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Nokia Ushers in a New Era of FTTH Network Management with AI-Powered digital twins
The increasing complexity of modern network infrastructure demands a paradigm shift in operational approaches.Conventional methods are struggling to keep pace, making proactive, intelligent management not just desirable, but critical. Recognizing this, Nokia has launched a suite of innovative software tools and AI-powered models designed to dramatically improve operational efficiency and bolster network reliability for fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) deployments. This isn’t simply an incremental upgrade; it’s a foundational change in how operators will build, maintain, and scale their fiber networks.
The Challenge: Visibility into the FTTH Outside Plant
For operators rolling out FTTH networks, a significant pain point has been the limited visibility into the passive outside plant – the physical infrastructure of fiber cables, splitters, and connectors. This lack of insight leads to a cascade of problems: inaccurate inventory records, costly and time-consuming repeat truck rolls, budget overruns, and ultimately, frustrated subscribers experiencing service delays. Historically, managing the active (powered) and passive (unpowered) components of a network has been a fragmented process, hindering efficient troubleshooting and expansion.
Nokia’s Solution: A Unified Digital Twin with altiplano
Nokia’s answer is a complete digital twin of the FTTH network, built upon its robust Altiplano platform. This digital replica provides a single, unified view of both active and passive network components, enabling operators to move beyond reactive troubleshooting to proactive network management.
The new digital features within Altiplano leverage automation to continuously validate critical data – inventory, network topology, and resource allocation – ensuring accuracy and minimizing discrepancies. Further enhancing this capability is the Altiplano Marketplace, offering access to powerful new applications, including:
* Fibre Health Analyser: This tool proactively monitors the health of fiber links, identifying potential issues before they impact service.
* Subscriber line Identifier: This application allows network managers to quickly audit network topology, isolate fiber faults, perform root cause analysis, and ultimately, improve service quality.
Real-Time Accuracy and Minimal Disruption
Nokia’s Subscriber Line Identify application is particularly noteworthy. It allows for verification of splitter connectivity with “minimal” disruption to subscribers, while concurrently updating inventory in real-time to accurately reflect the network’s current state. This level of precision is crucial for maintaining a reliable and efficient network.
Importantly, these digital twin capabilities are designed for flexibility. They are compatible with a wide range of existing inventory and geospatial software solutions and can be deployed effectively in both greenfield (new build) and brownfield (existing network) scenarios. Pre-integration with the Nokia Broadband Easy digital platform further streamlines automated fiber rollout and ongoing operations.
industry Validation: Experts Weigh In
The potential impact of this technology is already being recognized by industry analysts. Jaimie Lenderman, Principal Analyst at Omdia, states: “Digital twins and AI tools will play an important role in autonomous networks. By unifying active and passive components in a single view, operators can minimise disruptions, resolve issues swiftly and deliver reliable, cost-effective broadband that sets a new connectivity standard.”
Geert Heyninck, General Manager of Broadband Networks at Nokia, reinforces this point: “We can help operators eliminate the blind spots associated with FTTH deployments by removing the need to look at the active and passive network independently. Our software tools and digital platforms provide a unified view of the network, allowing operators to detect issues faster and resolve them before they escalate. This results in significant operational advantages, cutting costs and improving both the reliability and accuracy of network builds.”
Real-World Impact: fibertime’s Expansion in South Africa
The effectiveness of Nokia’s new technology is already being demonstrated in the field. South African communications provider fibertime is leveraging these tools as it expands its fiber broadband access footprint to an additional 400,000 homes in underserved communities, with a larger goal of connecting two million homes by 2028.
fibertime is deploying a combination of Nokia’s IP and fiber access technologies to build semi-mobile networks, offering high-speed internet access throughout homes, businesses, and communities. Danvig De Bruyn, CEO of fibertime, confirms the benefits: “Nokia’s automation and AI-powered tools not only help us to improve operational efficiencies but also enhance the reliability of our FTTH network. We can now detect disruptions earlier and resolve incidents more quickly to ultimately improve the subscriber experience.”
The Future of FTTH is Intelligent and Unified
Nokia’s advancements represent a significant leap forward in FTTH network management. By embracing digital twin technology and AI-driven automation, operators can overcome
