Forging the Fiber Future: Navigating wholesale opportunities in emerging markets

_{Uncover the unique challenges and strategic IT solutions empowering new wholesale fiber operators in high-growth, low-penetration regions to accelerate deployment, optimize operations, and unlock significant revenue streams. This article delves into the critical decisions and technological approaches driving success in the growing FTTH landscape.}

The Untamed Territory: Navigating emerging market challenges

Building and operating a wholesale fiber network in an emerging market is far from a walk in the park. It’s a dynamic frontier demanding precision and foresight. In these uncharted waters, new wholesale fiber operators frequently find themselves on a path that, though promising, is fraught with complexities. Often, these new players emerge from very specific situations that shape their initial challenges.

Imagine, for example, the scenario of a network business spin-off. Here, the new wholesale fiber operator emerges from an existing telecom company, as part of a financial movement usually with an investment fund joining the operation, seeking more revenue streams apart from the anchor tenant. The primary challenge is usually to detach from legacy systems and operational agreements (TSA) of its parent company, while still leveraging existing infrastructure. The mission is clear: to rapidly build independent IT systems to diversify business lines without being constrained by a pre-established structure and only one client.

Then, we have the case of a new company born from a sale & investment operation. These “NewCos,” often driven by capital from private equity firms, face the immediate pressure to launch their own IT systems. For them, speed is gold, as the focus is on achieving profitability as quickly as possible. From a wholesale perspective, the priority must be on implementing optimized and scalable Operational Support Systems (OSS) to enable efficient operations from day one.

Finally, there’s the exciting, yet demanding, adventure of starting from new network deployment. This “greenfield” approach requires substantial initial investment and an unwavering dedication to a rapid and precise deployment process. The key here is to enable sales as soon as possible, ensure easy integration with Internet Service Providers (ISPs), and, crucially, align IT investment gradually with business growth and revenue.

Regardless of their origin, all these new wholesale fiber operators share a set of common hurdles they must masterfully overcome. The race to deploy and monetize is incessant; unlike mature markets, the focus here is on speed, but without sacrificing precision. Every delay in activating a home means a lost revenue opportunity and a competitive advantage that slips away.

And speaking of monetization, the onboarding of the ISP ecosystem is vital. A wholesale model thrives and breathes through its partnerships. However, efficiently onboarding these ISPs, ensuring seamless integration and quick time-to-market for their services, can become a complex technical and operational odyssey. Without agile processes and standardized APIs, delays are inevitable, directly impacting revenue streams and competitive advantage.

The precision in footprint and address management is another fundamental pillar — but not in isolation. It’s not just about knowing where homes are, but about accurately correlating address data with the actual network footprint and available resources. It’s like building a magnificent highway but not knowing exactly where all the exits are — or whether they even connect to functional roads. Without reliable alignment between geographic data and network infrastructure, operators face a frustratingly high order-failure rate. This disconnect impacts customer satisfaction, inflates installation costs, and slows down the take-up rate critical for achieving a healthy ROI.

Furthermore, the burden of IT operational costs can be overwhelming. Adapting traditional B2C processes for a wholesale B2B model can inflate these costs. New NetCos need lean, flexible, and scalable provisioning processes from day one to avoid being weighed down by inefficiencies.

Beyond the initial sale lie the post-sale puzzles. Once a service is active, the journey isn’t over. Efficient post-sale processes, from troubleshooting to service assurance, are paramount. Manual interventions, lack of real-time visibility, and disjointed communication with network providers can lead to increased operational costs, slower resolution times, and ultimately, a diminished quality of experience for the end-customer.

And as a grand aspiration, achieving true automation is the dream. The vision of a fully automated network, where incidents are diagnosed and resolved across all operational domains without human intervention, remains a significant objective. However, the intricate dance between different systems and data sources often creates “grey areas” in the network, hindering complete automation and leading to reactive, rather than proactive, problem-solving.

Paving the Way: Smart solutions for a connected future

These challenges, while significant, are far from insuperable. The key lies in embracing intelligent, purpose-built IT solutions and methodologies that are designed to accelerate growth and optimize operations from the ground up.

Imagine solutions that empower you to:

• Accelerate ISP Onboarding and revenue generation: By streamlining onboarding processes and offering easy-to-integrate, standardized APIs, you can drastically reduce the time it takes for ISPs to connect to your network and start selling services. This means faster revenue generation and a quicker return on your substantial network investments.
• Ensure flawless service delivery from Day One: Cutting-edge footprint and address management solutions provide reliable, accurate data essential for every stage of your network’s lifecycle. This precision minimizes order failures, reduces installation costs, and directly boosts your take-up rates by ensuring you connect the right customers to the right services at the right time.
• Automate for efficiency and scalability: Leveraging catalog-based service order management and modern orchestration capabilities, you can achieve seamless process automation. This significantly reduces IT operational costs by shifting from costly development to agile configuration, allowing your operations to scale effortlessly as your business grows.
• Elevate post-sale experience and proactive assurance: Implementing intelligent field service management alongside robust wholesale service assurance solutions transforms your post-sale operations. Automate workflows, proactively monitor service performance, and integrate seamlessly with third-party network providers. This leads to faster issue resolution, reduced operational expenses, and a superior quality of service that delights both your ISP partners and their end-customers.
• Unleash the power of your data: By owning your network assurance data, information, and tools you unlock unparalleled insights. This critical information, coupled with advanced analytics and AI, lays the groundwork for true closed-loop automation, enabling predictive maintenance and proactive problem-solving.
• Embrace new revenue streams with Telecom-as-a-Service: As your network matures, imagine diversifying your business by offering complete connectivity services to non-telco clients. Solutions designed to support Telecom-as-a-Service (TaaS) models, leveraging industry standards like OpenGateway, can help you launch innovative new offerings and further increase network utilization and profitability.

These are not just theoretical concepts; they are tangible solutions, proven in the field, that empower emerging market wholesale fiber operators to overcome their unique challenges and thrive.

The Time to Act is Now: Choose the right partner

The fiber revolution in emerging markets is gaining unstoppable momentum, with significant investments and increasing coverage rates across the world. The next frontier is maximizing ISPs and subscriber take-up and optimizing operational efficiency to secure long-term profitability. Don’t let outdated processes or fragmented systems hold you back.

Are you ready to transform your network into an agile, revenue-generating powerhouse? The future of connectivity in emerging markets is being built today, and with the right strategic IT partnership, your organization can lead the charge.

Contact us today to explore how IT engineering and consulting services with long FTTH-related expertise can help your wholesale fiber business achieve unparalleled agility, efficiency, and sustained growth.