My personal observations and thoughts
about the future
Ten years ago, I was contacted by people on the board of a startup called COS Systems. They knew I had recently moved back to my hometown Umeå where they were headquartered, and asked if I was interested in becoming their CMO. I did two things. First, I googled the term CMO as I wanted to be sure I knew what it meant. I found out it was a role that encompassed both Sales and Marketing strategy and much more since keeping these parts of the customer acquisition process in tight sync is a good idea. On Wikipedia it also said that typically a CMO stays about three years, often because it’s a lot to manage both Sales and Marketing. But it sounded like something that could fit me, and as I’ve been at COS for ten years now, I assume it wasn’t that bad.
The second thing was to meet with the company and figure out what they were doing and if there was a market for them. They had two platforms: a BSS/OSS called COS Business Engine that was built for Open Access Networks and a new platform under development. I didn’t know then what a business and operations support system was, and Open Access I only knew from being a customer on the city network, where I could choose between multiple providers. It wasn’t hard to understand that a network where you have a choice as an end consumer would be more attractive than being “owned” by a monopoly, so I loved it.
The platform under development didn’t have a name yet, but the idea was to use the fiber sales tactics that had been used in Sweden for a long time and build an out-of-the-box SaaS platform around it. The idea was to split the area planned to be built out into several competing zones and let the people living there take surveys, then pre-sign up and try to reach the take-rate target set by the network builder to bring fiber to their home. Also, the customers would be kept informed throughout the process automatically by the software.
I was mesmerized! Aren’t there tons of platforms like this already? Isn’t every fiber builder in the world using this tactic? I couldn’t see how this shouldn’t sell like water in the desert. Fast forward, I decided to take the job, got a laptop and a ticket to a Broadband Communities show in the States, and got started. To our big surprise, while we were developing COS Service Zones, Google Fiber launched and used a similar tactic with their “Fiberhoods” ” which made it easier for us to explain what the platform was for. In the US, these pre-sales tactics got a name – Demand Aggregation – but it wasn’t us who came up with it. Does anyone want to take credit!?
The first customer to sign up was California-based ISP Sonic, and I will never forget when Dane Jasper asked me at our booth, “So, who is using this?” I thought for a second and then replied, “You’re the first one Dane!”. They had started building something similar on their own, but an entrepreneur at heart, I guess Dane was brave enough to jump on to something new. At COS, we are still grateful since that was really the start of our growth in the US. Big shoutout to @dane and the entire team at Sonic! Since then, we’ve done 200+ projects in the US alone and seen many networks built and expanded with subscriber commitment. Many of the first customers were small, privately owned ISPs and WISPs moving into fiber. I guess that if you’re spending your own money, you really want to make sure you spend it in the best possible way. We’ve also seen competitors pop up, and many network owners and ISPs have built similar features into their websites. All in all, I would say that some sort of gathering of customer interest and pre-signups is the norm today in Fiber network build-outs and is often mandatory when applying for grants.
Today, we have merged the survey and pre-signup functionality into our BSS/OSS platform COS Business Engine to create an even smoother transition into build-out and operations of the network.
So, back to the Open Access history. It was a big surprise to come to the US from Sweden, where fiber is not solely viewed as something that has to do with internet service but rather as an infrastructure. More or less the same as having electricity or water connected to your home. In Sweden people are not hard to convince to pay $2000-$4000 to get it installed. In the USA it was about lightning fast and Mbps and the Gig! Mentioning Open Access was like cursing in church. Some early failures had given the term a bad taste it felt like, and there were misconceptions about what it is (still today!). My personal view was that there were two main reasons for early failures.
- “Build it, and they will come” mentality rather than the Demand Aggregation model we proposed.
- Trying to run an Open Access network without proper system support, or trying to build your own system (without the experience of actually running an Open Access network), or trying to run it with a system built for something else. I mean, pickup trucks are awesome, but no one would roll up to the start line in a NASCAR race with one of those. It’s the same as trying to operate an Open Access network using a traditional ISP billing platform.
