Fibra – The Largest Regional City FTTH Network in Sweden · One of the key success factors was their ability to keep the operational costs at minimum, which has made the company

Fibra – The largest Regional City FTTH network in Sweden

October 2018 Waystream, CTS Northern Europe and PacketFront Software Page 1 of 8

Fibra – The Largest Regional City FTTH Network in Sweden

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Fibra is operating regional fiber networks in several adjacent cities in Mälardalen, a region in the

middle of Sweden. Fibra is owned by the local Energy companies Mälarenergi, Eskilstuna Energi &

Miljö, Hallstahammar Kommun and SEVAB Strängnäs Energi. Fibra is today delivering Internet,

Telephony and TV services to over 90 000 subscribers.

Waystream, CTS and PacketFront Software has a long history together with Fibra and are today key

suppliers.

This folder tells you more about the Fibra FTTH network and how our products and services and

contributing to their success

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About Fibra

FIBRA in short

Fibra is an Open Access city network in Sweden serving the

region of Lake Mälaren.

The Open Access model has meant building passive and active

infrastructure that Service Providers can use to sell services to

customers on equal technical and commercial terms.

Running a large regional FTTH network with almost 100.000

customers has meant challenges over the years. One of them

is the complex environment created by many customers,

service providers and services, which easily leads to high

OpEx, long lead times and poor quality. Fibra solved these

issues by building a highly automated network and using

purpose-built hardware from the very start.

Today the far-sighted dedication to operational excellence has

made Fibra one of the 3 best city networks in the World.

FIBRA over time

The history of Fibra started 1999 as the city network of Västerås. The ambition was to build world’s most

advanced FTTH network based on Open Access. Västerås trusted PacketFront and Waystream as partners in an

early phase of the network roll-out.

One of the key success factors was their ability to keep the operational costs at minimum, which has made the

company EBITDA positive already in 2001. This was an achievement as the City Network was at the same time

rapidly increasing in size. The high quality and the large variety of services offered by the network attracted

fast growing number of customers. And as the customer base increased, more providers wanted to offer

services creating a positive spiral that made Fibra a highly successful network operator.

The operational efficiency and commercial success of the network became apparent for the surrounding

cities, which helped them to take the decision to join Fibra. To be able to enjoy the benefits they migrated to

PacketFront / Waystream / CTS products harmonizing physical networks, operations and service delivery

FIBRA Facts

• Start year: 1999

• 72 000 residential customers

• 20 000 municipality connections

• 2 000 enterprise customers

• 25+ service providers / 100+ services

• 60 employees

• Turnover (2017): 326 MSEK (32 MEUR)

• EBITDA (2017): 9 MSEK (0,9 MEUR)

• Owners: The local energy companies in

Västerås, Eskilstuna and Strängnäs and the

municipality of Hallstahammar



FIBRA’s Network – Overview The Fibra network contains like any network infrastructure a core and edge network covering the whole region

and the different cities. This a is a pure L3 routed infrastructure, where they avoid a setup with VLANs to

distribute services. With a L3 backbone they get a more stable and flexible infrastructure when they for

example can avoid spanning tree for redundancy and instead use OSPF and BGP.

For the L2 services used in the network, they are realized over L3 tunnels.

The fully routed core and edge network without thousands of VLANs are possible thanks to the fact that

intelligence and L3 termination point have been distributed out to the access devices, the Waystream

ASR 6000. The ASR 6000s are distributed BNGs and are the point where all services in the network are

deployed. In the ASR 6000, services are authenticated and authorized towards the PacketFront Software BECS

system, then the BECS system also apply service parameters for IP management (The DHCP process, IP scope

to use), rate-limiting, security, QoS out in the ASR 6000 device.

The ASR 6000s are deployed in ring

structures, this ensures redundancy and

an efficient use even at this level.

The CTS CPEs HES-3106 and HES-3109 are

deployed in the homes to deliver Gigabit

services. These are also managed through

the BECS system and are also part service

orchestration process, for example when a

IPTV or VoIP service shall be used. The CTS

CPE gives the opportunity for free seating,

where all services are delivered to all LAN

ports in the CPE. It makes it easy for the

end-customer and generate less support

tickets for the operator.

The PacketFront Software BECS and BBE

system are used to its full extend in the

Fibra network. Here the orchestration and

automation are in full use both when it

comes to planning, deployment and

operation of the network. Thanks to this

Fibra can run the network with a

surprisingly slim organization.

