Network management

Network management refers to the activities, methods, procedures, and tools that pertain to the operation, administration, maintenance, and provisioning of networked systems.

After big drop in Internet Service Provider competition, Canada mandates fiber-network sharing

In an attempt to boost broadband competition, Canada's telecommunication regulator, Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), is forcing large phone companies to open their fiber networks to competitors.

Wildfires, Natural Disasters & Network Resilience

The United States is no stranger to wildfires. These fires can ignite utility poles, melt aerial fiber optic cables, obscure wireless signals, or damage transmitting or receiving equipment. This kind of damage can cut homes off from key public safety resources, and prevent calls for help in the most dire situations. As states now know their share of the $42.5 billion Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program, they should begin planning new network deployments and upgrades to withstand increasingly severe natural disasters.

Open Access Networks Poised to Turn up the Heat in the U.S. Broadband Market

The open access fiber network business model consists of a network operator who builds, manages and owns the fiber network and multiple ISPs who sell wholesale access to the network and resell it to residential and business customers. The ISPs are responsible for all the customer acquisition and support costs/activities, while the network operator is responsible for network operations. This type of shared network model is very popular in Europe largely because regulators have mandated it to level the competitive playing field.

Intrepid Fiber expands open access network to Minnesota

Minnesota is getting a taste of open-access fiber, as Intrepid Fiber will expand its network into the Greater St. Cloud area—bringing symmetrical multi-gig broadband to over 44,000 households and businesses. This marks Intrepid’s second open access initiative in the state: a project in Bloomington is set to cover 40,000 locations. As for St. Cloud, construction is already underway in the city as well as in Sauk Rapids, Waite Park, and Sartell. Intrepid expects fiber-to-the-premise (FTTP) service to be live in the area by the end of 2023.

Ciena powers open-access fiber expansion in Georgia and beyond

Through a recent partnership announcement with Ciena, eCommunity Fiber is poised to extend its open-access fiber network in Georgia and beyond. Launched by parent company A2D, an open-access local exchange carrier, the privately-funded eCommunity Fiber network currently serves five cities within Clayton County in Georgia. eCommunity is now gearing up for its second Georgia deployment, with plans to cross other state lines in 2024. Open-access networks are deployed by one company and then leased to multiple internet service providers, which can then offer broadband service to end customers.

Safeguarding and Securing the Open Internet

Two areas in the draft Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Safeguarding and Securing the Open Internet: 

European telecommunication groups ask Brussels to make Big Tech pay more for networks

Europe’s biggest telecommunications companies have called on the European Union to compel Big Tech to pay a “fair” contribution for using their networks, the latest stage in a battle for payments that has pitched the sector against companies such as Netflix and Google. Technology companies that “benefit most” from telecommunications infrastructure and drive traffic growth should contribute more to costs, according to the chief executives of 20 groups including BT, Deutsche Telekom and Telefónica.

Netflix and Korea’s SK Broadband End Lawsuits Over Fees, Technology

Netflix and SK Broadband, one of South Korea’s largest internet service providers, are ending all their lawsuits and are instead creating a strategic partnership to provide better entertainment experiences to Korean customers. The legal dispute began in 2020 over whether content providers that generate large amounts of traffic should pay “network usage fees” in addition to the bills paid by the household end users, or whether that would go against the principle of net neutrality and lead to higher costs for consumers. Netflix said that it could offer a technological solution to traffic volu

AT&T, Black Rock, Gigapower Execs Share Their Vision: Open Access With Scale

Black Rock, AT&T, and Gigapower executives shared their vision for the joint venture and how they expect to change attitudes toward open access. Adam Waltz, Managing Director of Black Rock’s Global Infrastructure Fund was excited because the company sees the US as underpenetrated when it comes to fiber broadband. Gigapower CEO Bill Hogg said, “scale will be a differentiator” beacuse the network’s scale will appeal to service providers interested in offering service over the network because “you don’t want to make [them] invest over and over with a lot of small players.” Erin Scarborough

Cable company Midco takes a methodical approach to fiber build

Midco is a midwestern service provider that offers broadband via hybrid fiber coax (HFC), fiber-to-the-home, and fixed wireless access (FWA). The company serves 490,000 homes and businesses in 400 communities in Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Midco is doing greenfield fiber-to-the-premise (FTTP) builds in new communities and to large multi-dwelling units. But in brownfields, it’s doing a mix, adding fiber deeper into neighborhoods, but also upgrading its cable plant.