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Invest in expertise sharing for NREN's on managed dark fiber operations. Focus on standardization, pricing comparisons, tender procedures, and setting up a repository. Discuss housing, colocation, supplier preferences, contract models, payment structures, infrastructure, and operations. Learn from successful NREN experiences and consider different models for project investments and cash flow. Utilize EU structural funds and prioritize transparency with stakeholders.
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Do’s & don’t’s regarding managed dark fiber TF-MSP meeting Amsterdam, 9/10 November 2010
Expertise sharing • Invest in developing expertise regarding acquisition and operations of managed dark fiber within NREN’s • Invest in sharing experience as NREN’s: • Standardization of fibers, technology etc. • Compare prices • Tender procedures (e.g. competitive dialogue) • Set up a repository within TERENA with documents like Calls for Proposals, SLA’s, best practices etc.
Housing & colocation • Housing equipment at customers is preferred to commercial colocation • trust relation • neutrality from carriers • providing services (lightpaths) is easier • higher availability (direct connection to backbone) • less expensive • more flexibility in operations But: use contracts, pay for services and monitor/audit the quality of the housingservice periodically
Suppliers • Prefer fiber from telco’s/carriers for primary routes and use fiber from other suppliers (e.g. power supply companies with less service guarantees) for redundancy • Using various suppliers is not necessarily a problem but monitoring and analyzing the impact of maintenance, fiber cuts etc. becomes crucial for the NREN • Use an additional fiberpair on important routes (emergencies, transitions etc.)
Contract models • Take into account the impact of a long-term IRU contract with major up-front capital investments (use excellent lawyers) • Don’t assume that the concept of an IRU is standardized (different per carrier, NREN etc.) • Don’t expect too much from SLA’s (penalties related to O&M fees don’t have a lot of effect) • Take into account that most SLA’s exclude scheduled maintenance & fiber cuts…
Payment model • Long term projects should invest in long term IRU’s whereas short(er) term project may chose “capital lease” • Available budget and cash flow requirements are dominant deciding factors for NREN’s • Don’t assume that periodic payments are the best guarantee for good service-levels: a contract with performance guarantees (% of the contract value deposited at a bank) leads to same result
Infrastructure/architecture • Use cross border fibers for reasons of: • Efficiency, costs & user experience (delay for certain applications) But: - responsibilities must be clearly defined - business/tariff model is required • Standardize on a single fibertype (G.652) • Experiment with alien wavelengths • Rather invest in redundancy (backbone & local loops into buildings) then in an operations team
Operations • Extend responsibility for operations on fiber level from backbone to local loops (upto CPE) • Invest in documentation of fiber routes (ODF – ODF, so including local patches) • Invest in obtaining information regarding the physical routing of fibers (street level) • Be transparant towards suppliers, housing providers etc. regarding documentation
Miscellanious • Try to secure structural funds (EU) where possible and learn from NREN’s that have succeeded in getting access to these funds