We still managed to build a loyal customer base, and the next shout-out goes out to the awesome team at Kitsap PUD in Washington State for believing in us and sticking with us. Some of my best times in this industry have been with Angela Bennik and Paul Avis.
Today, we have expanded our BSS/OSS platform COS Business Engine to not only support Open Access Networks, but pretty much any business model. The Marketplace-driven Open Access model, of course, where you can choose between multiple providers on a network-provided marketplace. Pure wholesale networks where the ISP ties their Billing platform to our backend to front the customer on a network with a separate entity owning and operating it, but less obviously so to the end-customer. Traditional ISPs, where service provisioning and billing is automated from the Marketplace. And more. Some enhancements we are working on now are even better support for ISPs who want to remain the Internet service provider but invite other providers to sell additional services on a wholesale fee model and also sales of enterprise-type services like dark fiber, point-to-multipoint connections, and similar. Our BSS/OSS customer base is growing faster than ever, and our customers are building fiber to millions of homes and businesses on several continents. It feels great to be part of the solution for those who still lack good broadband.
So what about the future?
When it comes to business models, I have no doubt that the infrastructure approach to fiber will dominate. Whether it’s called Open Access, wholesale, digital infrastructure, or something else doesn’t really matter. With big investors, such as Meridiam with their networks in the USA, Canada, and Europe, or Blackrock in their Gigapower venture with AT&T, stepping in with billions to fund infrastructure, they will not settle with selling internet services. They will focus on owning the infrastructure of the future and be able to use it for whatever use cases the future will hold.
When it comes to the tech stack for fiber operators, I also see a clear trend. Since I started traveling to the US in 2013, several new companies have grown to, in my opinion, lead the market. Digital fiber mapping tools such as Vetro Fibermap and IQGeo, Auto design tools like Comsof (now acquired by IQGeo) and Biarri, and digital construction management platforms like Vitruvi, Render, and Ocius-X. There are more examples, these are just a few. But what they all have in common is that they are built to digitize and automate processes of planning, building, and operating fiber networks. On the hardware side, all electronic vendors are focusing more and more on their software platforms and simplifying integrations to other systems, such as BSS/OSS platforms. The tech stack of future broadband network operators will be highly integrated and centered around one core platform holding the source of truth, ensuring real-time data you can trust and in turn, enabling a maximum degree of automation in all daily tasks of running a network. Just like COS Business Engine. It will not only be new operators choosing modern, integrated, and automated software stacks. Existing operators will migrate over to more modern alternatives to make their operations more efficient. Old clunky software has to adapt or become obsolete. Today, it’s not about fewer clicks. It’s about no clicks and preferably enabling the subscriber to drive everything!
Now, there are new operators popping up left and right to get their share of the market in the fiber race, especially in the USA and Canada. This is the right time. The window is now because once built it will be very hard to find a business case strong enough to support overbuilders. The next phase in some 3-5 years, will be a time of consolidation that will continue for quite some time. Smaller and failed networks will be acquired by those who win the race in the next few years.
For COS, the future looks brighter than ever. We have a great platform that fits well with the direction the market is evolving in. We have amazing partners in the industry that I’m very grateful for (you’re too many to mention, but we are grateful for each and every one of you). We’re growing the COS team and are having a lot of fun despite all the work that comes with this very exciting opportunity. I hope we can team up on this journey. Reach out!
The COS Team says hi and has gathered some old pictures of Isak – we hope you enjoy them 😉
#20 COS Christmas Calendar — COS Scheduling Engine
#20 We’re thrilled to introduce our latest innovation, the Scheduling Engine, a dynamic solution from COS designed to revolutionize the way field technicians manage their work orders, tasks, and schedules.
As your organization expands, handling a diverse team of technicians across various locations, each with their own schedules and skill sets, can become increasingly complex. Scheduling Engine simplifies this complexity. It’s equipped with advanced route optimization algorithms and features like automated customer self-scheduling, confirmations, and rescheduling options.
This new tool is tailored to streamline job scheduling and enhance efficiency, ensuring that your technicians are at the right place, at the right time, with the right tools. Experience the ease of optimized scheduling with Scheduling Engine!
