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COS Service Zones Used to Build Fiber Case in Brownsville & Oldham County

COS and Lit Communities partner to expand broadband in Brownsville & Oldham County. COS Service Zones drives demand aggregation.

Brownsville, TX, has been on the list of the least connected US cities for the past few years. Oldham County is only a short drive from Kentucky’s largest city Louisville but does not have adequate access to broadband. Through a partnership with Lit Communities, COS Systems is part of the solution for both of these cities.

Lit Communities are helping municipalities build a plan for improved broadband access, as well as offering support in financing, constructing and operating networks. With the firm determination that it’s always feasible to find ways to deploy a future proof broadband infrastructure in every community, each project starts with an in-depth assessment of the unique conditions of the specific market. The result is a business case that outlines how a sustainable network can be built and operated.

Even though this kind of business case is incredibly complex to produce, it builds on getting answers to two questions that are simple to ask; What will it cost to build and operate the network, and what will the revenue be?

It is on the revenue side of the business case preparation that COS Service Zones comes into play. While the cost is calculated by producing network designs based on service locations to be connected and existing assets in the form of fiber, conduit, poles, etc. the revenue side is harder to estimate. It is determined by how many subscribers will sign up and what services they will buy. This is why Lit Communities are using COS Service Zones to perform what is known in the industry as Demand Aggregation.

Two recent projects where COS Service Zones have been launched are in Brownsville, TX and Oldham County, KY. Both of these projects are in the first phase of demand aggregation where residents and businesses are encouraged to go to their localized COS Service Zones sites to show their interest by taking a survey. In this survey they will be asked questions about their current service and provider, as well as indicating what service package they would be interested in and their likeliness to sign up. The survey also asks market specific questions to gather information valuable to building the plan for that community. After answering the short questionnaire, the respondents will also be asked to complete a speed test that will give them what download and upload speeds they are receiving from their current provider. The results will give a good picture of what speeds are available, where customers have access to high speeds already and which incumbent providers can provide proper broadband speeds. One particularly interesting question to answer is how many respondents actually reach the definition of broadband, which today is set at 25 Mbps download and 3Mbps upload – A definition most can agree is far too low with everything the internet is used for today.

By integrating to social media and allowing local residents to sign up as “Champions”, the COS Service Zones platform aims to build a grassroots word-of-mouth movement, where the local community will drive as many people as possible to show their interest. In most communities this works incredibly well, with hundreds and even thousands of survey responses in a just a few days. This is especially true in communities currently unserved or underserved, or where incumbent providers have used their monopoly position to keep the prices high and network upgrades to a minimum – unfortunately, something common in smaller cities and rural areas.

With access to this real-time data, captured from the same persons who would be the subscribers on the network, Lit Communities can accurately predict future take-rates and revenue. The data will also help to determine what service offerings and pricing would be optimal for ensuring high take-rates and network sustainability. With these results, it takes the guesswork out of play and creates an accurate business case for the municipality and investors.

Despite the value the survey produces, the major strengths of the comprehensive COS Service Zones platform are still to come into the play when the decision to move the project forward from planning to execution is taken. Now, knowing exactly where in the city demand is greatest and competition weakest, based on the survey responses, service zones –“fiberhoods”- can be created. These are neighborhoods that will have their own signup page where the number of households required to get on the construction list is highlighted. It is now up to the neighbors to come together and sign up. The best neighborhoods will be prioritized in the build-out, ensuring that the financials of the project are always intact, and that revenue can be optimized.

“With a dedication to close the digital divide for everyone, a vision we at COS share, Lit Communities’ ultimate goal is always to deploy a complete fiber based network to every home and business in the community and then operate it on a True Open Access model, allowing local as well as external service providers to offer services to the residents and business on their networks. It will offer local companies the opportunity to grow and an attractive assortment of services and providers to the subscribers. We hope and believe that this will become a reality in Brownsville and Oldham County, “says Isak Finer, CMO and VP North America at COS Systems.

About Lit Communities

Lit Communities is both a forward-thinking builder and operator of next-generation network infrastructure and a consultancy that guides communities across the country through the complicated process of deploying their own open application fiber optic utilities. Lit Communities believes that by separating the network infrastructure from the services provided on it, a more resilient and consumer-friendly environment is created. This approach makes otherwise prohibitively expensive networks feasible to build in communities of all sizes. Learn more at www.litcommunities.net

About COS Systems

COS SYSTEMS is a leading provider of software to plan, deploy and operate modern broadband networks that support services from one or more providers, using a powerful yet simple self-service interface. Specializing in True Open Access Networks, COS Systems takes customer needs and delivers innovative software solutions that streamline operations, accelerate revenue, and deliver more satisfied subscribers. Learn more about COS Systems at www.cossystems.com

For additional information, contact:

Isak Finer
CMO & VP North America
COS Systems
+1 (540) 988 3224
isak.finer@cossystems.com
www.cossystems.com

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COS Systems a Top 100 FTTH Company in the USA for the 8th consecutive year

COS Systems: Top 100 FTTH Company for 8th Consecutive Year

COS Systems: Top 100 FTTH Company for 8th Consecutive Year

Every year the leading fiber broadband publication Broadband Communities Magazine lists the Top 100 companies in the Fiber To The Home Industry in the United States. For the 8th year straight COS Systems earns a place on the list for its innovative software solutions allowing fiber builders to capture demand for fiber and operate True Open Access Networks with world-leading efficiency.

