How DELTA Fiber Revolutionized open access networks with Netadmin's orchestration solutions.

Background

DELTA Fiber started as a coalition of municipalities called CAI Westland, developing a cable TV network in 1981, going into the private customer Internet access business in 1995. In 2008, they split the business into a NetCo (CIF) and a ServCo (CAIW under the brand Caiway), moving to provide open access to their network to other providers in 2014 and, in 2017, re-merging CIF back into CAIW. In 2018, the former DELTA and CAIW merged into DELTA Fiber as it is today.

“How a system is set up plays a part, but to me, it's mostly the people/organization around the system that provides the pros and cons of the system.

This influences my view of a system more than the technical solution in the system itself. If I compare this to others, Netadmin is top of the class. This is one of the biggest business values Netadmin offers DELTA.”

Roger Hoogenboom

Challenges

In the mid-2010s, CAIW decided that in order to grow and increase take-up rates, they needed to move to an open-access network model, but they realized they needed to keep manual work to a minimum, whether pertaining to order fulfillment or to service/operator migrations when customers changed ISPs.

Solutions

A solution was developed where Netadmin acts as the central hub, managing the physical patching scenarios towards the physical fiber supplier(s) and network provisioning and inventory asset management of equipment like P2P switches and PON OLTs and splitters. This is used by the fulfillment orchestration layer to process orders, patching, and service migration requests, such as moving from P2P to PON, all while keeping downtime to a minimum for the customer. DELTA also uses the Netadmin Application Management service to ensure smooth operation and visibility into all parts of the system.

Outcome

Moving to open access has been hugely successful, increasing take-up rates by enabling large, well-known brands to operate within the Delta network with lower COGS (Cost of Goods Sold) and higher margins.

Having a solution that handles all the various order/migration scenarios in a system managed by the software provider means that the business and operations teams can deal with exceptions instead of the day-to-day running of the network. In contrast, the application management service handles issues and trends before they can become a problem..

About Delta Fiber

In 2018, the two companies DELTA and CAIW merged and founded DELTA Fiber Netherlands, a Dutch telecom company employing more than 1000 people with more than 1.6 million addresses across the Netherlands through their approximately 50,000 km long fiber network.

Under the brands DELTA and Caiway, the company provides Internet at gigabit+ speeds, interactive TV, and fixed and mobile telephony to consumers and businesses.

Summary

Over the next 1-2 years, the fiber rollout in the Netherlands will be finished, and the focus is already shifting from building to filling the network while ensuring the organization behind it is lean and efficient in providing retail and wholesale services. Meanwhile, the market is changing and consolidating - what the future holds is unknown; the only certainty is that exciting times are ahead.