Umeå Energi bidrar till gemenskapens anslutning med en rad av hus i ett bostadsområde, symboliserar potentiell bredbandsutbyggnad.

Umeå Energi har med en hög utbyggnadstakt kraftigt expanderat sitt stadsnät i Umeåregionen. Med ett allt större fibernät, fler aktiva kunder och ny teknik som introduceras så har Umeå Energi valt att förnya avtalet med COS Systems för deras fortsatta användande av COS Business Engine som operatörsplattform för driften av nätet.

Det kommunalägda energibolaget Umeå Energi var väldigt tidigt ute med fiber och utbyggnaden av stadsnätet Umenet påbörjades redan under 90-talet. På senare år har utbyggnadstakten varit fortsatt hög och även antalet kunder i sedan tidigare utbyggda områden som nu valt att ansluta sig har vuxit kraftigt i takt med att behovet av bredbands­uppkoppling av hög kvalitet blir en allt mer central del av svenskarnas vardag. Äldre tekniker för att leverera Internet blir allt mer utdaterade.

Umenet har sedan 2012 använt mjukvaran COS Business Engine. Systemet omfattar allt från kundportalen där kunderna kan välja tjänster från 15 olika leverantörer, till de administrativa och tekniska funktionerna som automatiserar allt från aktivering av bredbandstjänster och fakturering av leverantörerna.  

“Med den kundtillväxt vi sett de senaste åren och med introduktionen av nya tjänster i nätet och användningsområden för vår fiberinfrastruktur var det läge att omarbeta vårt avtal med COS Systems. Med detta uppdaterade avtal på plats är vi redo för fortsatt framtida tillväxt med stöd av COS och deras effektiva driftsplattform,” säger Mats Berggren, VD på Umeå Energi Umenet.

Bland mycket annat så arbetar Umeå Energi med ett mycket intressant projekt där Sveriges första 5G-nät utvecklas i samarbete med Ericsson, Telia, Umeå Universitet, Umeå Kommun, Umeå Science Park samt andra lokala aktörer. Ett ytterligare innovativt initiativ är Smart Start, vilken är en pilot på Smarta-hem- och IoT-tjänster (Internet of Things), som kan levereras över deras öppna stadsnät.

”Det uppdaterade avtalet med Umeå Energi är viktigt för oss. Vi ser det som bevis för att vårt system inte bara skapar förutsättningar för en snabb kundtillväxt, utan även är en effektiv plattform för framtida expansion. Umeå Energi är en innovativ och framtidsinriktad kund och vårt fortsatta samarbete kommer bidra till att våra produkter utvecklas för att än bättre möta de krav som framtidens tekniska lösningar ställer”, säger Peter Lidström, VD på COS Systems.

Om Umeå Energi

Umeå Energi är ett energibolag och en samhällsaktör som i nära samarbete med omvärlden utvecklar och levererar hållbara energi- och kommunikationslösningar. Vår vision är en enklare vardag för våra kunder och en hållbar framtid för regionen. Vi omsätter ca 1,4 miljarder kronor, har drygt 400 medarbetare och är både miljö- och arbetsmiljöcertifierade.

Om COS Systems

COS Systems är en globalt verksam leverantör av mjukvara för att planera, bygga ut och sköta driften av moderna bredbandsnät. COS Systems utgår från kundbehov och utvecklar innovativa mjukvarulösningar som effektiviserar den dagliga driften, bidrar till ökad försäljning och nöjdare kunder. COS Systems expanderar ständigt och har hittills sina kunder i Europa, Nord- och Sydamerika, Afrika och Asien. Läs mer om COS Systems på www.cossystems.com

För ytterligare information, kontakta:

Mats Berggren
VD, Umea Energi Umenet AB
070 – 518 71 28
Mats.berggren@umeaenergi.se
www.umeaenergi.se

Peter Lidström
VD, COS Systems AB
070 – 656 58 72
Peter.lidstrom@cossystems.com
www.cossystems.com

 

 

The Electric Utility Umea Energi has expanded their fiber network significantly during the last years. With a larger footprint and new technologies emerging they have chosen to renew their contract with COS Systems for their continuous use of COS Business Engine for efficient operations and automated service activations of their Open Access fiber network.  

