Enabling a Connected Australia.

Talk Australia, and many common contrasting imageries pop up in our mind– wine, beaches, Sydney Opera House, outback, kangaroos, open spaces and urbanised dwelling. The last two words raised the challenge with the modern connected world. A challenge which soon became a topic of national interest and social development: the challenge being internet speeds and poor broadband connectivity.  

Australia earlier had one of the slowest average per user internet connections in the developed world. With this in mind, the government created the ‘NBN Co’ (the National Broadband Network Company) in 2009. This was to develop a modern optical fibre telecommunications network to provide broadband access to 93% of the Australian population at 100 mbps, with the remaining to be serviced through fixed wireless and geosynchronous telecommunications satellite. This would allow the nation to unleash its full digital potential. It would also fundamentally enable Australia to become a more connected, more competitive and more innovative nation in the global arena.

Whether it was social media and entertainment – ability to watch high speed video (movies, sports, gaming) or financial transactions (sports betting, day trading etc.,) essentially making new businesses more competitive and creating new markets and jobs. All this would mean several additional billion dollars in economic activity every year.

The plan was to begin with Greenfield (new estates) and expand the network progressively as more connections were taken up by end customers. However, in 2013, a change of government led to a change in strategy. The new government argued that the demand for the existing 100 mbps service was no longer significant, the estimated cost was too high and the timeline needed for implementation was too long…

It was then that the Multi-Technological Mix (MTM) began.

So, they revised their plans, utilizing fixed line connections. This allowed earlier completion and enabled significant cost savings compared with FTTP (& FTTB) alone. This was achieved by using new technology to revitalize the potential of the aging copper network, which in some areas were more than 50 years old!

·     FTTN – Utilizing the thousands of kms of copper wiring already spread across Australia, the plan was to bring the fibre as close to the ‘pillar’ as possible. This would then negate the need to undertake costly civil works, such as trenching new lead-ins from the pit to the house.

·     HFC – With cable TV came coax, thanks to new DOCSIS technology such as DOCSIS 3.0 (and 3.1 in the future), this too could be utilised to provide broadband services at speeds previously unimaginable.

·     FTTC – Brings fiber to the pit (or distribution point) and allows for the shortest length of copper. Starting with VDSL2+ the plan is to eventually upgrade to G.Fast or XG.Fast, which would essentially bring speeds much closer to that of fiber.

This was a good move in leveraging existing assets while hastening deployment. However, the current infrastructure issues had to be dealt with. The aging copper & coax networks had deteriorated with some deemed ‘beyond economical repair’. The work force and/or the associated skills required to repair and replace those segments of the network was limited. Thousands of technicians needed to be trained, upskilled and provided with relevant experience in order to autonomously tackle events in the field. New technicians had to learn them within months or even weeks!

Majority of these technicians had to invest in purchasing test equipment, tools and safety gear. This challenge was compounded when technicians were contracted to delivery partners compared to models where technicians maybe directly employed.

The investment was not a small amount, hence the return had to be maximised. How else would they be able to justify their output?

In addition, the introduction of multiple technologies meant that acquiring several skills at once was more important than ever. Technicians who may have predominantly been fiber technicians activating FTTP services using a PON meter, now had to learn how to use a Copper or HFC instrument to not only test signal strength, but also to diagnose and rectify issues.

These motivated contractors had to learn how to best utilise their equipment to achieve a high-level of workmanship as the truck rolls were at the expense of their own time and money.

Deployment aspects such as skills, trained manpower, multi technology skills etc., made up a large portion of the challenge in building up a great network and service. The other and probably bigger challenge was cleaning up existing issues in a legacy network. For example, current cable networks with issues in the ingress – rusted connectors, bent/deformed cables due to age, construction/renovation or poor workmanship, environmental factors and even bird chews on overhead cables. Then likely non-repetitive issues such as heavy machinery turning on in a garage in the evening and sending noise in the upstream channel.

The best equipment at a price the technician could afford. With the support and training for the technician to be able to get the best return on investment possible.

