OpNet, the result of a strategic spin-off by Linkem's Retail division and its subsequent merger with Tiscali, has emerged as a comprehensive provider in Italy, offering an integrated suite of advanced connectivity services catering to various market segments, including consumer, SOHO, business, enterprise and verticals markets.
Transitioning toward a wholesale business model, OpNet has leveraged its expertise by deploying 5G radio spectrum for fixed wireless networks, facilitating the expansion of private networks and the deployment of specialized vertical applications across diverse sectors such as industrial logistics management, industrial security and the development of smart cities.
However, this transition to a 5G wholesale model (coupled with the unprecedented surge in online video content consumption driven by the pandemic) placed considerable strain on OpNet's fixed wireless network infrastructure, posing a notable challenge that demands effective solutions to maintain service quality and meet the increasing demands of a digitally connected society.
Reaching over 70% of the Italian population through its well-established infrastructure, OpNet needed to address the need for traffic analysis and network optimization. Therefore, OpNet enlisted Sandvine and its ActiveLogic solution to provide traffic classification and QoE analyses.
Sandvine's ActiveLogic represents a pivotal solution for service providers, offering a streamlined and scalable data plane. This comprehensive platform equips service providers with the essential elements required to effectively address the ever-changing internet phenomena.
Designed to seamlessly support hyperscale requirements, ActiveLogic ensures a smooth transition to the cloud for service providers, regardless of their current stage in this journey. The platform optimizes performance while keeping total cost of ownership in check, ensuring a balanced approach to network evolution.
One of the standout features is the ANI Classification Engine, which employs machine learning techniques to counter the increasing encryption of internet traffic, thereby providing service providers with application visibility, essential for quality of experience management and scoring.
By implementing ActiveLogic, service providers like OpNet enhance the efficiency of network resource management, paving the way for profitable handling of the forthcoming internet wave, often referred to as OTT 2.0. This advanced platform brings forth a suite of analytics-driven automation use cases, effectively positioning service providers to address the diverse challenges of this new era.
The access-agnostic nature of ActiveLogic offers consistency and flexibility across various access types, supporting multi-access deployments encompassing mobile, fixed, cable and satellite technologies.
"By providing more visibility into complex network traffic, we help provide a better understanding of how customers are benefiting from the increased speed and capacity of 5G," said Sandvine Chief Solutions Officer Samir Marwaha. "This insight can help drive automation, improve customer satisfaction, and it can eventually help OpNet deliver SLA-driven B2B services built around guarantees for uplink and downlink services."
Because of Sandvine, OpNet was able to relieve on-site congestion and improve customer satisfaction, without any change to KPIs. The number of calls that come into OpNet’s contact center about buffering of video or other QoE issues has diminished.
“The results prove we made the right choice as we orient ourselves to the wholesale market, where we will be a point of reference for multiple stakeholders that will want easy access to increasingly complex connectivity solutions that will close the digital divide and advance services that will help Italy fuel its economy," said OpNet Chief Technology Officer Cosimo Buccella.
Edited by
Alex Passett