[Umea, Sweden] Umea Energi is a municipally owned electric utility in the University town of Umea, Sweden. It first started building out the fiber optic network in the 90’s, but has increased the pace in their build-out in the last five years, while the take-rates have also improved greatly as consumers need for reliable high-speed data increases. Older technologies to connect to the internet are becoming obsolete.

The Utility has been using COS Business Engine as their BSS/OSS (Business and Operations Support System) since 2012. The system consists of everything from the online Marketplace where subscribers can choose services from 15 different service providers to the administrative backend system that automates everything from service activation to wholesale billing.

“With the growth we have seen in the last years and the new applications we are now introducing in our network we needed to rework our original agreement with COS. With this updated agreement in place we are ready for the future of our network with the support of COS Systems and their highly efficient operations platform,” says Mats Berggren, CEO of Umea Energi Umenet.

Umeå Energi is currently working on Sweden’s first 5G deployment in cooperation with Ericsson, Telia, Umea University and other municipal entities. They are also doing a pilot project called Smart Start, which is a platform for delivery of smart home services to residents.

“This updated agreement with Umea Energi is important for us at COS. We have proven that our system enables and supports network growth and that it will also be the platform to effectively operate Open Access Networks in the future. Umea Energi is an innovative and forward thinking customer and our ongoing cooperation will be valuable for the continuous development of our products,” says COS Systems CEO Peter Lidstrom.

About Umeå Energi

Umeå Energi is an energy company that in close cooperation with the world around us develops and provides sustainable solutions for energy and communication services. We strive to challenge through new thinking and to drive the sustainable development in the Umeå region. Our vision is to make everyday life simpler for our customers and to secure a sustainable future for the region. Our turnover is approximately SEK 1.4 billion, we have just over 400 employees and hold environmental as well as work environment certifications. umeaenergi.se

About COS Systems

COS SYSTEMS is a leading provider of software to plan, deploy and manage Open Access networks, using a powerful yet simple self-service interface. COS Systems takes customer needs and delivers innovative software solutions that streamline operations, accelerate revenue and deliver more satisfied subscribers. Learn more about COS Systems on www.cossystems.com.

For additional information contact:

Mats Berggren
CEO
Umea Energi Umenet AB
Mats.berggren@umeaenergi.se
www.umeaenergi.se

Isak Finer
CMO & VP North America
COS Systems
isak.finer@cossystems.com
www.cossystems.com

 

 

COS Systems is ramping up after summer and we are happy to have strengthened the team with two more rock stars.

Boris Ruiz started in our Product Development team in August. He is a Swedish-American born in Florida, moving in between Miami and Puerto Rico. From an early age he developed an interest in software, working on hobby projects in his free time such as apps, games, & websites. Being an adventurous person by nature and not afraid to try and learn new things, he recently decided to move to Sweden to see how life is like here. At COS we were lucky to snatch this amazing developer before any of the other IT companies in our city did. Boris is currently mainly working on improvements to our COS Service Zones product. With our focus on the US market it’s an obvious plus his native tongue is English, but we are worried he will soon forget it based on the speed at which he is picking up Swedish!

Simon Fransson has just done his first week on our QA team. Simon is from outside of Umeå but now has walking distance to our office – we’re all jealous. The last three years Simon spent at A3, which is one of Sweden’s largest service providers, active on more than 150 Open Access networks nationwide. Since most of these networks are operated using our COS Business Engine platform he already knows the ins and outs of it. It’s a great resource to have him on the team with the service provider perspective he brings when testing our products making sure they meet our ambitious quality standards. When Simon is not working or at the gym there’s a great chance he is gaming, something he’s been doing almost before he could walk. You do not want to meet this guy online in Counter Strike!

We’re excited to have them on our team and know they will both contribute greatly to our customers’ success.

COS Systems Strengthens US Presence

COS Systems Strengthens US Presence

After many successful years of growth in the US market COS Systems strengthens their presence further by appointing Isak Finer as Vice President for their North American business.