As the FTTH market continues to grow in the USA, COS System’s solutions are becoming increasingly important. Today, compared to eight years ago when COS first earned a position on the prestigious list, more types of entities are entering the fiber industry. While eight years ago mostly the incumbent carriers and some private ISPs were making efforts to deploy fiber networks, today many of the buildouts are driven by communities, utilities and coops.

The COS Service Zones platform, playing a vital role in any fiber deployment is used to survey communities about their need for better broadband as well as allowing the fiber builder to pre-sign up customers. By dividing the planned build-out area into smaller “fiberhoods” and letting them compete to reach signup take-rate targets, the fiber builder will know where demand is sufficient for initiating the build-out. While this helps any kind of entity reduce the risk of a build-out by signing customers up beforehand, COS Systems other solutions are very well suited to meet demands of the new entrants to the market.

As community focused entities are planning to build out fiber networks they tend to have an infrastructure view, in contrast to traditional service providers who focus largely on the services. For a municipality the biggest interest is rather what community benefits a fiber infrastructure would bring in the form of quality of life for residents and competitiveness of their businesses. With COS Business Engine, the BSS/OSS platform developed specifically for streamlining operations of True Open Access networks, COS Systems shares this infrastructure view of fiber. While the community can focus on finding ways to get the fiber infrastructure deployed, choosing an Open Access model allows them to partner with private service providers for bringing services to the

“We are happy to be on the list for yet another year and with the market development we are seeing I am certain we will be on the list next year as well! As municipalities are stepping up and taking lead in the efforts to get their communities connected, the interest in Open Access networks is increasing rapidly. This will especially benefit rural America since they will be able to attract service providers who would otherwise not be able to offer services due to constraining deployment costs. If communities can find ways to get the infrastructure in place, Open Access and the market forces within the private sector will take care of the rest. We’ll be there to make sure there are systems supporting both the demand based incremental build-out as well as the efficient operations of a network with multiple competing service providers”, says Isak Finer, CMO and VP North America at COS Systems.

 

About COS Systems

COS SYSTEMS is a leading provider of software to plan, deploy and operate modern broadband networks that support services from one or more providers, using a powerful yet simple self-service interface. Specializing in True Open Access Networks, COS Systems takes customer needs and delivers innovative software solutions that streamline operations, accelerate revenue, and deliver more satisfied subscribers. Learn more about COS Systems at www.cossystems.com

For additional information contact:

Isak Finer
CMO & VP North America
COS Systems
+1 (540) 988 3224
isak.finer@cossystems.com
www.cossystems.com

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New Speed Test Module in the Latest COS Service Zones Release

COS Service Zones Internet Speed Test - Measure, Prove, and Secure

In the latest version of COS Service Zones, that was released just days ago, our most exciting new feature is the integrated speed test. Perhaps you need to prove to investors or decision makers that the need for better broadband is there or strengthen your grant application with actual speed test results showing that people are not getting sufficient speeds?

All of us working hard to bring fiber broadband to more people can probably agree that the FCC definition of Broadband being at least 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload speeds, was outdated even when it was launched in 2015. In these days of Covid-19, when so many people around the globe are working and studying from home, there are probably few who would agree that a 25/3 Mbps connection is sufficient for video conferencing, online studies, streaming, etc. All in all – speed matters, which is at the core of our latest release of COS Service Zones. Read more about COS Service Zones 4.1 here!

With this recent release we now offer our COS Service Zones customers to have a dedicated cloud hosted speed test. By testing towards a neutral cloud server, it will resemble what speeds the subscriber will actually see while using their internet connection on a daily basis. Some speed tests will test against your provider’s server which will show an idealized result, which is not the case with this test.

Obviously, the test is allowing the subscribers to see what kind of speeds they are currently getting and commenting their result, but we have of course packaged this data nicely with all the other data we gather with COS Service Zones. By having the speed test results tied to the address, coordinates and the subscriber’s survey response, many interesting questions can be answered. What is the correlation between what they are paying for and what speeds they are actually getting? Are people on different competitive providers showing different speed test results? Are there any high download or upload speeds available out there today? And of course, when running an actual test, how many are reaching speeds of 25/3 Mbps? Reliable speed test data can be crucial when applying for grants or explaining to key stakeholders why it is important to take the decision to invest in better broadband.

We hope and believe that by adding speed test results to the proven demand aggregated neighborhood by neighborhood, our customers can easier secure funding and prove the need for better broadband to decision makers – making more fiber projects move forward faster

Don’t hesitate to contact us to schedule a demo of COS Service Zones at sales@cossystems.com

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COS Service Zones 4.1

The latest version of COS Service Zones offers a long list of big and small improvements based on all the great feedback we have received from our customers. New user roles, a new super-fast process to convert a survey response to a signup, Google tracking and more.

COS Service Zones is a Demand Aggregation platform used to survey your potential customers to find out if there is enough interest for your services to justify a network investment. It also allows you to sign them up prior to construction using a “Fiberhood” approach. When enough people have signed up in a neighborhood you know that you can start construction with confidence as people are committed to buying services. A big part of this approach is to efficiently market it, preferably with different marketing channels, but for sure using online advertising and social media. We have added support for Google’s Global site tag tracking to support you in measuring the success of your marketing efforts.

