As organizations and industries increasingly rely on high-speed internet and communication technologies, having a fiber network workflow strategy is critical. It offers optimized performance, reliability, scalability, improved security, and futureproofing.
In a webinar from FTTH Council Europe, IQGeo’s Alex Bonafont, Customer Success Manager was joined by David Robert-Lock, Senior Data Architect from Connect Fibre. David walked the audience through Connect Fibre’s software strategy for efficient fiber network operations, and how it is using IQGeo’s software to support this strategy.
Overview of Connect Fibre
To understand how Connect Fibre has achieved rapid growth and operational success, it’s important to explore its origins, scale, and partnership with IQGeo. Connect Fibre is a UK altnet with 100,000 active lines across the country and looking to double this in the next year. Founded in 2019 and backed by a multi-million investment from Foresight Group, it is rapidly bringing superior connectivity to UK homes and businesses. The business has been working with IQGeo for the last 3 years and has seen tremendous growth over this time.
Connect Fibre partnered with IQGeo because IQGeo's award-winning fiber network management software, Network Manager Telecom, has native mobility, allowing partners to model anything, anywhere both offline and online. Network Manager Telecom integrates with existing enterprise systems to streamline workflows and ensure data integrity, providing Connect Fibre with a single-source-of-truth.
On the webinar, David outlined how Connect Fibre is using the IQGeo software to create workflows, broken down into three subcategories:
1. Core systems
Connect Fibre’s workflow strategy is built on a foundation of key systems that enable efficient operations and seamless integration, including Azure Cloud, which is where IQGeo Network Manager Telecom, its GeoServer, and PostgreSQL sit. It also uses PacketFront information for operations orchestration and an FME server for data transformations.
2. Supporting applications
In addition to its core systems, Connect Fibre relies on several supporting applications to manage assets, automate workflows, and track progress effectively. EXFO for checking and keeping track of live assets on the ground. Other third-party applications used include HubSpot, Arrivy, deepomatic and Monday.com.
3. Single source of truth
All of Connect Fibre’s systems and applications are unified through IQGeo Network Manager Telecom, which serves as the central hub for accurate, real-time data and streamlined operations. It provides a single source of truth from all these applications. IQGeo’s database is the central repository, with data flowing in from and out to other systems. This ensures data integrity and enables reporting/analytics across the entire workflow.
Fiber network area selection
Selecting the right build areas is a crucial first step in any network deployment. Connect Fibre’s data-driven approach ensures decisions are strategic and cost-effective. Area selection is critical in a fiber network workflow strategy because it ensures optimal coverage, cost efficiency, and scalability by strategically identifying locations with high demand and minimal infrastructure challenges.
Connect Fibre has an FME Server to convert formats from multiple sources into a unified system. These sources include:
- Address data for identifying precise locations,
- Point Topic to monitor where competitors are actively building their networks,
- Balfour API to identify future housing developments across the country, and
- OneNetwork data to forecast areas where competitors plan to expand next.
Bringing all this information into IQGeo's fiber network management system produces a series of maps which enables Connect Fibre’s senior leadership team to plan the most viable areas to build. IQGeo ensures a unified view of Connect Fibre’s various data sources, existing as a single-source-of-truth.
High-level fiber network design
Once a new area is selected for build, the location is published by Network Manager Telecom and a new task is created in the build management system on Monday.com to track the jobs moving forward. These jobs go through the FME tool to the high-level design tool which comes back with a design that gets imported into IQGeo's software and is then ready to view via the build management system. This process is entirely automated and comes with a rough cost which speeds up the process.
By using Network Manager Telecom, FME, and high-level design tools the design process is accelerated by automation, improving cost estimation accuracy. A poll within the webinar asked attendees “How do you currently manage your high-level design?” 27% managed in-house, manually, 29% managed in-house with automated design tools, and 19% managed through partners.
Detailed fiber network design and in-house reporting
With high-level plans in place, Connect Fibre refines its designs, conducts quality checks, and ensures teams have accurate, actionable data. Information from this exploration is fed back into the system as a detailed design, which is available via the IQGeo Network Manager Telecom GUI. This also means that there is a build pack ready to go out into the field and the finance team know what the charge is going to be from a contractor to support.
There is always a live status available. Connect Fibre extract the build area in tables within IQGeo Network Manager Telecom, which enables field teams to log in and use the app to download that data. It also means that they can work offline if their signal drops. IQGeo Network Manager Telecom enables field operations and real-time data updates, which improves operational efficiency as the finance team then know what the charge is going to be from contractor to support.
Not having to do the as-built records from PDF or paper markups means that the team is able to have a live view of anything that is happening which, in addition to speeding up processes, creates operational efficiencies.
As-builts process for accurate fiber network data
The as-built process is essential for maintaining accurate records of completed networks. Connect Fibre uses IQGeo software and other systems to streamline this phase and support real-time operations. On the operations side, Connect Fibre uses PacketFront for orchestration out to its CRM system. It sells on a Connect Fibre ISP as it is also becoming a wholesaler for other people, and it uses the tool to support management.
All the data is live and comes through from triggers from the Network Manager Telecom database of the as-built records. The Connect Fibre team then uses the IQGeo software to see what the information is, where the build is, and where the lines are. IQGeo Network Manager Telecom provides data to EXFO for the routing and splicing, so it knows exactly the routes of each connection to query them. However, Connect Fibre is also beginning to build systems that bring that EXFO data back into Network Manager Telecom, so that they have instant access to information on system faults to support speedy repairs.
It’s also using BI systems to support live reporting to senior leadership teams. The openness of the IQGeo system makes it easy for anyone within the team to extract the information they need for their roles.
Connect Fibre’s future developments
In the future, Connect Fibre is interested in exploring more self-serve tools for teams and focus on further BI integrations. It will also be moving to the full cloud infrastructure of IQGeo Network Manager Telecom, and as David succinctly put it: “IQGeo is the single source-of-truth that ensures everything is live, everything is correct, and you can trust it. IQGeo’s major strengths are that the app is market leading. Its own high-level design tools in the Comms of Fiber system, the integration is a lot smoother, its network management is easy to customize, and you feel very well supported with the support team…it is one of the strongest offerings I’ve come across in my career”.
Key takeaways for improving your fiber network management strategy
- Unified real-time insights: IQGeo Network Manager Telecom acts as a single source of truth, seamlessly integrating diverse data sources to provide unified, real-time visibility across your operations.
- Native mobility workflow automation: Accelerate design processes and enhance cost estimation accuracy with IQGeo’s innovative, native mobility approach to workflow automation.
- Optimized performance and scalability: Connect Fibre achieves unmatched performance, scalability, and future-proofing capabilities with IQGeo’s software solutions.
For a deeper dive into this topic, watch our on-demand webinar: Creating a fiber network workflow strategy and discover how IQGeo can transform your fiber network operations.