VIAVI, partnering with TMG Test Equipment in Australia, provide installation and maintenance teams with industry leading test solutions to certify, validate and manage HFC/FTTx networks. Solutions such as the Viavi OneExpert (ONX) for Copper and Cable networks, XperTRAK for Cable network performance management, SmartOTDR, P5000i Inspection Probe, Power Meter for Fiber networks, MTS 5800 for metro/ backhaul enable communications networks in Australia and all over the world.

Utilizing their knowledge and experience, TMG put their focus on where it matters most: People who get the frontline job done = The Technicians. Taking their unique needs and challenges into consideration, TMG began to provide support and training to levels unheard of in the industry. This commitment ultimately became a major key to their success.

All these have real-life benefits. VIAVI and TMG, salute the social development cause and place our customers first in their objectives and goals. Be it growth in jobs people development, enabling Australia’s businesses to be more competitive in the global market or the simple joys with making people’s lives better - people watching uninterrupted video at home, online shopping, trading, education etc., It gives us great satisfaction in knowing that we have a part to play in enabling connected societies and in improving lives. And for the engineers/technicians who build the network, they get more done within a shorter span of time, enabling more time with family. 

We Listen and Learn about our Customers environment and requirements. We take pride and Love what we do in enabling best-in-class networks and services. Always strive for the recognition in earning the Voice and Value with our Customers and the Social cause.

Here is a video from Bill Morrow, CEO, NBN – NBN’s commitment to improve Customer Experience. NBN highlights a three-part approach to this:

1.   Collaborate with Industry Partners to deliver the internet that is needed to satisfy household or business requirements.

2.   Addressing quality. Done right the first time, and a stable network. Fix outages promptly and fix it the first time.

3.   Make progress on speed of the build. Improve Customer experience.

VIAVI (NASDAQ: VIAV) is a global provider of network test, monitoring and assurance solutions to communications service providers, enterprises and their ecosystems, supported by a worldwide channel community including VIAVI Velocity Solution Partners. VIAVI is glad to be enabling social ecosystems and improving lives. We have close to 95 years of experience enabling the finest copper, cable, optical and wireless networks. We are honored to have this opportunity to serve the Australian Telecommunications industry with our best-in-class local partner TMG Test Equipment.

TMG Test Equipment is Australia's largest privately-owned Test and Measurement solution provider, servicing every state and territory across the country. With over 25 years of experience, TMG are well established in the telecommunications industry. TMG’s relationship as an Elite Channel Partner of VIAVI Solutions, enabled them to provide not only the best in class instruments, but also provide the best customer service, technical support and training.

TMG, in conjunction with VIAVI, support our customers by:

• Providing nationwide technical training seminars.
• Co-invested or self-invested evening sessions (no time off the tools)
• On demand day sessions
• Providing nationwide technical support.
• In-house & Over the phone.
• On-line videos & a dedicated support portal
• Holding large quantities of test equipment stock to meet customer demand.
• And much more…with flexibility to support a specific cause.

Did you know?

·      Contaminated connectors are the #1 cause for troubleshooting in Fiber/Cable optic networks.

·      A study conducted by NTT-Advanced Technology mentions that 98% of installers and 80% of network owners reported that issues with connector contamination was the greatest cause of network failure.

·      The above leads to link loss and optical return loss, which must be measured e2e and/or in sections and in both directions.

·      Characterizing a fiber span for various inefficiencies and losses provides not only a birth certificate but a basic hygiene plot that pin points various loss points in your network that could be weeded out or improved on. This is akin to running a test on your heart to check for blockages in your arteries.

·      All cables lose signal energy due to radiation or leakage. This due to imperfections in cable dimensions/symmetry and age. A leaky cable can interfere with wireless systems/services and vice versa, it allows external signals to enter the system and disrupt transmission. Leakage test and monitoring is important.

·      A major concern and consideration is the impact of noise and interfering signals in the return path. Given the topology – tree & branch the noise build-up in the return path is a problem that has to be dealt with. Not only is it important to use good quality connectors, cables and in ensuring and proper methods and procedures are followed, but monitoring and managing the returning path is a key element for O&M.

Credits: NBN - www.nbnco.com.au