The immediate future – Telco

Written on 7:32 AM by ooe

In order to address the current issues affecting a typical Telco access network, a range of commercial and technical solutions will be used to continue to drive down costs whilst simultaneously increasing the earning potential of the access business.

Costs: Cost reduction will be achieved by progressive reduction in capital investment in mature service delivery mechanisms. As competition increases so too will churn between one operator and another, so new solutions will be deployed specifically to control the cost of churn and the impact that churn traditionally has on network quality. The impact of overhead costs will be lessened by initiatives that spread the cost across an increasing volume of new services carried by the access network or by selective write-offs of obsolete networks.

Volumes: Volumes for mature delivery mechanisms (such as narrowband copper for POTS) will remain static in the face of growing retail competition; but there may be scope for growth in the wholesale market. Stock levels and just-in-time delivery processes will be optimised especially when providing connectivity to new greenfield sites. There will be a shift from a mainly reactive build process in the access network to a focused pro-active ‘build & sell’ strategy.

The datawave is producing a growing demand for digital narrowband and broadband capacity both from existing customers and the emerging Service Provider market. Mobile networks are competing more with the traditional hardwired markets to provide narrowband speech service and there will be an increasingly blurred boundary between fixed and mobile services and network infrastructure.

Capacity management: Access will continue to be predominantly via a hardwired network. Increasingly the copper network will be reserved for the provision of higher bandwidth services using DSL technology and continuing use will be made of pair gain devices with up to six channels to provide additional channels. Fibre will be used where it is cost effective to do so and where it enables high bandwidth services. A significant proportion of provision will be by radio to manage churn and to reduce the need to install new copper or fibre cables.

Structural changes: Certain customers and market segments will require levels of reliability significantly better than average. Investment will be selectively applied to improve infrastructure in a targeted manner. In other cases where speed of provision becomes a crucial competitive advantage, pre-provision allowing high levels of ‘met from stock’ may well be justified. Less capital intensive solutions will be needed for cases where the commercial value is less or where significant market share is unlikely.

The evolution of broadband services demands that the design approach to the first concentration point in the access network is improved. Solutions are being developed to provide for short term needs but with sufficient flexibility to evolve and support the data-wave thereby avoiding the risk of a proliferation of ‘stovepipe’ solutions. A similar approach to standardisation and simplification of NTE (network terminating equipment) for broadband and business products is being developed.

Operational costs: More of the network will be managed remotely by reducing the need for reactive interventions to provide service. Increasingly, flexibility will be provided by using radio and pair gain devices. Improved reliability combined with a substantially lower requirement for flexibility will change the management of the access network from ‘hands-on’ to ‘hands-off’.

Network health and reliability: Systems will be used to monitor the health of the network, adopt optimum stock levels, anticipate component failure and direct engineers to network components that require work. Network health scores will also become a key management performance measure. Maintaining accurate data and records is absolutely crucial to informed decision making and business success.

People and culture: The work force will be organised in customer service teams trained, focused and ‘incentivised’ to provide service at a cost and quality that will meet the commercial requirements of the business and provide exceptional customer service. They will function as separate businesses to commercially exploit the local access network. This will also enable the development of more pride and ownership of the ‘patch’ which should be reflected in improved quality and customer satisfaction.