Estate Living September 2016 Digital Issue | Page 58

1. IT companies, open access novices and local internet service providers that want to reinvent the wheel at your expense. You can expect badly delayed and buggy software that may add a few customers to a small system but is not scalable,is not robust in the long term and comes from a supplier with doubtful long-term commitment. You can also expect to keep paying for even the simplest changes. 2. Hardware vendors that are keen to sell you equipment, but then walk away. They don’t care that integrating hardware and software and then operating a 24/7 service is not their business. But by the time you need all that, they’ve got your money, so at least they are happy! 3. The big established telco operators that claim they can “do everything”. They are likely to use your infrastructure for their own benefit, not yours, and after signing will simply not care about you or any awkward details agreed to in a rush of enthusiasm by their salespeople. There is only one type of organisation that can actually deliver: 4. A committed, experienced and specialised open access operator that lives and breathes this business. They will have a proven track record in delivering at scale (so they can attract brand name service providers) and will have many happy residential estate fibre owners like you. Some simple test questions to ask of potential suppliers that will help you make better choices for an open access partner. OPEN access THE SIMPLE QUESTIONS FOR ANY SERVICE PROVIDER 1. Can multiple different service providers deliver services at the same time over the network? 2. Can end users see these services and select freely from them? 4. 3. Can service providers create new services and easily add them to the offers presented in the online services supermarket, so that they are available to end users themselves without the need for assistance? (For example, in an open access network, an ISP should be able to create a new service, such as a 100 Mbps package, and add it to their list of offers to to be presented to end users automatically, without software development or third-party help.) Can the real estate development add its own IP-based services to the system, such as CCTV cameras? This is important, as some operators just want to put their own services on and not help the developer with security, access control and other applications.