Hammarby Sjöstad - a neighbourhood with next generation broadband services

In Hammarby Sjöstad, an old harbour- and industrial area is being transformed into a modern neighbourhood with apartments, businesses, schools, services and shops. One of the visions for this construction project, is to always strive to use future-proof materials and technology. In accordance with this vision, the communications operator ViaEuropa is building a truly operator-independent broadband network, that offers the inhabitants and businesses of the neighbourhood a choice of attractive services over the same infrastructure. The access solution is built on products from the Swedish IP networking company PacketFront. With PacketFront's solution, the network is made profitable and manageable for both network owners and service providers. In addition, it is flexible and will meet to meet the demands of future services.

Hammarby Sjöstad

Sweden's largest new district construction project
Hammarby Sjöstad is Stockholm's currently largest city construction project. The project includes 8 000 apartments, business parks, shops, banks, post office, schools, pharmacy, health care etc. By 2010, when the neighbourhood will be completed, 30 000 people will live and work here. So far, 1400 apartments are finished. There are 9 construction companies involved in the project, including Familjebostäder, HSB, JM, NCC, Peab, SBC, Seniorgården, Skanska and Svenska Bostäder.

A broadband network with revenues and freedom of choice
One of the greatest focuses of this construction project has been to build a neighbourhood that will function - both today and tomorrow. IT and communications in Hammarby Sjöstad consist of mature and realistic ideas of how to deploy a concept that gives real estate owners, landlords, network owners and service providers real opportunities for revenues, while at the same time giving the end users a wide variety of services and freedom of choice. One of the visions has been to use future-proof materials and technologies for all aspects and areas of the neighbourhood. With this vision in mind, a broadband network connecting all apartments and buildings in the area is currently being built. The inhabitants will have the ability to order services from a mixed table of services, provided by multiple service providers with access to the 100Mbps digital broadband network.

Communication Operator - VIAEUROPA

A new generation communication operator
ViaEuropa Network was chosen as communication operator for the broadband network in Hammarby Sjöstad. ViaEuropa was founded in 1999, as one of the first independent communication operators in the world. Its objective is to be a partner of network- and real estate owners, and to assist them with operations of their networks and to supply services for end-users from competing service providers.

As communication operator for Hammarby Sjöstad, ViaEuropa is responsible for securing a future-proof network and a full selection of attractive services. In this first stage, the inhabitants and business are offered Internet, IP telephony and TV over the broadband network, and shortly more services will be added. "ViaEuropa is a good example of the new generation communication operators", says Martin Thunman, CEO of PacketFront. "With a limited staff and investment is it possible for ViaEuropa to offer a full set of broadband services for the business and residential customers to choose from. The service providers compete for the customers on product quality, customer service, marketing and price. Maybe for the first time in history, the vision of truly open competition for all services is a reality."

The business model creates a win-win situation
In ViaEuropa's business model, all the parties of the value chain are able to focus on their own specialties. Construction companies own the networks and invest in the network infrastructure, consisting of PacketFront's products and fibre all the way to the apartments. The network owners hand over the responsibility for support, operation and maintenance of the network to ViaEuropa. Service providers invest in services and features, which they offer to the end-users. The business is financed by the end-users. However, they will do so only if they get the freedom to choose services from several competing service providers, without being tied to monopolising contracts. "By using PacketFront's solution, we are able to provide a broadband network that is truly operator-independent and offers multiple services by numerous service providers," says Fredrik Almquist, CEO of ViaEuropa.

One of the consequences of this business model is the possibility to minimise operating expenses. Traditionally, the different services would run on different networks - one telecom, one datacom and one cable TV network installation. Three separate networks require daily operations & maintenance, most likely with different support organizations. With PacketFront's Intelligent Broadband Solution, the service providers are able to offers these services in Hammarby Sjöstad, over a single physical network. "Multiple services, provided by numerous services providers, is absolutely crucial for creating a network where the business case for everyone involved is realised. In short, the cooperation between our services and Packet Front's products helps our customers make the broadband network become profitable", continues Fredrik Almquist.

