Digpro and AssetHUB are to provide the technical platform for an extensive development project for 5G in Dorset. With this government funded project, Dorset Council has been awarded £500,000 to initiate a new development project, which will find ways of boosting mobile digital coverage by re-using existing infrastructure. The development project will examine how online mapping technology can help to speed up the connectivity rollout, aiming to use existing local authority assets.
Deploying mobile infrastructure on public street furniture such as CCTV poles, traffic lights, lampposts and bus shelters, is already quite common. However, network operators can find it difficult to acquire the information needed to verify that a structure is suitable and available. This relates to its location, physical dimensions, proximity to the street or access to a power source. AssetHUB provides a single view of assets and telecoms infrastructure, with transparent data sharing and automation of the business processes required for asset re-use.
“There are numerous asset owners in the UK”, explains Rob Leenderts. “Each has their own process for workflows, approvals and products. For an asset marketplace to succeed, there has to be a common understanding of what is being bought and sold. AssetHUB helps to define a set of standard products. It manages the processes from enquiry to quote, from order to bill, completed with contracts for provisioning data and order details.”
| About Digpro FIX – The technical platform Digpro FIX is an essential part of the platform provided by AssetHUB for the UK. It is a well-proven fibre trading platform that has allowed for an efficient and transparent market for fibre assets in Sweden. It has also been introduced to the German telecom market, and supports fibre assets owners to exchange assets in an easy and standardised way. |
“This technical platform has been used in Sweden since 2014”, Rob Leenderts continues. “It was developed as part of the CESAR2 solution, created by The Swedish Local Fibre Alliance (Svenska Stadsnätsföreningen), the Swedish equivalent of The Independent Networks Cooperative Association (INCA). Over the years, the platform has been further developed, and now enables transaction turnovers of 140 million Euro, creating a host of business opportunities for network owners and sellers on the Swedish market. I am convinced that this will support the 5G and fibre connectivity rollout in the UK.”
The twelve-month development project commences in March 2022, and is one of the Digital Connectivity Infrastructure Accelerator (DCIA) projects. Its findings will be noted by the British government’s research program, and contribute to a policy on how local authorities might manage existing equipment for their future connectivity rollout. AssetHUB, which uses Digpro FIX as the technical solution, is one of the participating industry partners of the development project and is planning on rolling out this solution nationally.
For further information, do not hesitate to contact AssetHUB.
Rob Leenderts is the founder and director of AssetHUB. He is a subject matter expert in Wholesale Broadband, Open Access, Backhaul Solutions, GIS/OSS/BSS systems and re-use of Public Sector Assets. He is a founder member and Board Director of INCA – the Trade Association for those working to develop independent next generation broadband services in the UK.