With the combined solution from

Waystream, PacketFront Software and CTS

this gives a super effective infrastructure

where Swedish Open Access are

implemented. The inhabitants around

Lake Malaren can benefit from more than

25 ISP and over 100 different services like

internet, phone and TV benefits.

SP = Service Provider

MPC = Core Router

ASR = ASR 6000 access switch

CPE = Customer Premises Equipment



The Layer 3 Access Network

Layer 3 routed access

No scalability issues -> easier to scale and operate

Easy to create redundant topologies

▪ Address hierarchy based on network location –

fewer entries for many hosts -> less resource

demanding

▪ Routing protocols gives built in stable, reliable,

fast converging redundancy -> more reliable

services

▪ Best use of bandwidth/links – no blocking ->

better use of investments in the topology

▪ Isolates layer 2 domains -> a more stable

network

Easy to troubleshoot -> faster resolution to problems and

lower operational costs

Benefits of L3 routed architecture

▪ Easy operation and troubleshooting

▪ Natural IPv4/IPv6 topology

▪ Efficient use of all links for traffic – no blocked paths, maximum redundancy

▪ Open-access:

▪ Free seating for users

▪ Optimal traffic path between

service providers

Product Facts – Access Switches

ASR 6000 is a Purpose build Gigabit

Ethernet access switch for broadband

networks. The Layer 3 solution simplifies

operation and reduces operator costs

while achieving flexibility in delivering

services for both businesses and

individuals.

• 24x1G + 2x10GE

• Optimal allocation of bandwidth

between applications

• Maximum flexibility for traffic

classification and control

• Multi-rate support on all ports

• Efficient distribution of TV

including quality measurement

• All connectors in the front –

easy installation

• FTTx feature set within iBOS

• Small form-factor

• Easy to operate



CPEs - Customer Premises Equipment The HES series provide Fibra with a reliable and future proof CPE

solution. The CPE’s are installed together with fiber cable trays

which also work as a wall mounting plate. Besides reducing the

number of boxes, it´s also provides a secure fiber installation.

Fibra are using two models from the HES series:

HES-3106-RF

This product is used for customers using cable TV service and

with its build-in CATV module Fibra has full control of both data

and CATV traffic.

HES-3109SSFP

For customers with no CATV network service, Fibra have chosen

HES-3109 with totally 8 end customer ports (Used for Internet,

IPTV and VoIP). In apartments and houses with network cabling,

“free seating” enables end customers to connect their devices

anywhere they want without changing TP cables or additional

configuration. This makes things easier for the end user and

reduce support for Fibra.

About the HES series

The HES series CPE’s switches can be easily

managed by Web GUI, telnet CLI or SNMP. To

enable mass deployment, the HES series CPE’s also

support auto provisioning, allowing management

automatically and dynamically. Consequently, it

significantly reduces the operational cost

associated with device management.

Delivering of TV-services can be done both using

RF as well as IP. In both cases, the operator has full

control over the service delivery. In the case of

IPTV, CTS well proven IGMP snooping functions is

essential for a well-functioning service.

Since a FTTH CPE is a part of a critical

infrastructure in the same way as a water meter or

an electricity meter, a long lifetime and reliability

is important. All products leaving CTS factory are

therefore burn-in tested, minimizing the number

of faulty products.

HES 3109SSFP.

HES Series Key Features

• DHCP Auto-provision

• IGMP Snooping

• Q-in-Q VLAN

• SNMP power down trap

• Dual Rate with Auto-Sensing

function

• Smart LED Control

• Green ethernet

• Support for IPv6

• CATV RF Receiver

• Fiber cable tray (optional)

• 4, 5 or 8 end customer ports

• Dual Rate

• Combo Wan

HES 3106-RF with Fiber Cable Tray



Administration and Network Orchestration BBE – Broadband Business Engine

BBE offers small and medium-size network owners and service

providers the ultimate system for efficient handling of business

processes in broadband networks using Open Access or vertical

business models.

Built on the Telecom Management Forum (TMF) NGOSS

standard data model, SID, BBE can be used as a business layer

between external OSS/BSS systems and network management

systems. Alternatively, it can be equipped with existing

applications, such as:

• Service Selection Portal: An API that enables webpages

offering attractive market places for service exposure and

promotion campaigns.

• Subscriber Management: Provides and maintains a database

containing customer data.

• Product Management: An application for product lifecycle management including commercial terms &

conditions, product packaging, campaigns, management of geographical/technical product availability etc.

• Helpdesk Management: Enables customer services to handle the first line technical support directly.

