Case Study: Successful Rural Fiber Deployment

By J. Sharpe Smith, Contributor, Network Builder Reports

Deploying any telecom network technology in a rural area can be a challenge from a profit and loss standpoint. Add in the expense of building a fiber-optic network and the stakes get even higher.

 

In June of this year, a PomeGran, Canadian fiber-centric broadband infrastructure provider, was awarded a $125 million fiber to the home (FTTH) project to provide gigabit broadband connectivity to rural communities in northern Ontario. The area, which includes indigenous households, covers 19,000 underserved homes. With 932 miles of fiber, the density works out to 20.3 homes per route mile.

 

Joe Hickey, president of PomeGran, spoke recently about the keys to making a rural fiber deployment like the one in Ontario a success on “Broadband For Breakfast with Gary Bolton,” a Fiber Broadband Association webinar.

 

Funding

The network will be funded with $97 million from the Canadian government. Additionally, to complete the project, PomeGran is investing $75 million through financing partnerships with the Canada Infrastructure Bank and Stonebridge Financial Corporation. The network is being built by ROCK Networks, a subsidiary of PomeGran.

 

Third-party debt is required for many FTTH projects, according to Hickey. To raise funds for the project, a robust financial model must be developed.

 

“When you're building this financial model, you need to build in flexibility and adaptability,” he said. “So you need to include multiple assumption inputs, and multiple scenario analysis.”

 

Investors expect that a future-proof technology will be used, so fiber is the obvious choice for reliable broadband, Hickey said. And it has a 20-30 year time horizon, which many investors appreciate.

 

“In addition, PomeGran’s patent pending advanced fiber technology and outdoor passive fiber infrastructure will ensure lightning-fast connectivity and the ability to scale to speeds and reliability not previously available to rural and indigenous communities,” Hickey said.

 

Network Design

Several tools can be used in the detailed design of the network, including advanced GIS for fiber network management, as well as LIDAR technologies.

 

“We really like LIDAR because it enables us to create a digital twin representation of the network,” Hickey said. “As you're doing your detailed design, you should select design partners that are going to make use of these tools.”

 

In aerial fiber deployment, make-ready applications to attach the poles may entail working with   multiple pole owners, including utility companies, telcos and other groups that own the poles.

 

“These types of make-ready applications are very specific in terms of the pole loading calculations,” Hickey said. “Tools like SPIDAcalc Software are typically used in these calculations, but your design firm must have worked with the existing poll owners in the past.”

 

The Importance of Community Engagement

Hickey stressed the importance of communication through local community engagement early in the process to make sure that the projects achieve municipal and zoning right of way approvals.

 

“In some of our projects, we've established not-for-profit groups to help us with that local community engagement, because it is not just one community in our projects,” he said. “One of our projects has more than 60 communities that we're deploying through.”

 

Keeping up with Technology

Technology is always advancing. According to Hickey, PomeGran has always kept up with fiber technology as it has marched forward. It will be deploying XGS-PON and 25G PON in northern Ontario to provide multi-gigabit broadband to residences and businesses.

 

“These kinds of new technologies will always come to the fore, and so you're always going to be looking for what’s next,” Hickey said. “Your project plan should never be a static document. It should always be evolving as the market evolves.”

 

In order to be quick to market, Hickey said PomeGran doesn’t use a single design and deployment approach. Different methods are used based on the density of the area being covered. So multiple technology deployments can be used within the same footprint.

 

“[In rural, low-density areas], we do lots of different, cascaded deployments, such as optical tap, as appropriate for each fiber serving area,” he said. “A centralized, split architecture, which is a traditional fiber deployment model, is favored for more dense urban environments.”

 

Collaborating with Multiple Partners

PomeGran takes a collaborative approach to network deployment, partnering with multiple companies through a competitive RFP process in each of the layers, from design to actual construction. As each partner executes, they earn a chance to get more of the project. That allows PomeGran to hold them accountable. “Partners are the key to our success,” Hickey said. “That is a critical part of our approach to ensure time to market and the ability to negotiate pricing.”

 

The Importance of Risk Management

Every network buildout can run into delay. To overcome that uncertainty, PomeGran engages in risk management by developing backup plans in the case of technical challenges, bad weather or supply chain outages. “You've got to ensure that you have a workaround in terms of advanced tools, extra overtime, and multiple suppliers,” Hickey said. “Having a multi-supplier environment is very critical in order to ensure that you can keep your project on track.”

 

Targeted Marketing is Key to Adding Customers

Even before the network is completed, PomeGran deploys adoption strategies through targeted marketing. Using technology and data driven tools can help accelerate market entry and growth, according to Hickey.

 

“We personalize the journey for each of the users, and make sure that we can drive faster adoption rates on that,” he said. “We have multiple channels to market to each customer and feedback loops for them.”

 

An Integrated Approach to Customer Engagement

PomeGran creates an integrated team, which includes marketing, service, deployment, and procurement. Each team focuses on a fiber area, from 200 to 500 users. Marketing works through local community level publications — local newspapers, social media, Facebook and community groups.

 

“We employ a significant marketing effort for that little area, and then we do that area-by-area. That's how you get to your adoption curve,” Hickey said.

 

The Need for Speed

The key to deploying fiber broadband, according to Hickey, is to build quickly and on time. “You need to ramp quickly, so as you're building you have to be connecting,” he said. “You have to constantly be engaging with your communities — at the front-end, during the build and post-build. That's how you address regulatory delays and get the ramp that you need for the project.”