Conference on German business ideas
On September 18, 2024, representatives from telecommunications met for the 2024 Telco industry conference in the Schlosshotel in Kassel. This year the topic was “Good solutions made in Germany”.
With the numerous headlines surrounding fiber optic expansion, the good solutions from telecommunications should be highlighted. And this year's conference showed that there are many innovative companies and business ideas that have really interesting solutions for effective expansion and automated connection.
The following is a summary report of Dr. Frederic Ufer, VATM, Felix Verfürth, 1&1 Versatel, Andreas Ohrt, OpenXS and Wolfgang Drost, Axiros.
“The German fiber optic dilemma – look forward positively instead of moping”
The talk by Dr. Frederic Ufer. As managing director at the association of providers of telecommunications and value-added services (VATM) e.V. He is constantly in contact with politics and business. Together with his colleagues, he is trying to draw politicians' attention to the problem of fiber optic expansion. But why did he talk about the dilemma? The VATM found that almost 90% of TV reporting is negative. And that inevitably leads to a defensive attitude on the part of the population. But in order to make Germany competitive, we need digitalization. However, digitalization can only come if our networks run on fiber optics. He adds: “Actually, everyone knows that we need it, but we are strange about it.” In other countries, thousands of processes in public life, from birth, marriage to death, are already digital. In Germany there are only around 50 digital processes. We need digitalization for the energy and transport transition, administrative modernization and the healthcare system.
“Homes passed” vs. “homes connected” and “homes activated”
Unfortunately, the figures on fiber optic expansion published by the federal government are misleading. The goal is to provide 100% “homes passed” connections by 2030. Unfortunately, that doesn't mean that everyone can switch to fiber optics. It just means that the lines run past a house. However, the actual connection to the house or apartment (NE3 & NE 4), “Homes connected”, or even “Homes activated” means further additional effort and investment. Unfortunately, this is not implemented in this way by major players and is therefore criticized by industry associations. Unfortunately, what actually counts in order to advance digitalization is not taken into account in the federal government's goals. Dr. Frederic Ufer emphasized that there could sometimes be very pragmatic solutions for fiber optic expansion. As a temporary solution, cables laid above ground would be a good option, especially in rural areas. With the next road construction work, the cable could then go underground again. There are also good, resource-saving installation methods that are still not well received. But last but not least, it became clear that the image in particular needed to be improved. Because of the negative reporting, people don't see much of a need to switch from copper to fiber. Politics can also contribute to this with positive campaigns.
German services on German networks
Nevertheless, he is optimistic about the future. The demand for higher bandwidths is increasing. There are numerous hidden champions in Germany whose added value is great. However, we would have to make sure that German services are also offered and that the fiber optic network is not only useful for American and Asian services (e.g. Temu or Amazon). Every provider, whether regional or national, plays an important role in this.About Dr. Frederic Ufer
Dr. Frederic Ufer is the sole managing director of the VATM. Before that, he headed the legal and regulatory department at the association for over 15 years. After studying law in Cologne, the lawyer worked academically at the University of Cologne. There he did his doctorate on the subject of “provider liability”.
“Analysis of the competitive situation on the German fixed network market.”
Andreas Walter, managing director of Dialog Consult GmbH, discussed the reasons for the problem in implementing nationwide fiber optic coverage as part of the federal government's expansion goals. Many households are currently waiting for their house connection to be completed. The federal government's goal is to provide all households in Germany with a fiber optic line "to the house" by 2030.
However, not all households are connected yet. In his presentation, Mr. Walter explains the difference between “Homes passed” and “Homes connected” and the expected progress of Homes Connected in the context of supply through the fiber optic network.
The question arose as to when “Homes Connected” would have progressed far enough for all households to be served by a fibre network. Mr Walter answered: “That will be the case when the copper network is switched off.” A certain amount of pressure must be created to achieve widespread migration to fibre.
About Andreas Walter
Andreas Walter's extensive consulting experience within industries under deregulation pressure makes him ideally suited to managing consulting projects in complex TIMES industries. He also knows the requirements of industrial practice from his leadership role in a trading company. He also teaches at the Hamburg Media School and at the Rhein-Main University of Applied Sciences.
“Open Access the path to a networked future”
Andreas Ohrt, Managing Director of OpenXS, addressed the concerns in the context of S/PRI and Open Access. The switching processes between the individual providers are particularly complex. And since there are over 260 network operators in Germany, communication between them must be as automated as possible. However, introducing an S/PRI interface is too complicated for most people and the contract structure puts some people off.