[Blacksburg, VA] COS Systems began its expansion into the US Market six years ago. Since then, more than one hundred North American clients have signed up to the two software platforms COS Service Zones and COS Business Engine. With increasing demand for their products and the growing interest among US communities to build True Open Access networks COS has decided to appoint Isak Finer, the company’s CMO, as Vice President of North America. Finer is now permanently based in Blacksburg, Virginia.

“Breaking into a new market is a big undertaking, especially a market as large and competitive as the United States. With the recent years’ successes and our strong financial performance, we feel it is time to take the next step and start building a team permanently based in the United States,” says Peter Lidstrom, COS Systems CEO.

With large projects on the horizon the timing is now right to invest in a stronger local presence and an organization dedicated to the United States.

“I am very happy about the move to the States. Being closer to our clients and partners makes it easier for us to deliver our very best. I look forward to continue building on existing relationships and adding more companies to our family of fantastic customers,” says Isak Finer, COS Systems CMO and VP North America.

“It is a milestone in the company’s history to appoint a US based Vice President and a receipt of the increasing success we have seen. We are now positioned to take on more customers and larger projects,” concludes Goran Bergling, Charmain of the Board at COS.

About COS Systems

COS SYSTEMS is a leading provider of software to plan, deploy and manage Open Access networks, using a powerful yet simple self-service interface. COS Systems takes customer needs and delivers innovative software solutions that streamline operations, accelerate revenue and deliver more satisfied subscribers. Learn more about COS Systems at www.cossystems.com.

For additional information contact:

Isak Finér
CMO & VP North America
COS Systems
+1 (540) 988-3224
isak.finer@cossystems.com
www.cossystems.com

COS Systems AB AAA highest credit worthiness 2019

COS Systems AB AAA highest credit worthiness 2019

COS Systems has this year achieved the highest credit rating AAA given by Bisnode. This rating places COS Systems among the top 2.3% of Joint-Stock Companies in Sweden that currently have the AAA rating. Receiving the AAA rating testifies to COS Systems position globally and indicates that the company is high-performing, trustworthy and reliable to its customers and partners.

“We are extremely proud of this achievement. We are constantly striving to enhance our trust towards our customers and partners globally and are happy to have the AAA rating from Bisnode further acknowledging the stability of our company.” Says Peter Lidstrom, CEO at COS Systems

The AAA rating from Bisnode has been used since 1989 and is today the most well know credit rating system in Sweden. Bisnode derives its information from a number of official and confirmed sources. This information is then analyzed according to 2,400 rules resulting in a value in the rating model. They gather data daily from reliable sources. Read more. About COS Systems COS Systems is a leading provider of software to plan, deploy and manage Open Access fiber networks, using a powerful yet simple self-service interface. COS Systems takes customer needs and delivers innovative software solutions that streamline operations, accelerate revenue and deliver more satisfied subscribers. Learn more about COS Systems on www.cossystems.com. For additional information contact: Isak Finér Chief Marketing Officer COS Systems +46737 51 99 38 isak.finer@cossystems.com www.cossystems.com

Investing in FTTH Infrastructure whitepaper

NOANET- Northwest Open Access Network

NoaNet and COS Systems expand partnership by launching an operator version of COS Service Zones. NoaNet has previously provided cities and public utilities with COS Systems’ demand aggregation platform and support in the project execution. Now NoaNet is set to further help rural communities in Washington get connected to fiber by launching their own COS Service Zones system ready to aggregate demand for fiber in any part of the State.

Gig Harbor, WA – NoaNet (Northwest Open Access Network) is a non-profit municipal corporation which operates an extensive open-access fiber back-bone network reaching every corner of Washington State. NoaNet has partnered with COS Systems in the past to provide the demand aggregation platform COS Service Zones to Public Utility and municipal customers. Since then, many communities have reached out to NoaNet asking if they could provide them with a managed demand aggregation solution delivered as a service. NoaNet is now in the process of launching a statewide COSService Zones application that can be leveraged as part of their Community Broadband Solutions program to assist communities in evaluating their need and readiness for municipal broadband deployment.