We have also added two new user roles; One that only has read-only access to a limited number of areas within the product. This role is perfect for those who are logging in to track project progress, but not to edit any information. The other new user role is a support role, with mainly read-only access, but edit rights on customers and orders. With more available roles we expect more users to get access and have added two-factor authentication at login for extra security.

Years ago, we implemented a google maps integration for the address search functionality after evaluating a few different options. Now we have also transitioned over to their maps in the admin interface, which is a great improvement. Google maps both works and looks good.

What other news are in this release? Well, we’ve done a ton of small improvements based on our customers’ feedback, such as a super-fast way to convert a survey response into a signup, allowing an address search on a separate website to be sent to the COS Service Zones site, and much more.

To see it all, contact us to schedule a demo of COS Service Zones at sales@cossystems.com

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100+ Demand Aggregation projects – what have we learned?

Map of Town with Fiber Network Solutions

Map of Town with Fiber Network Solutions

Late 2013 we released the first version of our demand aggregation platform COS Service Zones. Our primary focus was to help those building out fiber in the US get enough customers signed up so that they could move forward with their projects with lower risk of failure. Since then our platform has been used in over 100 projects in the US alone. What have we learned so far? Well, a lot, and some of it we will share with you in this article.

COS System’s founders started building software for the fiber network operators in Sweden 20 years ago. At this time the saying “build it and they will come” was still the most common strategy (if you can call that a strategy?) behind fiber buildouts. The thinking was that a new technology, literally lightyears better than what was in place before (in Sweden primarily ADSL and traditional dial-up modems), would make customers switch over without hesitation. It soon proved though that it wasn’t that easy. Studies have shown that over time the fiber take-rates tend to reach over 70 percent, but this often took 10 years or more. Since large parts of Sweden, like the US, is rural, a more cautious method of building fiber was starting to be used. When approaching a new area you tried to get engaged with the residents through meetings, information and even door-to-door campaigns. You defined their neighborhood boundaries and explained that they needed to come together and show that enough of them were willing to sign up before the fiber build-out could start. It was generally done with pen and paper and with the help of grassroots in the neighborhoods who volunteered in rallying their neighbors. Often these grassroots were those running a home business and those with kids who made the phone line busy every night and the phone bill break the family budget. This method was very effective in avoiding the worst potholes where low take-rates would make the network builder loose money for years, but it was a demanding administrative task.  

In 2012, when COS Systems first started to look at what the fiber industry looked like in the US, we decided to build a platform to make this method digital and to the largest extent automated. We already had a BSS/OSS (Business and Operations Support System), but it was too early to sell that platform, because the networks had to be built first! The good thing was that we could use a lot of the experience we had from building that platform and a large portion of the core code.

We built the product around a couple of major concepts. First we needed a way to manage people’s expectations and the level of commitment asked for. The result was the two first phases a neighborhood zone could be in; Survey and Signup (Zones are now often referred to as “fiberhoods” – more on that later). In the Survey phase people are asked to take a non-committing survey asking questions about the performance of their current Internet connection and of course how likely they are to sign up to the new network potentially being built. If the take-rate target is reached in Survey phase, the zone can be moved to the next phase which is the Signup phase. This phase is suitable to use if you know you will be able to start building the network in the near future if the take-rate targets are met. The customers would agree to the terms of the connection to the network and later we also added functionality to gather deposits.

From our customers building fiber we’ve gotten to know that the most hectic phase is still the construction phase since the subscribers typically have a lot of questions at this stage. They want to know when the installation will happen, how it will affect their house, their lawn, etc. The zone phase Construction is therefore important in order to be proactive in spreading information to the subscribers in those zones. The last phase is Connected and in this phase you will direct the subscribers already connected to your Marketplace to sign up for services or sign up laggards who didn’t sign up before.

Still, the most important feature is probably the Champion functionality. This is a way to automate the identification, signup and management of the local grassroots. On the COS Service Zones platform there is an entire program relating to the Champions. They apply to become your champions on the website, you approve them manually after checking their willingness to really help out. All champions will get a referral code and can thereafter go out and recruit their neighbors to the network.

Late 2013, the first version of the software was ready for launch. Imagine our surprise when during developing the platform, Google Fiber had launched in it’s first city, Kansas City, using a methodology similar to ours but without the first Survey phase. What we called zones, they called Fiberhoods and we got a much easier way of communicating what our platform did! The methodology even got its own term; Demand Aggregation.

So, that was the background, now what about the learnings from over 100 demand aggregation projects so far in the US?

First, a big misconception has to be made clear. The methodology was not, unlike many beliefs, designed to help private providers cherry pick the richest and most profitable neighborhoods, to leave the rest of the city unserved. Where we come from the networks we work with are generally community owned Open Access Networks (You can read more about open access here). In this model the fiber infrastructure is treated as a city owned utility that is open for any provider to deliver services on. The goal is to build fiber to everyone, just as with electricity and water. But I believe I speak for any taxpayer in the world when I say that you would expect your politicians to use the taxes you pay in a responsible and effective way. By building the network first to where high take-rates ensures a positive return on the investment, the cash flow from good neighborhoods can eventually be used to cover cost for further expansion. This means that the neighborhood that potentially could benefit the most might not get it first, but at least they will get it. If just building in random order or only to unserved areas the money might not last long and large parts of the area remain unserved. Use the method to connect all and remember – the biggest benefit is not the revenue generated, but all the benefits access to high-speed internet will bring to the community.

