SWN, a regional service provider based in Neumünster, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, offers fiber optic broadband services and has been expanding its fiber network for the past 15 years. With 80,000 paying customers and 100,000 contracts, SWN is a major player in the Schleswig-Holstein region. Over these 15 years, SWN has collaborated with Genexis, including SWN’s current transition to an open-access network (OAN).
Jan Blatt, Head of Technical Solutions at SWN, manages technical operations, including planning, project management, and daily activities, with a team of 70-80 employees. He shared the company’s journey and the challenges faced in transitioning to an OAN, which they have been working on for the past 1,5 years. This move aims to enhance their service offerings and grow their customer base.
Managing a transition to the OAN model
Changing the OAN software architecture requires hardware updates.
One of our primary challenges SWN faces is enabling our installed ONT (Optical Network Terminal) base for the new OAN business model. This had the risk of replacing ONT hardware in thousands of homes to ensure compatibility with our OAN. We are happy that Genexis developed an enhanced firmware that can be remotely installed. This reduces costs and efforts versus an expensive hardware change,” explains Jan.
“To enable SWN to use our Point-to-Point ONTs, which are already deployed in their network, we developed a special OAN feature set together with SWN that allows SWN to remotely upgrade units in the field and enable the OAN capability at the subscriber side at zero cost,” says Alexander Dieteren, Technical Director DACH at Genexis.
For older legacy devices that are not capable of running the new software, SWN is developing a process that allows subscribers to swap out the hardware themselves, greatly reducing costs and truck rolls. “The Genexis FiberTwist with its twist mechanism is designed for an easy do-it-yourself exchange by the end-user, which takes them less than 30 seconds, without any tools. SWN just needs to send the new unit directly to the subscriber. No technician and no appointment with the customer is needed,” explains Alexander.
Genexis’ new FiberTwist model supports the enhanced open-access features, ensuring future-proof solutions for SWN. Meanwhile, legacy technologies like CATV still need support in OAN, which SWN must manage.
Partnering with Genexis
SWN has been collaborating closely with Genexis for 15 years, and the partnership has been beneficial, especially during the chip shortage. “Genexis is a company that works very well with us. We also have some specialists on our team, allowing us to provide direct input into Genexis’ product development. The lifecycle of Genexis products and software also requires long-term support. This close collaboration helps both companies move forward,” continues Jan.
Planning for the future
SWN has begun building an OAN, allowing other ISPs to use its infrastructure. This move is expected to boost business and reduce the number of unused connections. The German government supports this initiative to challenge the incumbent provider’s dominance and promote competition. “We believe that this will improve our network quality, make it more attractive, and give customers more choices. We analyzed the market in Scandinavia, and the open access market there is 5 to 10 years ahead of us,” says Jan.
Jan also emphasized the importance of future-proofing their network, highlighting the need to support higher internet speeds. “At the moment, we can support 1G and 2.5G, but speed will become a higher priority in the next years. Then the 10G product will also come.”
In the future, the new 2.5Gbit PtP FiberTwist series will be able to run the new feature set ‘off the shelf ‘so that even subscriptions from more than a Gig can be offered for SWN’s own services, but also for services of the Open Access Providers,” concludes Alexander.
SWN’s transition from a vertical business model with a Point-to-Point network to a horizontal business model on an OAN is a strategic move to enhance its service offerings and expand its customer base. With the support of Genexis and a focus on future-proof solutions, SWN is well-positioned to meet the evolving needs of its customers.
Read more about SWN
Challenge
- Transition to an open-access network (OAN) model
- Enhance existing ONT hardware for each subscriber
- Manage legacy devices
Solution
- Enable enhanced OAN feature set by remote software upgrade of ONTs for OAN capabilities
- Subscribers can leverage FiberTwist’s do-it-yourself twist mechanism
Result
- Smooth and cost-effective rollout of OAN for subscribers
- Future-ready FiberTwist ONTs for faster speeds and open access providers