COS Service Zones is a web-based software platform that allows a community or provider to run a “fiberhood”campaign to learn if there is enough interest in the community to invest in a fiber infrastructure and in which neighborhoods the demand is greatest. Every neighborhood has a “take-rate” target to reach in order to qualify for build-out. The purpose is to involve the community in the process and build a common will to build the new fiber infrastructure. In successful COS ServiceZones campaigns demand grows rapidly as the community engages on the platform, sharing information about the project on social media, and spreading information to their neighbors and friends.

“When NoaNet explained that there were many communities interested in better connectivity but lacking the resources or expertise to run a COS Service Zones campaign themselves, we began thinking how we could best assist NoaNet in helping those communities. We developed the concept of an operator version of COS Service Zones, which allows NoaNet to add smaller communities as separate projects on their singleplatform. Practically, this means each of these communities will have their own section of the NoaNet managed website.” says Bjorn Wannman, Manager Partnerships and Strategic Accounts at COS Systems.

Chris Walker, Telecommunications Director at NoaNet is looking forward to offering this tool to Washington communities on a larger scale then NoaNet was previously able to support. “There are dozens of rural communities in Washington with limited or no access to modern telecom infrastructure. High speed broadband can make a huge impact for job creation, economic growth, high quality healthcare and smart services to increase the quality of life for our rural residents. In many cases, even if community leaders understand the need and want to close the digital inclusion gap, they might lack the resources to do something about it themselves. We’re now prepared to help them understand the options to pursue a telecommunications buildout plan.”

Chris has been with NoaNet through several service expansions and is excited about this new opportunity to help Washington communities help themselves increase their broadband access. He said, “Not only will we help them determine if there is enough demand to move forward and invest in the infrastructure, with our extensive fiber footprint and open access experience we will also be able to offer services in build-out and operations. This package of services will make a huge difference for rural Washington communities”

Claire Ward, Marketing and Communications Manager at NoaNet shares Chris’s excitement for this new opportunity. “NoaNet has been serving Washington state for nearly 20 years by working to bring telecommunications infrastructure to underserved communities. With the experience and knowledge we have within the company paired with the tools offered in the COS Service Zones platform, I’m convinced we can serve many parallel projects across the state and help communities move the dial on their broadband access without spending exorbitant resources many just don’t have, “adds ClaireWard, Marketing and Communications Manager at NoaNet, who has been involved in several previous COS Service Zones projects.

“COS Systems originates from the rural northern parts of Sweden, not much different from rural Washington State.We’ve seen first-hand how crucial it is for remote areas to get access to high speed broadband. In the digital economy traditional boundaries like country and city borders are getting less important. Instead communities lacking the critical broadband infrastructure will inevitably be left behind. All of us at COS are proud to support NoaNet in their mission to connect every corner of Washington state to their state-of-the-art fiber network. Fiber is an essential infrastructure for today’s communities, alongside water, electricity and roads for our modern digital world.” Says Isak Finer, CMO at COS Systems  

About NoaNet

Northwest Open Access Network (NoaNet) is a non-profit wholesale only telecommunications network owner and provider which operates a fiber network spanning thousands of miles throughout the State of Washington. NoaNet engages their mission to serve Washington State by consistently looking for new opportunities to expand in meaningful ways that bridge the digital divide. For additional information, see www.noanet.net.

About COS Systems

COS SYSTEMS is a leading provider of software to plan, deploy and manage Open Access fiber networks, using a powerful yet simple self-service interface. COS Systems takes customer needs and delivers innovative software solutions that streamline operations, accelerate revenue and deliver more satisfied subscribers. Learn more about COS Systems on www.cossystems.com.

For additional information contact:

Claire Ward
Marketing and Communications Manager
NoaNet
+1 (816) 519-2370
claire.ward@noanet.net
www.noanet.net

Isak Finér
Chief Marketing Officer
COS Systems
+46737 51 99 38
isak.finer@cossystems.com
www.cossystems.com

Peter Lidström, nuvarande vd på COS Systems, Jörgen Olofsson, tidigare vd på COS och nu innovationschef, Håkan Holmström, tidigare it-chef på Bostaden, Harry Jonsson, mannen bakom Kommunicera, och Johan Nyström, nuvarande it-chef på Bostaden.