It was hard to choose when it comes to concrete advise we want to share in this post when running a demand aggregation campaign. Please feel free to reach out if you want to discuss more.

  • Don’t make the zones too large. We have found that an ideal size is 50-100 homes. If the number of neighbors you need to convince into signing up is for example 200, it will feel like your effort won’t make a difference. If it says you need 20 more it will feel like it’s within reach and you will be more eager to go out and spread the word.
  • Kick the campaign off with a blast. Even though the platform builds upon word-of-mouth and neighbors talking to each other, you need to make people aware of the project and the COS Service Zones site as a start. If you already send bills to your community (ideal for utilities), include information about the fiber project. Talk to local news, both papers and radio and make them write about the project. Invite people to an information meeting. Those who show up will be the ones most eager to get fiber. Have them sign up at that meeting and convince them to be your champions. They will be your best sales people.
  • Use the community to spread information. In underserved and unserved areas it’s not sure people understand why they would need better internet and some education might be needed. By uploading both marketing and educational information on the COS Service Zones site, you make it available for download and print-out to anyone who wants to share it. This way it will reach more people and you will be able to control the messaging.
  • Use your first buildouts as marketing. We’ve found that in areas where there have not been many options for high speed Internet before, the experience of the first customers is a very good thing to market. Interview your first customers in their homes and let them share their story about how their new service works.
  • Communicate like a pro (or use a pro). Even if building fiber is an incredibly positive thing, there still might be those questioning the project. It might be your competitors who are threatened or just people who think money should be spent on something else than new technology (especially if it’s a municipally funded buildout). You must quickly respond in a professional way to any misconceptions being spread. If you don’t have this competency inhouse you could hire a communications firm to help you with this as well as with marketing.

What we have found over the years is that with the COS Service Zones platform, some smart marketing tactics and good communications, you can really use your entire community as your sales organization and quickly reach remarkable take-rates. In fact, if successful you will be doing much more than just demand aggregation – Perhaps it is time to update the industry term to Demand Generation?

 

For additional information contact:

Isak Finér
CMO & VP North America
COS Systems
+1 (540) 988-3224
isak.finer@cossystems.com
www.cossystems.com

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NoaNet and COS Systems Ready to Drive Fiber Build-Outs in Rural Washington State

NOANET- Northwest Open Access Network

NoaNet and COS Systems expand partnership by launching an operator version of COS Service Zones. NoaNet has previously provided cities and public utilities with COS Systems’ demand aggregation platform and support in the project execution. Now NoaNet is set to further help rural communities in Washington get connected to fiber by launching their own COS Service Zones system ready to aggregate demand for fiber in any part of the State.

Gig Harbor, WA – NoaNet (Northwest Open Access Network) is a non-profit municipal corporation which operates an extensive open-access fiber back-bone network reaching every corner of Washington State. NoaNet has partnered with COS Systems in the past to provide the demand aggregation platform COS Service Zones to Public Utility and municipal customers. Since then, many communities have reached out to NoaNet asking if they could provide them with a managed demand aggregation solution delivered as a service. NoaNet is now in the process of launching a statewide COSService Zones application that can be leveraged as part of their Community Broadband Solutions program to assist communities in evaluating their need and readiness for municipal broadband deployment.

COS Service Zones is a web-based software platform that allows a community or provider to run a “fiberhood”campaign to learn if there is enough interest in the community to invest in a fiber infrastructure and in which neighborhoods the demand is greatest. Every neighborhood has a “take-rate” target to reach in order to qualify for build-out. The purpose is to involve the community in the process and build a common will to build the new fiber infrastructure. In successful COS ServiceZones campaigns demand grows rapidly as the community engages on the platform, sharing information about the project on social media, and spreading information to their neighbors and friends.

“When NoaNet explained that there were many communities interested in better connectivity but lacking the resources or expertise to run a COS Service Zones campaign themselves, we began thinking how we could best assist NoaNet in helping those communities. We developed the concept of an operator version of COS Service Zones, which allows NoaNet to add smaller communities as separate projects on their singleplatform. Practically, this means each of these communities will have their own section of the NoaNet managed website.” says Bjorn Wannman, Manager Partnerships and Strategic Accounts at COS Systems.

Chris Walker, Telecommunications Director at NoaNet is looking forward to offering this tool to Washington communities on a larger scale then NoaNet was previously able to support. “There are dozens of rural communities in Washington with limited or no access to modern telecom infrastructure. High speed broadband can make a huge impact for job creation, economic growth, high quality healthcare and smart services to increase the quality of life for our rural residents. In many cases, even if community leaders understand the need and want to close the digital inclusion gap, they might lack the resources to do something about it themselves. We’re now prepared to help them understand the options to pursue a telecommunications buildout plan.”

Chris has been with NoaNet through several service expansions and is excited about this new opportunity to help Washington communities help themselves increase their broadband access. He said, “Not only will we help them determine if there is enough demand to move forward and invest in the infrastructure, with our extensive fiber footprint and open access experience we will also be able to offer services in build-out and operations. This package of services will make a huge difference for rural Washington communities”

Claire Ward, Marketing and Communications Manager at NoaNet shares Chris’s excitement for this new opportunity. “NoaNet has been serving Washington state for nearly 20 years by working to bring telecommunications infrastructure to underserved communities. With the experience and knowledge we have within the company paired with the tools offered in the COS Service Zones platform, I’m convinced we can serve many parallel projects across the state and help communities move the dial on their broadband access without spending exorbitant resources many just don’t have, “adds ClaireWard, Marketing and Communications Manager at NoaNet, who has been involved in several previous COS Service Zones projects.

