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Publication: The Inquirer
Date: 27th November 2003
Title: Broadband operators fighting off customers
Capex
too high. Scare them off, like NTL
BROADBAND OPERATORS need to make sure that services they provide to customers
are managed by customers themselves, an executive from PacketFront said
at the Digital Reykjavik conference today.
The Swedish company describes itself as providing solutions for True Broadband
Networks. Why True? Well, because broadband isn't necessarily broadband,
it appears.
Service
providers offering broadband - a contested term - normally represents
less than 2 meg ADSL that's called broadband in Europe, and the selection
and quality of service mechanisms mean it's not really true broadband.
So services aren't quite as good as they might be.
Basic
services are mail, browsing on the web, and in some instances some security
services, but rarely telephony. TV in the true sense of high quality real
consumer TV isn't recommended over an ADSL network. You can see video
and TV but that's for the nerd in the family.
The
real problem for operators is getting a share of the revenue consumers
are currently paying for which aren't on broadband.
Once
you hit success and get a lot of customers on your network your costs
will explode and rip your hands off. Broadband operators in the European
market are not too keen on gaining more customers.
Rather
apt given NTL's UK wide failure yesterday. Mind you, we've been waiting
for NTL to fix our home phone for two months now.
Many
ISPs find it impossible to set a fair price on the real services they're
delivering because they think it's just access they provide, and not real
services.
Hiring
real people is the problem for broadband providers because they cost a
lot more than anything else. PacketFront, natch, claims it's got a lot
of ways to cut down these costs by providing automation of configuration,
mass deployment, automating networks, and automated logging of services
use for billing.
The
firm claims that can save up to 90% in staffing costs, especially specialist
staffing costs.
The
firm showed off access switch routers which offer dual SFP Gigabit uplinks,
built for rough environments and which doesn't need mechanical cooling.
You can't dive into a geyser with it, but 50 degrees Celsius inside a
power unit station. It will go into manholes provided it doesn't get too
cold or too hot.
Someone
did put it into a water tank but unfortunately it stopped working, though
it was OK when it was dried out. It will work just fine in a street cabinet.
But
PacketFront isn't really into this kind of gear, it prefers software solutions
such as control and provisioning systems, subscriber management tools,
and intelligent broadband operating systems.
By
Mike Magee in Reykjavik
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