Richard brandon - MLL Telecom - Delivering shared networks for local authorities

Delivering Shared Networks for Local Authorities

Richard Brandon, Head of StrategyMLL Telecom

Who are MLL Telecom?

Specialists in Public Sector networks

A Licensed Network Operator

A BT Openreach service integrator

Inside some of the UK’s largest networks

UK-wide radio spectrum

Customer ExperienceBlue Light

Higher Education

HealthcareTelecoms Local Authorities &

Schools

What our customers say

"This project has delivered on all counts. We've improved school internet and computer technology and we're making it easier and cheaper for residents to contact us.”

Councillor Bob Tidy, lead member for e-government at East Sussex CC

“Manchester Fire and Rescue Service has been working with MLL since the 1990's and we have always received exemplary service from them. I would highly recommend MLL Telecom to any other blue light service, or in fact anyone at all looking for a reliable network provider.”

Graham Settle , C3 Systems Manager, Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service

“MLL has proved a valuable partner in delivering hard to reach connections to enable BT to deliver a great service at a price which is competitive for our customers”.

John Miller, BT Head of Complex Networks

Why Share Networks?

What is the business case?

A shared network is an infrastructure for the community

Councils

Schools

Libraries

Healthcare

Police

Fire and Rescue

Further Education

Third sector (charity workers)

The digitally excluded

Value for money

A shared network saves cost… so the business case should stack up on its own.

But it will also…

be a necessary platform for other shared services and systems

encourage flexible use of property

enable joined-up government, processes and intelligence across organisations

A Platform for Learning Skills

Allows effective operation of Learning Platforms

Supports personalised Learning

Students move from consumers to collaborators

Enables pupil, teacher and parent innovation

Enables flexible use of facilities such as for adult education

… increased bandwidth, and broadband in particular, has had a significant impact on the quality and range of work that schools can undertake…

Ofsted’s report ICT in Schools 2004

A Platform for Digital Inclusion

A shared community network can pass closer to broadband ‘notspots’ than a commercial network

WiMax, WiFi or cable can cover the last mile– Caveat – highly topology dependent

Funding potentially available from BDUK (Broadband Delivery UK)

“Broadband is the most critical issue facing small businesses today.”Federation of Small Businesses

A Platform for a Healthy Community

Digital Inclusion– Access for the socially disadvantaged

Integrated services– Processes, Data, Applications

Care closer to home– Common access for Social worker, health worker, mental health

worker…

Enables ‘Social Capital’– Connects local people to deliver collaborative solutions

Technology Challenges

Why so hard?

Police

PoliceHealth

Council

Council

SchoolSchool

HealthTr

ust

Lower cost

Private Network

Public Network

‘Private Shared

Network’

Shared Networks - the options

Traditional private networks – Point-to-point leased lines

But what’s inside the cloud?

•Security•Availability•Reach•Assured capacity•Flexibility

What is inside private networks

LE

LELE

Multiple fibres in common duct –single point of failure

Traffic ‘trombones’ in and out of core access links

Moving a core site is costly and complexLE

£ £ £ £

Multiple redundant fibres into same site

Multiple CPE ports

£££ £

What you can get from a ‘Private Shared’ Network

LE LE

LELE

Less single points of failure

Optimum traffic routing

Flexible property utilisation

Less fibres used can lower cost

Simpler CPE

£

Dedicated Switched

Core

£

Multiple VPN’s with QoS for traffic separation

The technology toolkit

Latest best practice

Pervasive Wireless Networks – WiMAX and WiFI

Wifi– Short distances, limited indoor coverage, ubiquitous device support

WiMAX– Long(er) distances, supports roaming, needs specialised devices

MLL delivered the first successful WiMAX network in the UK – Maidstone Council, Kent– WiMAX radio network– Wireless Backhaul– Roaming– Planning, site acquisition and 24x7 proactive management

Applications included– Mobile broadband video to blue light services– CCTV backhaul– Mobile broadband for council planning officers– Residential broadband reach

Wireless Links

Line of sight requiredLicensed or light-licensed spectrum

– assures interference-free linksPoint-to Point or Point-to-MultipointEthernet or SDHProactively managed service with SLA

Distance

5 ye

ar c

ost

Fixed Line

Wireless

Variable excess construction charges

Variable site acquisition charges

Ethernet First Mile (EFM or G.SHDSL) technology

2-40Mbit/s available across BT Openreach copper pairsThis is not the same as residential ADSL

– Symmetric– Uncontended

Viable up to 3km from an exchange– reaches 85% of public sector locations– Up to 8 pairs increases speed– Shorter distances increase speed

Caveats – BT can’t guarantee performance of copper pairs

old copperother services share cablescopper pairs unavailable for survey prior to quote

Ideal solution for schools, GP surgeries and smaller council offices

SOCITM Stand Demonstration

8 Copper pairs

EFM DSLAM

EFM NTE

40Mbit/s Ethernet

40Mbit/s Ethernet

Multiple real-time DVD streams

□►■

□►■□►■

Fibre Services

Point-to-point leased lines

Premise-to-premise

SDH or Ethernet

BT Openreach fibre services– Exchange-to-premise

– Exchange-to-exchange

– Much lower cost

– 10Mbit/s -1Gbit/s

Your Locations

Your Network in BT Exchanges

BT EBD

BT E

BD

Private Local Loop Unbundling – using the UK’s infrastructure for your network

EFM DSLAM

BT EAD

Switch

x-Pair Copper

BT EAD

Switch

BT EAD

BT EAD

BT EAD

10Mbit/s – 1GBit/s

NTE2-Pair Copper

4-Pair Copper

8-Pair Copper

EFM DSLAM

CPE2Mbit/s – 10MBit/s1Gbit/s – 10GBit/s

Typical County Level Example – using all the components700 end-user locations

1,500 pieces of networking hardware

1,900 circuits

IP/MPLS Core Router Network

BT GE (EBD) Core Circuits

BT GE (EAD) Backhaul Circuits

BT FE (EAD) Backhaul Circuits

BT EFM Copper Pair (G.SHDSL) Circuits

DSLAMs

DSLAM NTEs

CPE Routers

Core sitesAggregation sitesCustomer locations

Example of Redundant Core Topology

(place names hidden for commercial confidence)

Example of access topology

(place names hidden for commercial confidence)

Performance Expectations – telco grade for a private network

Actual results based on best practice design and equipmentNumber of closed user groups supported

– 1,000 different private communitiesRe-convergence when re-routing around end-to-end failure

– <4 secondsRe-convergence when re-routing around core failure

– 500 millisecondsLatency end-to-end

– 600 μsecs (0.6 milliseconds)EncryptionMultiple traffic queuesRedundant power supplies on all shared equipmentShared equipment housed in locked cabinets in secure BT exchanges

How to make it happen?

Practical considerations

Organisational considerations

Who should be on the governance body?

Who will encourage other local partners onto the network?

Don’t forget CCTV, rural broadband and healthcare as stakeholders

Who assures different stakeholders their fair share of usage and security?

How is the initial seed network funded?

How to get the greatest benefit with the least risk

Share as much as possible– density of sites drives down the operator’s costs

Use the UK’s existing infrastructure– work with a licensed operator or one of their partners to get

access to existing BT copper and fibre– Take advantage of other operators’ fibre where it is available

Get a bespoke network at a bespoke price– generic tariffs don’t allow you to benefit from your own economy

of scale

Dual-running costs are inevitable– a turnkey solution will minimise risk of projects over-running

Use a sector specialist– They won’t try and solve your public sector problem with a generic

solution

Thank you