#19 COS Christmas Calendar — Integration with Adtran and added multi-vendor support
#19 We’re excited to announce Adtran as the newest addition to our supported hardware vendors. Adtran specializes in networking and communications solutions, offering robust features for efficient network management.
Our integration with Adtran, powered by the standard provisioning adapter, allows for seamless network build-out and service provisioning. This enhances our system’s compatibility with Adtran’s multi-vendor support, simplifying the addition of new hardware vendors to your network.
Through this partnership, our Business Engine now delivers more efficient automation and zero-touch provisioning. Discover the benefits of Adtran’s network solutions in our system.
Learn more about our integration with Adtran and how it streamlines your network management at www.adtran.com
#18 COS Christmas Calendar — Auto Single Sign-On
#18 Experience the next level of efficiency with Auth0’s Single Sign-On (SSO) seamlessly integrated into our Business Engine System. Say goodbye to multiple logins and hello to enhanced user convenience. Auth0 simplifies identity management, allowing your users to access all your applications with a single set of credentials. Our platform offers easy application integration and ensures top-notch security. Elevate user experience, streamline authentication, and increase security – all with Auth0’s powerful SSO functionality.
#17 COS Christmas Calendar — Isak Finér celebrates ten years at COS
My personal observations and thoughts
about the future
Ten years ago, I was contacted by people on the board of a startup called COS Systems. They knew I had recently moved back to my hometown Umeå where they were headquartered, and asked if I was interested in becoming their CMO. I did two things. First, I googled the term CMO as I wanted to be sure I knew what it meant. I found out it was a role that encompassed both Sales and Marketing strategy and much more since keeping these parts of the customer acquisition process in tight sync is a good idea. On Wikipedia it also said that typically a CMO stays about three years, often because it’s a lot to manage both Sales and Marketing. But it sounded like something that could fit me, and as I’ve been at COS for ten years now, I assume it wasn’t that bad.
The second thing was to meet with the company and figure out what they were doing and if there was a market for them. They had two platforms: a BSS/OSS called COS Business Engine that was built for Open Access Networks and a new platform under development. I didn’t know then what a business and operations support system was, and Open Access I only knew from being a customer on the city network, where I could choose between multiple providers. It wasn’t hard to understand that a network where you have a choice as an end consumer would be more attractive than being “owned” by a monopoly, so I loved it.
The platform under development didn’t have a name yet, but the idea was to use the fiber sales tactics that had been used in Sweden for a long time and build an out-of-the-box SaaS platform around it. The idea was to split the area planned to be built out into several competing zones and let the people living there take surveys, then pre-sign up and try to reach the take-rate target set by the network builder to bring fiber to their home. Also, the customers would be kept informed throughout the process automatically by the software.
I was mesmerized! Aren’t there tons of platforms like this already? Isn’t every fiber builder in the world using this tactic? I couldn’t see how this shouldn’t sell like water in the desert. Fast forward, I decided to take the job, got a laptop and a ticket to a Broadband Communities show in the States, and got started. To our big surprise, while we were developing COS Service Zones, Google Fiber launched and used a similar tactic with their “Fiberhoods” ” which made it easier for us to explain what the platform was for. In the US, these pre-sales tactics got a name – Demand Aggregation – but it wasn’t us who came up with it. Does anyone want to take credit!?
The first customer to sign up was California-based ISP Sonic, and I will never forget when Dane Jasper asked me at our booth, “So, who is using this?” I thought for a second and then replied, “You’re the first one Dane!”. They had started building something similar on their own, but an entrepreneur at heart, I guess Dane was brave enough to jump on to something new. At COS, we are still grateful since that was really the start of our growth in the US. Big shoutout to @dane and the entire team at Sonic! Since then, we’ve done 200+ projects in the US alone and seen many networks built and expanded with subscriber commitment. Many of the first customers were small, privately owned ISPs and WISPs moving into fiber. I guess that if you’re spending your own money, you really want to make sure you spend it in the best possible way. We’ve also seen competitors pop up, and many network owners and ISPs have built similar features into their websites. All in all, I would say that some sort of gathering of customer interest and pre-signups is the norm today in Fiber network build-outs and is often mandatory when applying for grants.