Peter Lidström, nuvarande vd på COS Systems, Jörgen Olofsson, tidigare vd på COS och nu innovationschef, Håkan Holmström, tidigare it-chef på Bostaden, Harry Jonsson, mannen bakom Kommunicera, och Johan Nyström, nuvarande it-chef på Bostaden.

Peter Lidström, CEO of COS Systems, Jörgen Olofsson, previously CEO of COS now CIO, Håkan Holmström, previously Head of IT at Bostaden, Harry Jonsson, the Man behind Kommunicera, and Johan Nyström, current Head of IT at Bostaden. Photo by Elin Olsson.

In the early days of Swedish municipal fiber networks, they adopted the only model known at that time, copying the incumbent telecom providers in building, operating and providing services on their own networks. Many of them struggled as this was something a municipality was not very well suited to do and the open access model started to gain ground. One of these municipal networks that opened their network up to multiple providers was Bostaden. But as they couldn’t find the operations platform they were looking for they decided to have it built. This was the birth of what today, ten years later, is COS Systems.

[Umea, Sweden] Municipal housing company Bostaden have been providing their tenants with Internet service over their fiber network since 1995. They are the largest property owner in the city of Umea, with half of the city’s 35 000 students living in their properties. Managing a network with mainly students is challenging, since a large portion of the subscribers will move out and new move in every semester, pretty much at the same time. In 2007 they had been struggling long enough themselves delivering the services on the network, without having reached the customer satisfaction and internal efficiency they wished for.

At this time in Sweden the Open Access model was winning ground. Many of the cities who had built their own fiber optic broadband infrastructure were in the same position as Bostaden. They didn’t have the right organization for selling Internet services and dealing with end customers and decided the best way to treat the broadband infrastructure was by layering the business model and have specialized companies being responsible for each layer. Instead of competing with the private providers by selling services themselves they decided to cooperate with them.

The first layer is the physical infrastructure, the actual fiber-optic cables in the ground. This is the layer where most Swedish municipalities focus their efforts, since infrastructure deployment and maintenance are something they are often very experienced in. Many of them also build and maintain electricity, sewer, water and gas networks. If a fiber is cut, the municipality would fix it. The second layer is the operations of the network, bringing in the electronics and lighting up the network. If a network router goes down, the Operator of the network will replace it. The operations company will also manage the relationship with the service providers. The third layer is the services layer. This is where private service providers are invited to deliver their services over the infrastructure managed by the operations company, competing to deliver the highest quality service and customer support at the best terms. If a customer has a problem with their Internet service they would turn to their service provider for help.

With this separation of the very different tasks of managing a fiber network, the entities in each layer can build a highly specialized organization to do their part of the work as efficiently as possible. With an Open Access ecosystem in place, operations companies can operate multiple networks and service providers sell services over multiple networks and thereby become even more efficient by economy of scale. This is why Sweden today has among the lowest prices for broadband in the world.

In the case with Bostaden they decided they would do the first two layers and continue to operate their own network, but they couldn’t find the system they wanted to help them embrace this new business model. With a list of requirements, they turned to local IT consultancy company UDK asking for them to build the system they envisioned. The team that would later spin-off COS Systems as a separate product company began translating the requirements into code.

The system that was developed, now called COS Business Engine, was launched an early morning in June 2008. In the middle of the night every one of the more than 10,000 customers on the network had seen their service go dark as the entire network was shut down and now they all came to the Bostaden branded Marketplace to pick their new service provider having their new service delivered the minute after. It worked flawlessly and the small operations staff at Bostaden could sit back and see orders coming in and being provisioned, hundreds every hour, on their system dashboard. Today Bostaden’s network operates under the name Bostnet, has close to 15,000 active subscribers and is managed by two people, one of them working part time.