OpenXS has a solution for this: the Open Access platform in collaboration with vitroconnect. Smaller ISPs' work is made even easier via a web frontend. In the end, according to Andreas Ohrt, the main thing is to use the completed connections. On average, around 50% are still free. These need to be better utilized and marketed. In addition, the open access platform offers a greater range of products, more options for customers and ultimately higher customer satisfaction.About Andreas Ohrt
As a studied communications engineer with a focus on digital signal processing, Andreas Ohrt already has over 25 years of telecommunications experience. He has been working at OpenXS, the independent network operations service provider for fiber optic networks, since 2012 and has been managing director since 2024.
“Best Practice Open Access – Opportunities and Challenges”
Felix Verfürth has been taking care of the white label services at 1&1 Versatel for ten years. With his team, they support municipal utilities and carriers who can offer services, manage connections and manage customers very flexibly via the white label platform. There are many providers and buyers on the German telecommunications market. Using the 1&1 Versatel aggregation platform, buyers do not have to enter into a procedural connection with the providers. 1&1 will take care of it. “If a partner is in the White Label cosmos, he can use the entire cosmos of the platform,” explained Felix Verfürth. Thanks to the S/PRI standard, the line change is automated. Although the complexity has increased due to the different types of connection, the provider itself can rely on the integrative solution. dimari GmbH provides various modules for this, including the varioCRM with the S/PRI module.
The special thing about the 1&1 platform is a Germany-wide access offer. A customer who, for example, moves from one federal state to another does not have to change their provider, even if they are actually only expanding regionally. He can stay with his provider and continue to use the service. As a result, carriers are also expanding their marketing areas.About Felix Verfürth
Felix Verfürth has been working in telecommunications for over 15 years. He acts as a team leader for White Label Services (Wholesale) at 1&1 Versatel. Felix Verfürth looks after the partnerships and is responsible for business development for this area.
“From a single source: Easily manage all networks with Axiros and dimari”
The provisioning of many routers is sometimes difficult complex. Axiros GmbH ensures that these processes are as smooth and automated as possible. Wolfgang Drost, Partner & Product Manager, gave us insights into the latest developments and the latest project.
FairNetz GmbH from Reutlinen, for example, has been continuously expanding its fiber optic network for ten years. Due to the increasing number of connections, a software solution was necessary. The decision was made in favor of the varioSuite from dimari GmbH. However, provisioning the routers was a particular challenge. Regional carriers in particular have an increased effort to scan routers and assign them to the corresponding customer.
Thanks to the ACS solution from Axiros GmbH, these steps are no longer necessary. If a corresponding interface is implemented between the ACS and the varioSuite, the customer simply connects a router. The type of router and any network peculiarities (such as: DOCSIS*) are recognized via the DHCP* and a connection to the port is automatically created. Since only the line ID is required for provisioning, customers can even simply take their router with them when moving. FairNetz created a typical carrier business case for the use of the ACS and calculated savings of around €180,000. A corresponding case study is available from Wolfgang Drost.* DHCP is an essential network protocol for the automatic assignment of network parameters
* DOCSIS refers to the transmission of broadband Internet via the cable networkAbout Wolfgang Drost
As a partner & Product Manager Wolfgang Drost looks after public utilities and carriers at Axiros GmbH in the DACH region. He has been working in the ICT sector for over 25 years and has implemented over 100 customer projects with providers across Europe. As a freelance consultant, Drost works with smart-fttx in network automation.
German solutions for fiber optic expansion
Finally, Diethard Kumpf, Managing Director of dimari GmbH, summarized the conference again. In keeping with the conference theme “Good solutions made in Germany”, the speakers presented German concepts. There are many good solutions that are really driving Germany forward in the area of fiber optic expansion and, above all, increasing the effectiveness of end customer connections. These just need to be used effectively and supported from the political side. It also became clear again that superstructure simply doesn't make sense and doesn't really help us on the way to digitalization. What is much more important is that everyone works hand in hand – local and national carriers and network operators. What is special about the industry is the almost family-like relationship between the telecommunications companies. Conferences, industry meetings and trade fairs help all market participants. They ensure that the hidden champions also get attention and that German providers, network operators and software providers find each other.
Many thanks to all speakers and conference participants for the insights and exchange at the Telco Industry Conference 2024.
Information
What we offer?
- Exchange with industry representatives in a cozy atmosphere
- Lectures on current topics in telecommunications, fiber optic expansion and legal matters
- Information stands and networking
- Coffee breaks, snacks and lunch
Location
The Schlosshotel Wilhelmshöhe offers a pleasant atmosphere for professional exchange. If you stay overnight, the pool and sauna area are available. Right next to it you can visit the Wilhelmshöhe Mountain Park, which is a World Heritage Site.
Kassel – Documenta City
Every five years, artists from all over the world meet for the Documenta and transform Kassel into an intercultural venue.