“COS Systems originates from the rural northern parts of Sweden, not much different from rural Washington State.We’ve seen first-hand how crucial it is for remote areas to get access to high speed broadband. In the digital economy traditional boundaries like country and city borders are getting less important. Instead communities lacking the critical broadband infrastructure will inevitably be left behind. All of us at COS are proud to support NoaNet in their mission to connect every corner of Washington state to their state-of-the-art fiber network. Fiber is an essential infrastructure for today’s communities, alongside water, electricity and roads for our modern digital world.” Says Isak Finer, CMO at COS Systems  

About NoaNet

Northwest Open Access Network (NoaNet) is a non-profit wholesale only telecommunications network owner and provider which operates a fiber network spanning thousands of miles throughout the State of Washington. NoaNet engages their mission to serve Washington State by consistently looking for new opportunities to expand in meaningful ways that bridge the digital divide. For additional information, see www.noanet.net.

About COS Systems

COS SYSTEMS is a leading provider of software to plan, deploy and manage Open Access fiber networks, using a powerful yet simple self-service interface. COS Systems takes customer needs and delivers innovative software solutions that streamline operations, accelerate revenue and deliver more satisfied subscribers. Learn more about COS Systems on www.cossystems.com.

For additional information contact:

Claire Ward
Marketing and Communications Manager
NoaNet
+1 (816) 519-2370
claire.ward@noanet.net
www.noanet.net

Isak Finér
Chief Marketing Officer
COS Systems
+46737 51 99 38
isak.finer@cossystems.com
www.cossystems.com

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Foresite Group, Inc. and COS Systems to Deliver Gigabit Open Access Community Networks

Foresite Group, Inc. and COS Systems are happy to announce that they are partnering to help American communities take control of their digital future by building their own gigabit networks. Using a methodology that builds on community engagement and real-time collection of data to create the build-out plan and a true Open Access operating model, once built the sustainability of the networks is assured.  

New York, NY – COS Systems, the developers of the demand aggregation platform COS Service Zones and Open Access network operations platform COS Business Engine has been delivering software solutions to the mature Swedish market for community networks for over a decade and in the USA since 2013.

Foresite Group are specialists in planning and design of gigabit speed networks and has developed a turn key offering to communities looking to build their own networks, from initial market assessment to a fully built-out network operated on a true Open Access model.

“We pride ourselves on being innovative and looking at broadband in a different light.  We feel that it is more than just a feasibility study to get things moving in the right direction and with COS Systems we can get to the finish line faster. Our approach to live data analysis to build a complete network with every cost and return on investment properly reviewed gives us an advantage in the industry. Open Access Networks get us to our return on investment faster and allows broadband to be what it needs to be, which is another utility. With COS Systems we get the opportunity to work with a team that has been dealing with this model since open access was just a talking point over a decade ago. COS Systems’ community driven approach is what sets them apart from everyone else out there as they let the residents decide what they want and then we work with them to turn that dream into reality.” says Brian Snider, Network Design Practice Area Leader at Foresite Group

“In Sweden, the demand aggregation model, where you make sure your subscribers are committed before you start the build-out has been the predominant way to deploy networks for a long time. There simply is no other way to predict where customers might sign up or not, other than asking them. We are thrilled to see that this model is now rapidly being adopted in the United States as well, which our many COS Service Zones projects prove. Our partnership with Foresite Group will only help this progression and will ensure more successful networks gets built,“ says Isak Finer, CMO at COS Systems.

The COS Service Zones platform allows network builders to draw competing neighborhood zones, or “Fiberhoods”, across their targeted area and then see real-time demand grow as customers sign up before the network deployment begins. Once target take-rates are reached, the networks are deployed backed by committed customers and secured revenue.

In a true Open Access Network, the fiber is built all the way to every premise. With a neutral operations company managing this infrastructure, any provider will be invited to sell services to subscribers on equal terms. The subscribers will select their desired providers and services from an online portal, much like you would browse for apps in the Appstore. This abundance of choice for the end customer will drive the prices down and the quality of service up. For the providers this means competition and that they have to make sure to deliver on their promise to their customers. However, their risk of entering a new market is close to none, since they don’t have to make any infrastructure investments.

“In Sweden, even though being a relatively small and in large parts rural country, we have hundreds of successful community networks operated with an open access model. This has enabled Sweden to early reach a top position in the world when it comes to high speed broadband and the result is job creation in future industries and the growth of many successful companies and software apps, such as Spotify, Skype, Minecraft, etc. It is great to be working with a partner like Foresite Group who can incorporate these two models and our software into their turn-key solution for the planning, design and build of community gigabit networks, “says Bjorn Wannman, Manager Partnerships and Strategic Account at COS Systems.

The build-out of community networks in the US has been slow, but that is now about to change as community leaders are realizing how crucial highspeed broadband is to their communities. The Internet today is as important as electricity, water, sewer and gas and should be looked at it from that perspective.  UPS and FedEx don’t have their own roads for deliveries to your home so why should your internet providers be any different?

