Open Access

COS Systems Brings Swedish Knack for Tech to Open Access Networks, Hopes for Spacious Skies on American Plains

Published

4 years ago

May 20, 2020

Photo of Isak Finér, Marketing Manager at COS Systems, by Mikael Hansson used with permission

May 20, 2020 — Sweden has a knack for being the first to the table of tech. Ericsson, a telecommunications company based in Stockholm, introduced the world to the first telephone switch and the first mobile phone. Sweden is home to several game-changing tech companies: Spotify, Skype, Candy Crush, Minecraft and Pirate Bay, to name a few.

“Their valuations were just crazy, insane,” Isak Finér, chief marketing officer of information technology solutions provider COS Systems, said of the Swedish companies’ stock prices at their respective heights.

Part of the Swedish environment and culture is being primed for innovative technology, Finér told Broadband Breakfast in an interview: “Some are scared when something new comes. Sweden is always early.”

This is especially true for technologies that enhance efficiency in their work and in their personal lives. “People like to be self-reliant,” he said. But it also means that “they don’t want to talk to someone if they don’t have to.”

Sweden is also ahead of the curve in implementing open access networks, which is where COS Systems thrives.

Creating a model ecosystem for broadband in the elongated country

An open access network is a business model for providing internet to homes and institutions that is more competitive than the model most prevalent in the United States. In the U.S. model, big communications companies dominate. Not only do companies like AT&T, Comcast and Verizon own their broadband infrastructure, they also operate it. And they offer broadband internet services on top of the infrastructure.

Open-access networks are much more common outside of America. They can be a little complicated to visualize. If you think of a broadband network as a railroad, the train tracks represent the network of underground fiber-optic cable that feeds high-speed internet into homes and businesses throughout the country.

The current dominant model in the U.S. calls for the same people who own the “train tracks” to also supply the “trains,” or in this case the internet services.

An open access model, by contrast, allows train cars run by CarCo, a completely different company, to run on the railroad tracks owned by TrackCo. This gives the consumer more access to wider choices.

A willingness to adapt to the newest technology, along with the Swedish affinity for self-reliance, created a fertile environment for open access networks to take root. In 1994, Sweden’s version of AT&T, Telia, began charging “outrageous prices” for internet service, said Finér.

In response, Swedish municipalities revolted and began building their own networks.

Sweden proves fertile ground for companies that want to help open access networks grow

In addition, several aspects of Swedish demographics allowed for this revolution to flourish and become the norm within the Scandinavian nation: A consensus on the role of municipal governments, urbanization, digital literacy and a high standard of living, to name a few. That, paired with a unique government-sponsored program where employees could borrow computers from their employers for free, allowed the new paradigm of distributing internet to bloom.

COS Systems emerged in 2008 as a company that sold software to help network operators assess the demand for broadband in an area, called “demand aggregation,” and automatically juggle a host of competing service providers on one fiber optic cable.

They initially found success in Sweden, but realized that much of the country’s fiber had already been built out by the early 2010s. In 2013, they set their sights on America.

The COS Systems business model is one of practicality and logic: Invest in the neighborhoods (which became known as “fiberhoods” when Google Fiber got in the picture) that want internet the most, and which will in turn generate the greatest revenue.

This greater long-term access to capital can then be used to build out fiber in less profitable areas, which very often are the more rural or less dense regions.

At that point of the process, Finér said, “it’s up to the neighborhood itself to get the neighbors excited [about broadband access and] get them signed up.”

This strategy has worked in Sweden, where wealthier municipalities initiated the open-access revolution. After 20 years of investment and slow growth, Swedish builders now have the capital to reach the far-flung villages. Though the Swedish digital divide has not been completely annealed, it has nearly been closed.

Will the COS Systems model also play itself out in the United States?

Some critics poke holes in a strategy for deployment that focuses first on the wealthiest neighborhoods with the greatest ability to pay for broadband. Frequently, but not always, wealthier neighborhoods show greater demand for broadband. And some say this could deepen socioeconomic inequalities.

For the broadband developers that make use of COS Systems, they often reply, “We can’t cherry-pick, we have to build to everyone,” Finér said.