Service Providers - Offering wide selection of services

A network dimensioned for multiple services
Hammarby Sjöstad is one of the first neighbourhoods in the world to offer tenants Internet access, telephony and television - offered by several competing service providers - over one and the same network. Internet services are currently offered by Telenordia and Tiscali - supplying 10Mbps for vanilla Internet access. The available capacity is at least 100Mbps per connection, enabling endless possibilities for e.g. any type of services and customers. Telephony over broadband is today quite common, leading to that quality no longer is an issue. In Hammarby, IP telephony is currently offered by IP Only and Digisip. TV is currently offered by Telenor only, but shortly new service providers will join the Hammarby Sjöstad broadband network.

Technical platform - provided by PacketFront

A purpose-built solution
In the initial stages of the network implementation, a traditional Layer 2 solution was used. However, numerous problems were discovered, such as limitations in number of equipment allowed per ring, no possibilities for conditional multi-cast, security issues etc. After demonstrations of PacketFront's purpose-built Layer 3 solution, ViaEuropa decided to replace the initial access products by PacketFront's solution. "ViaEuropa is delighted to be working with PacketFront as no other vendor on the market offers a solution that meets our demands," said Fredrik Swartz, COO of ViaEuropa Networks. "We chose PacketFront for three reasons. Firstly, its equipment is purpose-built for installation in all types of properties and the available fibre interface greatly reduces the capital cost for our network. Secondly, PacketFront's BECS system enables single-point, central control of the network. This - in combination with our own system - results in a considerable operational cost advantage. Finally, and most importantly, PacketFront's equipment supports the handling of multiple operators per customer. This, in conjunction with a host of other IP based features, greatly increases the potential service revenues per customer."

"PacketFront's solution gives ViaEuropa the ability to seamlessly partition the network infrastructure while centrally managing the billing and distribution of services from multiple operators," continues Thunman. "ViaEuropa is one of the first European communications providers to embrace this business model and realise that it is essential for business and consumers to be able to choose between competitive broadband services whilst remaining connected to a single physical network."

A technical solution with endless possibilities
The network in Hammarby Sjöstad consists of gigabit rings, connected to the metro network by PacketFront ASR 4000 broadband routers. Every apartment has its dedicated port on the router. Every apartment is connected with a 100 Mbps fibre or copper Ethernet connection. The ASR 4000 connects the metro network to the Hammarby Sjöstad network. There is also a PacketFront CPS 200 multi-service switch located in each apartment, which recognizes and separates telephony, data and multi-media traffic and guarantees the specified Quality of Service for the specific service. Depending on the service selection, there will be additional active equipment, such as set-top boxes for TV.

ViaEuropa manages the network centrally through the PacketFront control- and provisioning system BECS™. The fact that the network is based on Layer 3 in the OSI-model, enables functions for control and security - all the way down to the end-users. BECS™ also enables an operator-independent environment with multiple service providers per service, something that was a prerequisite for Hammarby Sjöstad.

Automation ensures low costs and easy management
PacketFront's solution includes automated configuration of network elements. The BECS™ system stores all configurations and manages all configuration changes in the network. Multiple services, combined with many subscribers, usually require a large staff. This is not the case in Hammarby Sjöstad, since the BECS™ system manages multiple services.

PacketFront's system furthermore supports mass deployment automation. The person who installs the broadband routers in the basements of the buildings does not need to be a trained network technician. All that is needed is to connect the fibre, power it up, and the router will be automatically configured. The same applies in the case of exchanging a failed unit. Similarly, although no configuration is needed, the multi-service switches - placed inside the apartments - deliver QoS, multicast support and management functionality.

Quick access to services
Self-registration of services and automated provisioning are also included in the system. This means that a customer is able to subscribe to services - and get immediate access to these services - without manual interaction.

With PacketFront's Intelligent Broadband Solution, ViaEuorpas network management and the offered services, Hammarby Sjöstad is the first truly future proof and flexible operator-independent network in Sweden.