Open Access.

 


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Read Our White Paper on Open Access Networks

An Open Access approach offers many advantages:

  • Higher take rates than if you market a single service network. In fact, take rates are often up to three times as high – as consumers tend to spend more when given ample choices.
  • A more profitable business model because it gives you access to the wholesale revenue streams – it allows you to become a specialist in your field.
  • Improved public and private partnerships as communities can invest in infrastructure and provide their citizens with digital possibilities; without having to compete with commercial consumer services.

Curious to learn more? Read our white paper on the subject


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Open Access – Managing Expectations

Open Access Models: Isak Finér Speaking at Canada’s Rural & Remote Broadband Conference Winter Event

Open Access models have been garnering more attention in Canada due to public funding requirements and as a part of Public Private Partnership (P3)-based municipal investments.

Isak Finér, COS Systems Chief Revenue Officer, will be speaking at Monday’s panel, 1:00-1:55 PM EST.
This panel will provide context and clarity to the definitions around Open Access, will discuss business and operating models, opportunities for service innovation and explore lessons learned from active Open Access network providers.

Canada’s Rural & Remote Broadband Conference is hosting their Winter Event on Monday, December 13th.

Click here to read more and register for the Event!

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Why Open Access FTTH

Read more
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