How does this translate to the American internet landscape? The rollout of open-access networks in the U.S. has been patchy.

Some states, such as Washington, have been on the forefront of developing open-access models thanks to a law that requires all its utilities — water, electricity, and broadband — to form municipal networks. And it has registered some successes and provided a model for states who wish to do likewise.

Brian Snider, CEO of open access builder Lit Communities, told Broadband Breakfast in an interview that “you don’t get a lot of churn” in an open access business because clients on the whole are more satisfied with the model.

Furthermore, he said he foresaw large volume deployments of open-access infrastructure for all the big carriers, including Google Fiber, a company Lit Communities said it had recently worked with. And, said Snider, the current coronavirus pandemic has increased demand for his networks and launched business “into a whole ‘nother stratosphere.”

Do restrictions on municipal networks also impact open access networks?

However, 19 states currently have laws that prohibit their towns and cities from choosing whether or not to build municipal networks, according to Gigi Sohn, co-founder and former executive director of nonprofit interest group Public Knowledge, on a Broadband Breakfast Live Online event.

Sohn claimed these prohibitive laws “were encouraged and lobbied for by the big incumbent telecoms” such as AT&T and Verizon and called them “shameful.” Most such laws — such as those of Utah, for example — prohibit municipalities from directly offering broadband internet services.

But the Utah prohibition on offering internet services by municipalities has had a paradoxical effect: It spurred the creation of the largest open access network in the U.S., which is run by UTOPIA Fiber.

UTOPIA stands for the Utah Open Infrastructure Agency. In collaboration with its 11 city members, UTOPIA Fiber owns and operates a fiber-optic network. More than 25 private companies offer broadband services (the train cars) on the open access network (the railroad tracks).

Despite the obstacles in the way of adoption, Finér remains hopeful about the future of open access in the U.S. However, every country’s story is different is unique in both time and place, and the U.S. is no exception.

The biggest difference comes in the form of funding sources, he said. While the Swedish government and citizenry agreed early on that broadband was “essential infrastructure” that they were willing to invest in, U.S. companies will require the right kind of coaxing and incentives to build out open access networks.

Above all, the key to open access networks catching fire in the U.S. is a substantial increase in private investment.

Up Next

U.S. Should Follow UK in Open Access Infrastructure Investment, Say Broadband Breakfast Panelists

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David Jelke

David Jelke was a Reporter for Broadband Breakfast. He graduated from Dartmouth College with a degree in neuroscience. Growing up in Miami, he learned to speak Spanish during a study abroad semester in Peru. He is now teaching himself French on his iPhone.

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Open Access

Gigapower Exec Pitches Value of Open Access Networks to Maximize BEAD Money Efficiency

The open access model allows multiple ISPs to use the same infrastructure. That could benefit Gigapower.

Published

3 months ago

September 13, 2023

Jake Neenan

Screenshot of Bill Hogg, CEO of Gigapower, during Broadband Breakfast Live Online

WASHINGTON, September 13, 2023 – Gigapower is in talks with state broadband offices about potentially building out open access infrastructure with grants from the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment Program, the company’s CEO said Wednesday.

“I think that when the time comes for BEAD, this platform will be a perfect fit,” Bill Hogg, the company’s CEO, said at a Broadband Breakfast Live Online event.

That’s because consumers could still choose from multiple internet providers offering different services at different price points, all on BEAD-funded Gigapower infrastructure, Hogg pitched. The traditional ISP-owned infrastructure model would only bring service from the provider that won a state contract to expand their network, he claimed.

“They like the idea that multiple ISPs will be able to bring choice to their constituents,” he said of state broadband officials. “They don’t have to pick a winner or a loser.”

Gigapower, a joint venture between AT&T and the investment firm BlackRock, is already slated to build a 1.5-million-location open access network. That means it will own and operate a fiber network while allowing multiple internet service providers to use that network to connect individual homes and businesses.

Spawned from the Infrastructure, Investment, and Jobs Act, the BEAD program allocates $42.5 billion to subsidize broadband infrastructure – primarily fiber – in areas that still lack adequate internet service because of geographical barriers or low population density. After submitting initial proposals by the end of the year, states will be able to start doling out this money to fund projects.