“Taking a look in the rear-view mirror it’s pretty amazing to see what has happened since we built the first version of the system. Who could have imagined that the system would be used to operate more than a hundred networks and half a million service locations in every corner of the world. It’s also fascinating how a very high-level vision can still be relevant after such a long time. It proves it must have been pretty spot on,” comments the first two developers of the platform, Peter Sjoblom and Roger Olofsson. They both still work with the system today, Peter as the Solution Architect and Roger doing the most advanced customer support and product testing.

“There’s not much to say really, “ says Bostaden IT Director Johan Nystrom with a laugh. “For ten years now COS Business Engine has been taking care of pretty much everything involved in operating our Open Access Network. It just works.”

 

COS Business Engine 2.0

COS Business Engine 2.0 - Enhanced Business Operations Support System for Open Access Networks

COS Business Engine 2.0

We are happy to announce COS Business Engine 2.0. Since COS Business Engine was released it has seen many improvements, but with 2.0 we bring major changes to key areas that give our customers and their customers’ greater flexibility and improvements in the overall usability.

“With the increase of Demand in our Cloud Solutions we decided it was time to make some major improvements to COS Business Engine. While we often hear it is an easy to use software from our customers we felt there were features that could be added to help them and their customers in their daily tasks, “says Senior System Architect and COS Systems co-founder Peter Sjöblom.

COS Business Engine is a proven BSS/OSS (Business and Operations Support System) hosted in the cloud, supporting Open Access networks. Subscribers buy their Internet services from an online marketplace, which increases take rates, ARPU, and customer satisfaction, as the network owner can offer 24/7 availability, while reaching maximum operations efficiency, thanks to the extensive use of self-service solutions. The COS Business Engine Cloud solution, that has a selected set of features available in the full Enterprise Edition, is the excellent platform for small or startup networks or operators. When more advanced needs arises it’s a simple task to upgrade to the Enterprise version.

The new update includes an all new network inventory, service provider specific portals, provider ranking, and improvements in Agreements, Ads, File Management, overall usability and much more. Most of the visible improvements have been made to the Marketplace (the customer portal), which now allows the Service Provider to market and sell their services even more efficiently.

For more information on COS Business Engine 2.0 contact:

Isak Finér
Chief Marketing Officer
COS Systems AB
+46-737 51 99 38
isak.finer@cossystems.com
www.cossystems.com

Top 100 FTTH Companies

Top 100 FTTH CompaniesThe 2018 FTTH Top 100 represents the whole fiber-to-the-home ecosystem. Everything from optical fiber and fiber cables to software for planning and managing networks. The top 100 list has become more and more competitive as the industry continues to expand. For the 6th consecutive year, we were recognized by Broadband Communities Magazine as one of the Top 100 companies in the Fiber To The Home Industry in the United States. Our software solutions enable organizations to aggregate demand prior to build-out and network owners to manage their open access fiber networks efficiently.

Read more about the FTTH Top 100 here. 

About COS Systems

COS SYSTEMS is a leading provider of software to plan, deploy and manage modern broadband networks that support services from one or more providers, using a powerful yet simple self-service interface. COS Systems takes customer needs and delivers innovative software solutions that streamline operations, accelerate revenue and deliver more satisfied subscribers. Learn more about COS Systems on www.cossystems.com.

Foresite Group, Inc. and COS Systems are happy to announce that they are partnering to help American communities take control of their digital future by building their own gigabit networks. Using a methodology that builds on community engagement and real-time collection of data to create the build-out plan and a true Open Access operating model, once built the sustainability of the networks is assured.  

New York, NY – COS Systems, the developers of the demand aggregation platform COS Service Zones and Open Access network operations platform COS Business Engine has been delivering software solutions to the mature Swedish market for community networks for over a decade and in the USA since 2013.

Foresite Group are specialists in planning and design of gigabit speed networks and has developed a turn key offering to communities looking to build their own networks, from initial market assessment to a fully built-out network operated on a true Open Access model.

