IQGeo’s webinar hosted in partnership with the FTTH Council Europe explored how Deutsche Telekom accelerated their ambitious FTTH (Fiber To The Home) rollout in Germany, passing 3 million homes per year, with the help of IQGeo’s Comsof Fiber software. Steve Tongish, Chief Marketing Officer at IQGeo outlines what we learned from the discussion.
Who is Deutsche Telekom?
Established in 1995, Deutsche Telekom AG is largest telecommunications provider in Europe. Headquartered in Bonn, Germany, the company has played a pivotal role in shaping the telecommunications landscape, providing a comprehensive range of services that include fixed-line and mobile telephony, internet services, and digital solutions.
Despite its remarkable stature in the telecommunications sector, Deutsche Telekom faces some of the same challenges as the broader industry. These challenges arise from the dynamic nature of technology, shifting consumer demands, and the evolving competitive landscape. The most prominent challenge that the organization has faced in recent years is meeting growing customer demand for reliable and high-speed connectivity, at speed and at scale.
In light of this, Deutsche Telecom set the objective to significantly increase the pace of its fiber rollout to meet this demand. This has been widely publicized, with the business aiming for an addition of between 2.5 and 3 million connections in 2023 and increase its reach to 5.2 million connections by 2024.
Choosing the right partnership for ambitious FTTH deployment goals
With the goal of launching a large-scale Fiber To The Home (FTTH) rollout in Germany and connecting 3 million homes annually, Deutsche Telekom needed to find a software solution to automate and optimize their high-level fiber network designs. After carefully assessing the market and available options, Deutsche Telekom made the strategic decision to select IQGeo's Comsof Fiber software to help them achieve their ambitious goal of faster fiber expansion across the country.
IQGeo, a company dedicated to helping customers build better networks, has a long history of supporting FTTH rollout projects worldwide and has been working in partnership with Deutsche Telekom since 2018.
The initiative was launched with the aim of expediting the FTTH deployment to a minimum of 3 million residences annually while also improving the quality and consistency of designs for telecom-selected consoles. This integration into a broader workflow produced impressive results, showcasing faster monthly speeds while maintaining high-quality standards to more homes.
So, what were the key benefits of using IQGeo’s Comsof Fiber software?
1. Supporting the entire fiber network lifecycle
When contemplating fiber rollout, IQGeo understands the importance on assisting operators in managing superior networks. This is achieved through the provision of a single, integrated solution that supports the entire network lifecycle, ensuring efficiency and optimal performance at every stage of development and operation.
IQGeo's Comsof Fiber software stands out by acknowledging the intricacies of fiber rollout, employing design automation and optimization techniques. It goes beyond mere consideration of network architecture; it takes into account material lists, costs, constraints, and detailed geographical data to fuel its optimization algorithms.
One noteworthy advantage of this robust software lies in the enhancement of design quality. Comsof Fiber doesn't just automate; it ensures uniform and high-quality designs by rigorously enforcing adherence to predefined rules. These rules encompass various critical factors, including network standards, regulatory compliance and industry best practices. This adherence not only minimizes errors but also elevates the overall design consistency to new levels of precision and reliability.
2. Cost-effective high-level fiber network designs
In addition to the quality improvements, using IQGeo’s Comsof Fiber software brings substantial time savings to the planning and design process. Compared to manual design methods, it can reduce the end-to-end planning and design timeline by an impressive 50-90%. This not only accelerates the deployment of networks but also contributes to increased operational efficiency.
“Our innovative functionality delivers various benefits that aid with innovation”, says Jonas Verstuyft, Fiber Product Manager at IQGeo. “It ensures a fast and cost-effective design process, helping to reduce network construction costs by optimizing infrastructure reuse.”
This intelligent reuse also leads to an overall reduction in network build costs of approximately 5-10%. Detailed cost breakdowns provided by the software allow operators to plan more effectively and minimize variations between initial design projections and actual build costs. In essence, IQGeo's Comsof Fiber software emerges as a comprehensive solution, seamlessly integrates automation, quality assurance, and cost-effectiveness into the fiber network lifecycle.
3. Precision planning and seamless FTTH construction
IQGeo’s software played a significant role in helping Deutsche Telekom achieve success in their FTTH deployment. However, this victory was further amplified through the establishment of Deutsche Telekom’s FTTH Factory, a programme designed to help with fiber planning and construction. The programme involves a detailed process that includes environmental recording, AI-based surface classification, structure planning, virtual exploration, detailed design and digital construction support.
Deutsche Telekom leverages the role of 3D Environmental Recording by employing specially equipped vehicles fitted with cameras, GPS receivers, and 3D environment sensors to capture detailed construction data across Germany for their FTTH rollout. This strategic approach streamlines manual processes, elevates accuracy in the planning phase, and delivers thorough documentation of the current conditions prior to the FTTH rollout.
“Our advanced vehicles equipped with high-tech sensors capture detailed construction data across Germany for our Fiber to the Home (FFTH) rollout”, says Henning Wulf, Product Owner of Fiber Planning Factory at Deutsche Telekom. “This strategic approach significantly reduces manual processes, playing a pivotal role in capturing detailed construction data while enhancing precision in planning. It provides comprehensive documentation of landscapes exclusively for FTTH rollout.”
The software’s automated network design analyzes recorded environmental data to create potential trench networks. This optimization process enhances FTTH network designs, considering the existing infrastructure for a seamless integration approach.
In terms of digital tools for approval and documentation, Deutsche Telekom leverages sophisticated software tools to streamline various aspects of the planning process. These tools play a crucial role in obtaining local authority approvals, facilitating location coordination, and generating comprehensive construction documents. By harnessing the power of these digital solutions, the company significantly reduces the need for manual efforts and time-intensive tasks, promoting efficiency and accuracy in the planning and documentation phases of the project.
4. Reducing fiber network planning time
Integrating Comsof Fiber and other related software tools into its network design and construction processes has resulted in a remarkable reduction in planning time, transforming the effort required from hundreds of working days to an impressive average of just 30 days. The efficiency gained from these advanced tools not only expedite the overall planning phase but also contribute to a more agile and responsive approach in adapting to evolving network requirements and deployment scenarios.
Through their automation and optimization of their high-level network designs with Comsof Fiber, Deutsche Telekom has successfully expedited their fiber expansion across Germany, providing high-speed connectivity to more homes than ever before.
Webinar: Deutsche Telekom’s journey to accelerate FTTH deployment
The webinar discussions highlighted in great detail the key aspects of Deutsche Telekom's accelerated FTTH deployment, emphasizing their collaboration with IQGeo's Comsof Fiber software, and the automation-driven strategies employed to achieve rapid and efficient expansion of their fiber network across Germany.
To learn more about some of the topics discussed, check out the webinar that we hosted in partnership with the FTTH Council Europe.
Discover more about the benefits of an automated planning and design process and take your fiber planning and network management to a new level of efficiency that enables you to rapidly deploy and manage your fiber networks.
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