Gigapower is actively looking to add more service providers to its lineup, Hogg said.

“We fully intend to have other ISPs on the network,” he said. “We’re having good discussions with potential future tenants.”

Benefits of open access

AT&T will be the first tenant on the open access network, part of its deal with Blackrock. The telecom is looking to reach more people as quickly as possible, said Erin Scarborough, its president of broadband and connectivity, but building out fiber is costly and expensive. Making use of a network outside the company’s existing infrastructure will make it easier to expand into new areas and was a key motivator for investing in the project.

“That’s one of the key tenets of this agreement and why we were looking to do it,” Scarborough said.

The open access model is a departure from the norm in American telecommunications. There are regional open access networks like Utah’s UTOPIA Fiber, but large ISPs have traditionally opted for the security of owning and operating their own networks.

“When you start thinking about operating more efficiently with less capital, sharing networks has always made sense,” Hogg said. “We think that this model is going to break down the historical bias telecos have had about not controlling all the assets.”

Despite the company’s investment in the project and first-provider status, Scarborough and Hogg were emphatic that AT&T will not have a management role over the network.

“We are the network operator,” Hogg said of Gigapower. “We own the assets. We own the negotiation for the commercial terms.”

Our Broadband Breakfast Live Online events take place on Wednesday at 12 Noon ET. Watch the event on Broadband Breakfast, or REGISTER HERE to join the conversation.

Wednesday, September 13, 2023 – AT&T and BlackRock’s Gigapower Joint Venture

In December 2022, AT&T and BlackRock, through a fund managed by its Diversified Infrastructure business, jointly invested in the Gigapower joint venture that is expected to build fiber connectivity to an initial 1.5 million customer locations beyond AT&T’s current footprint. Notably, AT&T will rely on a commercial wholesale open access platform, where multiple providers share space and compete for customers over the same fiber infrastructure. Could Gigapower alter the historical reluctance of U.S. telcos toward such networks? How will the deployment impact open access projects throughout the United States? Get the facts from this special Broadband Breakfast Live Online event.

Panelists:

Bill Hogg, CEO of Gigapower
Erin Scarborough, President, Broadband and Connectivity Initiatives at AT&T
Adam Waltz, Managing Director at BlackRock Infrastructure
Roger Entner, Founder and Lead Analyst of Recon Analytics
Drew Clark (moderator), Editor and Publisher, Broadband Breakfast

Adam Waltz is a Managing Director in BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Fund focused on investments in digital infrastructure opportunities across fiber networks, data centers, and wireless infrastructure. He serves as a Board Director at Gigapower, BlackRock’s joint venture with AT&T to develop a commercial wholesale open access platform on a state-of-the-art fiber network.

Bill Hogg leads Gigapower, an open access, wholesale fiber broadband company that builds and operates fiber solutions lit for fast connectivity and designed for network resiliency and reliability. Bill retired as President, AT&T Technology Operations, and was responsible for all planning, investment, engineering, construction, delivery, and assurance of AT&T’s wireless and wireline networks. Previously, Bill served as President-Technology Development, responsible for the development of AT&T’s products and services, digital experiences for customers, and systems supporting the operations across AT&T’s networks and services.

Erin Scarborough leads the team responsible for AT&T’s efforts to connect more Americans to greater possibility through fiber and wireless 5G investment initiatives, participating in government funding programs and public private partnerships. She and her team are taking a strategic, state-by-state approach working closely with state and local governments as they assess their broadband access, affordability and adoption needs. She also leads the combined broadband and mobility product management teams and has cross-functional responsibility for product profitability, pricing, customer experience, product design, multi-year roadmaps, development, and value-add services across the product portfolios.

Roger Entner advises telecom, media and technology companies on strategic and tactical business as well as public policy issues to allow them to compete better in the marketplace. Some of the challenges he helped to address are mobile market trends and business drivers and how to position themselves for growth and profitability, TMT convergence, bundling, changes in media consumption, software-defined networking, transition from MVNO to MNO, as well as providing the evidence and arguments for light touch wireless regulation and spectrum allocation for 5G. Under Roger’s leadership, Recon Analytics has launched the fastest and most agile telecom insights service based on more than 400,000 respondents across consumer mobile, home internet and business telecom customers.