“We pride ourselves on being innovative and looking at broadband in a different light.  We feel that it is more than just a feasibility study to get things moving in the right direction and with COS Systems we can get to the finish line faster. Our approach to live data analysis to build a complete network with every cost and return on investment properly reviewed gives us an advantage in the industry. Open Access Networks get us to our return on investment faster and allows broadband to be what it needs to be, which is another utility. With COS Systems we get the opportunity to work with a team that has been dealing with this model since open access was just a talking point over a decade ago. COS Systems’ community driven approach is what sets them apart from everyone else out there as they let the residents decide what they want and then we work with them to turn that dream into reality.” says Brian Snider, Network Design Practice Area Leader at Foresite Group

“In Sweden, the demand aggregation model, where you make sure your subscribers are committed before you start the build-out has been the predominant way to deploy networks for a long time. There simply is no other way to predict where customers might sign up or not, other than asking them. We are thrilled to see that this model is now rapidly being adopted in the United States as well, which our many COS Service Zones projects prove. Our partnership with Foresite Group will only help this progression and will ensure more successful networks gets built,“ says Isak Finer, CMO at COS Systems.

The COS Service Zones platform allows network builders to draw competing neighborhood zones, or “Fiberhoods”, across their targeted area and then see real-time demand grow as customers sign up before the network deployment begins. Once target take-rates are reached, the networks are deployed backed by committed customers and secured revenue.

In a true Open Access Network, the fiber is built all the way to every premise. With a neutral operations company managing this infrastructure, any provider will be invited to sell services to subscribers on equal terms. The subscribers will select their desired providers and services from an online portal, much like you would browse for apps in the Appstore. This abundance of choice for the end customer will drive the prices down and the quality of service up. For the providers this means competition and that they have to make sure to deliver on their promise to their customers. However, their risk of entering a new market is close to none, since they don’t have to make any infrastructure investments.

“In Sweden, even though being a relatively small and in large parts rural country, we have hundreds of successful community networks operated with an open access model. This has enabled Sweden to early reach a top position in the world when it comes to high speed broadband and the result is job creation in future industries and the growth of many successful companies and software apps, such as Spotify, Skype, Minecraft, etc. It is great to be working with a partner like Foresite Group who can incorporate these two models and our software into their turn-key solution for the planning, design and build of community gigabit networks, “says Bjorn Wannman, Manager Partnerships and Strategic Account at COS Systems.

The build-out of community networks in the US has been slow, but that is now about to change as community leaders are realizing how crucial highspeed broadband is to their communities. The Internet today is as important as electricity, water, sewer and gas and should be looked at it from that perspective.  UPS and FedEx don’t have their own roads for deliveries to your home so why should your internet providers be any different?

“We have seen how the interest among cities to build their own fiber networks have been growing rapidly for the last couple of years and we are very happy to have developed our turn key offering with COS and their full suite of products. We are committed to improving connectivity across the US and our method gets things moving in a direction for nothing but success.”  Brian Snider added.

About COS Systems

COS SYSTEMS is a leading provider of software to plan, deploy and manage modern broadband networks that support services from one or more providers, using a powerful yet simple self-service interface. COS Systems takes customer needs and delivers innovative software solutions that streamline operations, accelerate revenue and deliver more satisfied subscribers. Learn more about COS Systems on www.cossystems.com

About Foresite Group

Foresite Group Inc. is a multidisciplinary design, planning, and engineering firm with over 140 associates nationwide. Our collaborative process results in creative products and services for our clients. Foresite Group’s offices are located in Peachtree Corners, Georgia; Auburn and Birmingham, Alabama; Tampa, Florida; Austin and Dallas, Texas; Broomfield, Colorado; New Orleans, Louisiana; Washington, D.C.; Independence, OH; Knoxville and Nashville, TN; Bothell, WA.  Learn more about Foresite Group and all their service areas at www.fg-inc.net.

For additional information contact:

Isak Finer
CMO
COS Systems
+46 (737) 519-938
Isak.finer@cossystems.com
www.cossystems.com

Brian Snider
Network Design Practice Area Leader
Foresite Group
+1 (334) 714-1439
bsnider@fg-inc.net
www.fg-inc.net