Today, we have merged the survey and pre-signup functionality into our BSS/OSS platform COS Business Engine to create an even smoother transition into build-out and operations of the network.
So, back to the Open Access history. It was a big surprise to come to the US from Sweden, where fiber is not solely viewed as something that has to do with internet service but rather as an infrastructure. More or less the same as having electricity or water connected to your home. In Sweden people are not hard to convince to pay $2000-$4000 to get it installed. In the USA it was about lightning fast and Mbps and the Gig! Mentioning Open Access was like cursing in church. Some early failures had given the term a bad taste it felt like, and there were misconceptions about what it is (still today!). My personal view was that there were two main reasons for early failures.
We still managed to build a loyal customer base, and the next shout-out goes out to the awesome team at Kitsap PUD in Washington State for believing in us and sticking with us. Some of my best times in this industry have been with Angela Bennik and Paul Avis.
Today, we have expanded our BSS/OSS platform COS Business Engine to not only support Open Access Networks, but pretty much any business model. The Marketplace-driven Open Access model, of course, where you can choose between multiple providers on a network-provided marketplace. Pure wholesale networks where the ISP ties their Billing platform to our backend to front the customer on a network with a separate entity owning and operating it, but less obviously so to the end-customer. Traditional ISPs, where service provisioning and billing is automated from the Marketplace. And more. Some enhancements we are working on now are even better support for ISPs who want to remain the Internet service provider but invite other providers to sell additional services on a wholesale fee model and also sales of enterprise-type services like dark fiber, point-to-multipoint connections, and similar. Our BSS/OSS customer base is growing faster than ever, and our customers are building fiber to millions of homes and businesses on several continents. It feels great to be part of the solution for those who still lack good broadband.
So what about the future?
When it comes to business models, I have no doubt that the infrastructure approach to fiber will dominate. Whether it’s called Open Access, wholesale, digital infrastructure, or something else doesn’t really matter. With big investors, such as Meridiam with their networks in the USA, Canada, and Europe, or Blackrock in their Gigapower venture with AT&T, stepping in with billions to fund infrastructure, they will not settle with selling internet services. They will focus on owning the infrastructure of the future and be able to use it for whatever use cases the future will hold.
When it comes to the tech stack for fiber operators, I also see a clear trend. Since I started traveling to the US in 2013, several new companies have grown to, in my opinion, lead the market. Digital fiber mapping tools such as Vetro Fibermap and IQGeo, Auto design tools like Comsof (now acquired by IQGeo) and Biarri, and digital construction management platforms like Vitruvi, Render, and Ocius-X. There are more examples, these are just a few. But what they all have in common is that they are built to digitize and automate processes of planning, building, and operating fiber networks. On the hardware side, all electronic vendors are focusing more and more on their software platforms and simplifying integrations to other systems, such as BSS/OSS platforms. The tech stack of future broadband network operators will be highly integrated and centered around one core platform holding the source of truth, ensuring real-time data you can trust and in turn, enabling a maximum degree of automation in all daily tasks of running a network. Just like COS Business Engine. It will not only be new operators choosing modern, integrated, and automated software stacks. Existing operators will migrate over to more modern alternatives to make their operations more efficient. Old clunky software has to adapt or become obsolete. Today, it’s not about fewer clicks. It’s about no clicks and preferably enabling the subscriber to drive everything!
Now, there are new operators popping up left and right to get their share of the market in the fiber race, especially in the USA and Canada. This is the right time. The window is now because once built it will be very hard to find a business case strong enough to support overbuilders. The next phase in some 3-5 years, will be a time of consolidation that will continue for quite some time. Smaller and failed networks will be acquired by those who win the race in the next few years.
For COS, the future looks brighter than ever. We have a great platform that fits well with the direction the market is evolving in. We have amazing partners in the industry that I’m very grateful for (you’re too many to mention, but we are grateful for each and every one of you). We’re growing the COS team and are having a lot of fun despite all the work that comes with this very exciting opportunity. I hope we can team up on this journey. Reach out!