BECS – Network Orchestrator

BECS Network Orchestrator automates tasks such as zero-touch

network build-out, element configuration, service provisioning,

resource management and documentation.

As BECS also supports any choice of hardware technology on all

network levels from Core down to CPE’s, it can be used in practically

any network.

BECS abstracts the network for BBE (or any other OSS/BSS solution)

providing one, hardware and network topology independent,

integration point. OSS/BSS layer only needs to send BECS service and

port id, which it translates to correct network configuration adding,

modifying or deleting services and resources in all affected

elements. This ensures the optimal use of the network resources

and minimizes the risk for configuration errors. At the same time

BECS provides always up-to-date documentation of the managed

network.

Besides being a well field-proven platform for today’s networks, it enables operators a seamless migration

path from legacy to SDN and NFV.



About Waystream Waystream is a Swedish company with headquarters in Kista just outside of

Stockholm.

We originate from PacketFront group and were established as a break out entity

in 2012, but our experience goes back more than 15 years and over the years

we have delivered over 1.8 million ports for FTTx access at 100Mbit/s or faster speed.

As of November 2015, the company is listed on the NASDAQ First North. Our turnover for 2015 was about

56 million SEK and we employ about 40 people including consultants.

Many of our customers are now on the second or even third generation of Waystream products in the

networks, having upgraded to the latest modern solution for FTTH.

About CTS We have our office in Gothenburg, Sweden, and we have been involved

in the roll-out of FTTH in Sweden since the start.

Today we are dominant on the CPE market in the Nordic Countries with

a market share of over 50 % with over 500 000 CPEs delivered. The main reason for this is our commitment to

quality which minimize the hazzle and costs for troubleshooting and replacing hardware.

We have a tight cooperation with the city and regional networks in Sweden and continuously improves our

products based on their input.

CTS Northern Europe is owned by CTS Inc, a Taiwanese company located in Taipei. All product development as

well as production are located there and under their full control. This is a warranty for flexible productions and

quick adaptation of our products to market changes and demands.

About Packetfront Software PacketFront Software is a Stockholm, Sweden based supplier of solutions

for automated multi-vendor networks. The company was created as a part

of the world’s first public fiber network build-out in Sweden in 2001 and is

today the market leading supplier of OSS/BSS solutions for the Nordic regional FTTH networks. Our products

deliver true orchestration not only for residential, but enterprise and MPLS networks in low- and high-volume

scenarios.

We enhance the agility, competitiveness and profitability of our customers by providing strong automation

solutions, which have been developed over a number of years. This means we offer mature, solid, scalable,

robust and effective software products.

100 operator customers in 23 countries have chosen our BECS and BBE platforms for efficient network

operations.



Why is CTS, Waystream and PacketFront Software key suppliers to FIBRA?

Fibras network is to a large part built out of equipment from Waystream, CTS and Packetfront Software. It

seems like we have done something right… Daniel Ahlin, Technical Director at Fibra, says the following:

Contact information Do you want to learn more?

Feel free to contact any of us. We can arrange joint meetings or with just one of us if that is preferred.

We are also happy to arrange a reference visit if that is of interest.

BRS Network [email protected] +46 498 65 75 50 www.brsnetworks.com

CTS Northern Europe [email protected] +46 31 22 19 80 www.ctsystem.eu

Hexatronic [email protected] +46 10 453 02 00 www.hexatronic.com

PacketFront Software [email protected] +46 8 633 1991 www.pfsw.com

Waystream [email protected] +46 8 5626 9450 www.waystream.com

About CPEs from CTS:

“HES-3106 & HES-3109 are

extremely reliable CPEs. They

just keep on going and they

are well integrated with

BECS. And finally: Our

customers like them! “

About ASR 6000 from

Waystream:

“Waystreams ASR 6000

delivers the best possible

Layer 3 solution for FTTH. It´s

stable, easy to manage and

comes with iBOS software

that is designed for FTTH

networks.”

About software from

Packetfront Software:

“PacketFront Software’s

BECS and BBE platforms have

enabled fully automated

service provisioning flows and

network orchestration. For us

this has meant unparalleled

operational benefits, such as

fast service delivery, error

free environment and always

up-to-date documentation”

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.brsnetworks.com/


http://www.ctsystem.eu/


http://www.hexatronic.com/


http://www.pfsw.com/


http://www.waystream.com/

Documents

Fibra – The Largest Regional City FTTH Network in Sweden · One of the key success factors was their ability to keep the operational costs at minimum, which has made the company