Breakfast Media LLC CEO Drew Clark has led the Broadband Breakfast community since 2008. An early proponent of better broadband, better lives, he initially founded the Broadband Census crowdsourcing campaign for broadband data. As Editor and Publisher, Clark presides over the leading media company advocating for higher-capacity internet everywhere through topical, timely and intelligent coverage. Clark also served as head of the Partnership for a Connected Illinois, a state broadband initiative.

WATCH HERE, or on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.

As with all Broadband Breakfast Live Online events, the FREE webcasts will take place at 12 Noon ET on Wednesday.

SUBSCRIBE to the Broadband Breakfast YouTube channel. That way, you will be notified when events go live. Watch on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.

See a complete list of upcoming and past Broadband Breakfast Live Online events.

#broadbandlive

Broadband Breakfast on September 13, 2023 – AT&T and BlackRock’s Gigapower Joint Venture

Gigapower CEO Bill Hogg and AT&T President Erin Scarborough headline event.

Published

3 months ago

August 25, 2023

Broadband Breakfast Staff

See Gigapower Exec Pitches Value of Open Access Networks to Maximize BEAD Money Efficiency, Broadband Breakfast, September 13, 2023

Our Broadband Breakfast Live Online events take place on Wednesday at 12 Noon ET. Watch the event on Broadband Breakfast, or REGISTER HERE to join the conversation in the webinar.

Wednesday, September 13, 2023 – AT&T and BlackRock’s Gigapower Joint Venture

Panelists:

Bill Hogg, CEO of Gigapower
Erin Scarborough, President, Broadband and Connectivity Initiatives at AT&T
Adam Waltz, Managing Director at BlackRock Infrastructure
Roger Entner, Founder and Lead Analyst of Recon Analytics
Drew Clark (moderator), Editor and Publisher, Broadband Breakfast

WATCH HERE, or on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.

As with all Broadband Breakfast Live Online events, the FREE webcasts will take place at 12 Noon ET on Wednesday.

SUBSCRIBE to the Broadband Breakfast YouTube channel. That way, you will be notified when events go live. Watch on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.

See a complete list of upcoming and past Broadband Breakfast Live Online events.

Fiber

Automation Exchange Announces New Managed Services for Fiber Operators

The service provides a centralized communication hub and technical support for open access networks.

Published

3 months ago

August 21, 2023

Teralyn Whipple

Photo of John McLauchlin

ORLANDO, August 21, 2023 – South African fiber software company Automation Exchange announced Monday here at Fiber Connect the addition of a new managed services offering that provides new software for fiber operators needs to deploy and support open access broadband networks.

“AEX offers network operators unparalleled scalability,” said Greg Mclaughlin, the company’s new CEO. “Throughout comprehensive managed services and tested and proven integrated [operations support system and business support system] software, AEX’s complete solution enables operators to efficiently plan, build, maximize, operator and support both greenfield and brownfield networks with remarkable speed.”

Mclaughlin said in a press conference that the software will allow providers to automate their systems and hand off the hard work to AEX so they can focus on building out their networks with maximum efficiency.

Jim Sanders, vice president of sales and marketing, said that the company seeks to make it as easy as possible for internet service providers to get internet out to unserved and underserved communities as fast as possible by providing solutions to minimize upfront heavy lifting.

AEX helps open access fiber network operators, which lease fiber infrastructure to deliver services to the end user. The software services offered by AEX include a network operations center, equipment supply, installation and commissioning, technical support, virtual internet service provider and service desk. Additionally, AEX directly supports operator customers, acting as the single point for all network queries and technical issues.

John McLauchlin, vice president of implementation at AEX, said at the press conference that the company’s “support structure provides efficient escalation, granting appropriate access enabling our trained professionals to deliver a superior customer experience.”

Mclauchlin added that the company’s success in helping to build open access networks in South Africa has given AEX the expertise to do the same in the United States. AEX says that its software platform talks to all different entities on the network to centralize communication and simplify the process of operating a network.