The COS Team says hi and has gathered some old pictures of Isak – we hope you enjoy them 😉
#16 COS Christmas Calendar — Support for BECS Povisioning System
#16 We are continuously extending our partnerships by adding support for hardware vendors and provisioning systems. PacketFront BECS is a network management system that enables the automation of network build-out, configuration management, service provisioning, and resource management. We have successfully implemented the standard provisioning adapter into our system, and with support for BECS in our integration portfolio, we can now facilitate even more hardware vendors by utilizing BECS’s multi-vendor support. BECS abstracts the network presented to Business Engine, meaning that adding new hardware vendors to your network does not require additional integrations.
Together with Business Engine, automation and zero-touch provisioning have never been easier!
#15 COS Christmas Calendar — Integration with one more Fiber Documentation System
#15 is a great one! We have added support for — yet another — Fiber Documentation System in our portfolio. With this integration, you are able to import service location addresses into Business Engine when an area is ready for registering orders and to be built.
Business Engine shows the name and identity of the building and the connected fiber route from OSPInsight/IQGEO. There is also a direct link in Business Engine to view the relevant building in OSPInsight. The same information is also available for the technician doing the installation. In the background, Business Engine updated the status and information, such as a completed “installation task” in OSPInsight related to the service location and the service order process. Altogether, it makes planning, building, and operating your network much easier. But see for yourself and watch the video here
#14 COS Christmas Calendar — QR Code Scanner for ONT Installation Workflow
#14 QR scanning is a new feature in Business Engine that makes the installation workflow and deployment process more user-friendly for your technicians. Moreover, it eliminates errors and allows you to streamline the process within your network infrastructure.
Are your field technicians registering the ONT serial number digit by digit or scribbling it down in a notebook or on their hand to hopefully get it correctly into your system once they return to the office? If so, you are dealing with a huge source of errors that can be eliminated!
In Business Engine, the “ONT installation” task is integrated into the work order in our deployment portal.
The technician on site opens the task in the deployment portal and scans the QR code on the ONT with either their phone or reading pad. The serial number on the ONT is the key for auto-provisioning, and when the installation task is executed, the right ONT serial number is automatically tied to the right object (the house or apartment).
#13 COS Christmas Calendar — ONT Status on Tickets
#13 is improving your network monitoring function. When a customer, Service Provider, or Network Operator creates a ticket, Business Engine automatically fetches diagnostic data from the ONT and adds it to the ticket show page.
This added information about the link or the current network connection status is a valuable improvement that enhances the efficiency of network monitoring, troubleshooting, and decision-making processes within the system.
#12 COS Christmas Calendar — Win a Pair of Cool COS Socks
It is winter in Sweden, where our head office is located. But even if you’re not drowning in snow, an extra pair of our cool new COS socks won’t hurt!
Today, we want to know the following: “What is the biggest challenge when operating your fiber network?
Email me your answer here; we’re excited to hear about your biggest pain points (because we can probably solve them 😉 )and will draw three winners at the end of this week.
Effortless Billing Solutions with ISP Billing Software
ISP Billing Software
Billing is a very central part of telecommunications and of any fiber broadband network. Automated billing is key; cuts costs, ensures revenue, and saves time.
If you’re running your network and using our platform as a single provider, you can easily bill your end customers.
Subscribers can use the billing function under MyPages where they can
COS COS Business Engine supports all business models and even as a single provider, you can open your network for other services such as security, phone, IPTV etc.
Embrace the efficiency and versatility of our ISP Billing Software for a seamless and profitable telecom experience.
Let’s Connect and Transform Your Fiber Project
Are you ready to take the next step in transforming your fiber project? If you’re looking for a partner committed to automation, efficiency, and excellence, COS Systems is here to help.
Contact us today and discuss how our fiber network solutions can empower your business bridging the digital divide and providing our communities with comprehensive FTTH coverage.
If you want to dive deeper into the topic, I highly recommend reading our whitepaper.