“We have seen how the interest among cities to build their own fiber networks have been growing rapidly for the last couple of years and we are very happy to have developed our turn key offering with COS and their full suite of products. We are committed to improving connectivity across the US and our method gets things moving in a direction for nothing but success.”  Brian Snider added.

About COS Systems

COS SYSTEMS is a leading provider of software to plan, deploy and manage modern broadband networks that support services from one or more providers, using a powerful yet simple self-service interface. COS Systems takes customer needs and delivers innovative software solutions that streamline operations, accelerate revenue and deliver more satisfied subscribers. Learn more about COS Systems on www.cossystems.com

About Foresite Group

Foresite Group Inc. is a multidisciplinary design, planning, and engineering firm with over 140 associates nationwide. Our collaborative process results in creative products and services for our clients. Foresite Group’s offices are located in Peachtree Corners, Georgia; Auburn and Birmingham, Alabama; Tampa, Florida; Austin and Dallas, Texas; Broomfield, Colorado; New Orleans, Louisiana; Washington, D.C.; Independence, OH; Knoxville and Nashville, TN; Bothell, WA.  Learn more about Foresite Group and all their service areas at www.fg-inc.net.

For additional information contact:

Isak Finer
CMO
COS Systems
+46 (737) 519-938
Isak.finer@cossystems.com
www.cossystems.com

Brian Snider
Network Design Practice Area Leader
Foresite Group
+1 (334) 714-1439
bsnider@fg-inc.net
www.fg-inc.net

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COS Systems Enters the Canadian Market Signing up Start.ca

After years of rapid growth in the USA, COS Systems now enters the Canadian market by signing an agreement with Ontario based Internet service provider Start.ca.

New York, NY – COS Systems, the developers of the demand aggregation platform COS Service Zones is adding yet another market to the list as they now expand into Canada.

“We’ve had our eyes on Canada for some time now, but it wasn’t until recently we did a real effort to get into the market. It’s not that there haven’t been opportunities, but our feeling has been that the spur in build-outs hasn’t started yet, and we have been very busy on our existing markets. In USA only, we’ve started two to three new projects every month this year,” says COS Systems Chief Marketing Officer Isak Finér.

The COS Service Zones platform allows network builders to draw competing neighborhood zones, or “Fiberhoods,” across their targeted area and then see real-time demand grow as customers sign up before the network deployment begins. Once target take-rates are reached, the networks are deployed backed by committed customers and secured revenue.

Based in London, Ontario, Start.ca has been delivering Internet services since 1995. Known for providing the best customer service in the industry, Start.ca was honoured to win the London Chamber of Commerce’s Large Business of the Year award in 2017.

“We are focused on continuing to build out our fiber network in London and working with COS Service Zones will help us do this in a very efficient way,” says Start.ca CEO Peter Rocca.

“In the last year we’ve started to see indications of more Canadian fiber projects being planned and decided to make our market introduction on the Canadian ISP Summit conference in Toronto last month. It’s great to already start our first project, which we hope and believe will be followed by many more in the near future. The fact that it’s such a renowned company as Start.ca makes it even greater. We couldn’t have imagined a better way to enter the Canadian market” says Isak Finér.

“We are very happy about working with Start.ca to help them validate demand for their new buildouts and to now enter the Canadian market. It seems the fiber revolution is coming to Canada now, and we aim to be there, helping network builders optimize their buildouts based on committed subscribers. It seems that Open Access is also being discussed as an interesting model to ensure broadband to everyone at fair turns. If that happens, we will be there waiting with our leading software to manage True Open Access Networks, “says COS Systems CEO Peter Lidstrom.

About COS Systems

COS SYSTEMS is a leading provider of software to plan, deploy and manage modern broadband networks that support services from one or more providers, using a powerful yet simple self-service interface. COS Systems takes customer needs and delivers innovative software solutions that streamline operations, accelerate revenue and deliver more satisfied subscribers. Learn more about COS Systems on www.cossystems.com

About Start.ca

Based in London, Ontario, Start.ca has been providing home and business internet services for over twenty years. Today they are rated #1 in customer service across all of North America and provide high speed cable, DSL and fibre internet services throughout Ontario and parts of Quebec. Learn more about the company at www.start.ca.

For additional information contact:

Isak Finer
CMO
COS Systems
+46 (737) 519-938
Isak.finer@cossystems.com
www.cossystems.com

Leanne Beattie
Media Relations
Start.ca
+1 (519) 963-1840 x 8169
lbeattie@start.ca
www.start.ca

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City of Anacortes Speeds to Fiber Take-Rates Supported by NoaNet and COS Service Zones

City leaders in Anacortes, Washington identified an opportunity to bring community-owned high-speed broadband access to their city.  To understand the interest and support from their residents for building a community owned network, they turned to NoaNet for support. Through this partnership, they launched a city-wide demand aggregation campaign, utilizing the built-in survey functionality in COS Service Zones to determine which neighborhoods had the greatest need for better broadband and get a pulse for the general attitude for a city owned network. After only the first weeks the results are overwhelmingly positive.

