23 May Making The Switch: Owning Your Own Private Fiber Network
More and more, organizations that lease bandwidth for their wide area network (WAN) are looking to ditch the monthly bill in favor of owning their own fiber network. Although the cost of building your own private fiber network may seem high, many organizations are finding that the eventual return on investment is worth the expense. Norscan’s Wally Motuz manages private fiber WANs for several clients in and around Winnipeg. Motuz says “Clients usually justify the cost of the network by comparing their current cost of connectivity to the cost of the new build over 20 years. However, once they’ve made the investment, many more benefits come to light.” Examples of these benefits are data center consolidation; VOIP implementation; and expandability for future bandwidth requirements.
“What are the benefits of owning your own fiber network?”
At Norscan, we’ve helped many organizations make the switch to owning their own private network. For many organizations, the cost savings alone are reason enough to make the switch, but the ancillary benefits to owning your own network make it all the more compelling:
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Data Center Consolidation
The ability to include all servers into a common environmentally controlled room instead of placing servers in various physical locations.
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VOIP Telephone
VOIP is much easier to implement if all the sites are connected to a private WAN.
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Full Control and Constant Rates
When you own the network, you have full control over how it’s used. Gone are the days of throttled bandwidth limitations, inconvenient scheduled downtime maintenance and yearly rate increases.
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Future Expansion
Adding additional bandwidth when your organization is growing comes at a much lower cost when you own your own network, and because the network is yours, you never have to worry about added usage costs.
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Potential Revenue Streams
In some cases, extra bandwidth can be sold or leased back to providers or other businesses.
With little to no experience in this field, however, many organizations are left wondering where to even begin in the process of building their own private network.
“I see the benefits, but where do I begin?”
Between coming up with a list of outside plant specifications, issuing the project for tender, analyzing tenders and selecting a winner, the process of switching from leasing bandwidth to owning your own network can be a daunting task. With over 30 years’ experience with fiber optic outside plant, Norscan has helped many organizations make this switch. We walk you through all the stages of the network build process, including analyzing the tenders received, and helping you select the contractor that fits your needs. “Clients are looking for the turn-key approach.” says Motuz, “In essence, they can outsource the headaches of contractor selection and fiber management to us.”
“What about after it’s up and running?”
It’s important to note with owning your own fiber network comes the responsibility of maintaining your outside plant. Whether it’s a cable dig up, a rodent chewing on your cable, or any other of the many different ways your outside plant can get damaged, repairs to your outside plant are essential to avoid signal loss and network downtime (See 5 Cable Killers That Destroy Buried Fiber Cable). Cable locates (locating your buried fiber optic cable and marking its location) will also become your responsibility once you own your own fiber network. With our proven Cable Monitoring and Touchless Locating equipment, Norscan has the right tools to ensure your network stays up and running always.
Make the switch today
Interested in learning more about owning your own private fiber network? Are you ready to make the switch but need some assistance? Whatever it is, Norscan is here to help. Visit our Network Management Services page and Contact us today for more information!