Anacortes, WA – Anacortes, a city of about 7,500 households lies beautifully located on Fidalgo Island, Northwest of Seattle. Despite the presence of incumbent carriers that are providing broadband services to parts of the area, many parts of the Island are lacking access to affordable high-speed broadband services. The city is installing fiber-optics for their water and waste-water telemetry system and has been exploring the idea of expanding this fiber backbone to facilitate a network for use by residents and businesses. In September 2017 they decided to evaluate the interest in the community for a community owned network. NoaNet (Northwest Open Access Network) is a non-profit municipal corporation which operates an extensive open-access fiber network and is present in every county of Washington State. With NoaNet’s regional presence and expertise in fiber broadband and open-access networks, it was a natural fit for the city to leverage them as a resource as they explored the possibility of creating their own community network. The recently announced partnership between NoaNet and COS Systems opened up the possibility to utilize the demand aggregation platform COS Services Zones combined with NoaNet’s expertise in demand aggregation campaigns to run a city-wide neighborhood based survey.

The campaign is centered around Anacortes’ online COS Service Zones portal which is where residents are directed to show their interest level in the proposed project and share their current Internet satisfaction levels by taking the survey. The two persons managing the system and the campaign are Emily Schuh, Director of Administrative Services at the City of Anacortes and Claire Ward, Marketing and Communications Associate at NoaNet.

“The first few weeks we focused on setting up the customer facing portal with local pictures and texts as well as creating flyers and other marketing materials. With our experience from other campaigns in Washington State we had material we could replicate and a good idea about what outreach tactics would work,” says Ward.

“When we launched the portal on October 9th we had a well-defined plan on how to spread the awareness. Upon launch, Mayor Gere sent a personalized email to key City stakeholders and staff with a link to the portal encouraging them to take the survey and spread the word to their friends and family. We also hosted a Champion orientation where we invited community members who had expressed interest in learning more about this project to an information session. We prepared binders for them with information they could take with them when they went to discuss the project with neighbors, as well as stocked them up with printed flyers, tear sheets, and promotional items with the survey URL printed on them. After that champion orientation, we had ten more champions sign up in the Service Zones platform in just a few days. We also sent out an envelope printed with the survey URL on the city’s utility bill mailout.” says Schuh.

Multiple local newspapers and publications have also run articles on the city’s survey, further bringing it to the attention of the community. In less than two weeks from launch more than 1000 positive survey responses were received through the platform, which is about 15% of all households in the city. The neighborhoods with the highest response were already at 50% positive response or higher. Now the focus of managing the campaign has shifted from getting the word out to interacting with residents directly.

“The city is engaging with community members directly through Facebook, answering questions and concerns that are commented on. We’ve also spent a great deal of effort on promptly responding to emails we’ve been receiving”, says Ward.

“Anacortes is a very involved and organized community. The tremendous sense of pride and responsibility residents feel for their community is evident by how engaged they have been throughout this process so far. We have received excellent questions from residents, which of course puts pressure on the city to provide thoughtful answers.  I think responsiveness has been key in Anacortes. With an engaged community, they are eager to learn as much as they can about how this project could be an asset to their community. Timely and thoughtful responses to questions, holding community meetings and engaging face to face, through social media, or via phone have all reinforced that this is a community project, which by definition belongs to the community. With a community of engaged citizens, this has thus far been a recipe for excellent response rates,” concludes Schuh.

The next step for Anacortes is another Champion meeting on November 16th to engage with new Champions signed up through the COS Service Zones platform, update all Champions on survey progress and initial results, as well as talk about the possibilities moving forward.

“As providers of the demand aggregation platform used by the City of Anacortes it’s really rewarding to see a campaign take off like this. We’re impressed by the speed at which NoaNet and the City prepared the launch of the campaign both in setting up the customer facing portal, but also the off-line marketing material. But what sticks out the most in the Anacortes project is that they have the best Champions group that we have ever seen in any project in the USA. One local Champion, Bryan Klein of the Flounder Bay Zone has referred over 90 neighbors to take the survey in just two weeks. That’s truly amazing. Now we at COS are crossing our fingers that demand proves to be good enough for the city to move forward and build the fiber infrastructure that we believe is as critical as water, electricity and roads in our modern digital world.” Says Isak Finer, CMO at COS Systems

About City of Anacortes

The City of Anacortes is located in Skagit County, WA on beautiful Fidalgo Island. It has about 16,500 residents and is the gateway to the San Juan Islands. The city currently operates water and wastewater utility services. For more information on Anacortes visit  https://www.cityofanacortes.org. For the COS Services broadband survey platform, visit cityofanacortes.servicezones.net.

About NoaNet

Northwest Open Access Network (NoaNet) is a non-profit wholesale only telecommunications network owner and provider which operates a fiber network spanning thousands of miles throughout the State of Washington. NoaNet engages their mission to serve Washington State by consistently looking for new opportunities to expand in meaningful ways that bridge the digital divide. For additional information, see http://www.noanet.net.

About COS Systems

COS SYSTEMS is a leading provider of software to plan, deploy and manage modern broadband networks that support services from one or more providers, using a powerful yet simple self-service interface. COS Systems takes customer needs and delivers innovative software solutions that streamline operations, accelerate revenue and deliver more satisfied subscribers. Learn more about COS Systems on www.cossystems.com.

For additional information contact:

Emily Schuh
Director of Administrative Services
City of Anacortes
+1 (360) 299-1941
broadband@cityofanacortes.org
www.cityofanacortes.org

Claire Ward
Marketing and Communications Associate
NoaNet
+1 (816) 519-2370
claire.ward@noanet.net
www.noanet.net

Isak Finér
Chief Marketing Officer
COS Systems
+46 737 51 99 38
isak.finer@cossystems.com
www.cossystems.com

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NoaNet and COS Systems Partner to Support Mason PUD 3 in Major Fiber Expansion

Mason PUD 3 provides broadband access to over 1 000 households in addition to businesses, anchor institutes and their own facilities on their open-access fiber optic network. This summer, the PUD (Public Utility District) ramped up their network expansion by offering their customers a favorable amortization plan to recover the installation costs, thereby not restricting residents from signing up due to high initial expenses. To stay within budget and optimize the order of build out they turned to NoaNet  for support in demand aggregation. By utilizing the COS Service Zones platform NoaNet offers this in partnership with COS Systems.

Shelton, WA – Mason County is nestled in the rural southeast corner of the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State. Like most rural communities, residents are clamoring for better broadband. Since 2000, Mason PUD 3 has been extending its open-access, nondiscriminatory fiber optic network to various regions of its service territory.

Besides serving its own facilities, PUD 3’s network reaches over 1,000 businesses, homes, and anchor institutions.

Recently computed PUD 3 customer surveys showed that slow speeds, high costs, or unavailable service were frustrating shortcomings for those who live in the more rural areas of Mason County.

“PUD staff was happy with the clarity the survey provided,” said Justin Holzgrove, Mason PUD 3 telecommunications & community relations manager. “A large number of county residents wanted PUD fiber connections. We are good at what we do: providing reliable fiber service that retail service providers can use to deliver high quality broadband services.”

In July, 2017 Mason PUD 3 commissioners approved a “Fiberhood Program,” designed to expand access to PUD 3’s fiber optic network for gigabit speed broadband service. Holzgrove added, “This program is a milestone in the history of PUD 3.”

To save money and improve the effectiveness of network extensions, the PUD turned to the Northwest Open Access Network (NoaNet) for support in demand aggregation. Because NoaNet uses the COS Service Zones platform it offered its use in partnership with COS.

PUD 3’s “Fiberhood” process identifies potential neighborhoods that are unserved or underserved by broadband providers. Among other factors, expansion of service is based on a guaranteed level of customer commitment to obtain service from the fiber optic network. Cost recovery for the project comes through a monthly “construction adder fee” paid back over 12 years. As a public utility, it is PUD 3’s intent to recover costs, not create a profit.

“A demand aggregation campaign to secure a commitment for connections was based on two components,” said Holzgrove.  “First, we can ensure that we are investing in areas with demand and commitment. Connecting areas with great initial take-rates, means revenue to fund continuous deployment. Second, many residents are clamoring for faster and more reliable Internet connection. Building first, where most people want it and will commit for it, is fair.”

Mason PUD 3 is a founding member of NoaNet. The PUD sought NoaNet’s support in setting up the demand aggregation campaign.

“Kitsap PUD, another one of our forming members, has had positive experiences using COS System’s software,” said Angela Bennink, communications and outreach director at NoaNet. “We recently initiated a partnership to broaden NoaNet offerings to include demand aggregation and Open Access network operations. In cooperation with the COS experts we are happy to support Mason PUD 3 with the software and support they need to quickly launch their demand aggregation campaign.”

“At COS we are very excited to be a part of this project,” said Bjorn Wannman, COS systems manager of partnerships and strategic accounts. “Mason PUD 3 has a confirmed need for better broadband in their area, and a very attractive offer to their subscribers. I am positive it will be a great success, especially with such an experienced partner as NoaNet by their side.”

About Mason PUD3

Mason PUD 3 serves over 34,000 electric customers in Mason County, Washington. PUD 3 also runs a wholesale fiber optic telecommunications network, which supports the operation of its electricity system. For more information see www.pud3.org/fiberhood. For the COS Service Zones campaign platform, visit www.pud3.servicezones.net.

About NoaNet

Northwest Open Access Network (NoaNet) is a wholesale only telecommunications provider. With a world that is becoming ever more digital, it is critical for communities to have access to high quality telecommunications technology that is affordable. We engage our mission to serve as a platform provider for the State by consistently looking for new opportunities to expand in Washington in meaningful ways that bridge the digital divide. Our goal is to be innovative and meet the changing needs of the Washington community. For additional information, see http://www.noanet.net.

NoaNet was formed in 2000 as a non-profit corporation by a number of Public Utility Districts in Washington State in order to provide access to high speed broadband statewide. They currently offer fiber related services and operate a fiber ring spanning thousands of miles throughout the entire State of Washington allowing the forming PUD’s, but also private providers and municipalities to connect to the backbone to serve areas where high speed broadband was often not previously available.

About COS Systems

COS SYSTEMS is a leading provider of software to plan, deploy and manage modern broadband networks that support services from one or more providers, using a powerful yet simple self-service interface. COS Systems takes customer needs and delivers innovative software solutions that streamline operations, accelerate revenue and deliver more satisfied subscribers. Learn more about COS Systems on www.cossystems.com.

For additional information, contact:

Justin Holzgrove
Telecommunications & Community Relations Manager
Mason PUD 3
+1 (360) 432-5323
justinh@masonpud3.org
www.pud3.org

Angela Bennink
Communications and Outreach Director
NoaNet
+1 (360) 271-3425
angela.bennink@noanet.net
www.noanet.net

Isak Finér
Chief Marketing Officer
COS Systems
+46 737 51 99 38
isak.finer@cossystems.com
www.cossystems.com

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