Posted: 08th Sep, 2011 By: MarkJ

Netadmin Systems, one of the key partners in a new UK network initiative that aims to bring commercially viable "
fast" broadband to UK rural areas and extend ISP market reach, has today revealed more details about the project and its partnership with Fluidata and Magdalene.
The project is described as a
Service Exchange Platform (SEP) that effectively
aggregates open access wholesale networks for broadband ISPs. ISPreview.co.uk revealed more details about the service and how it would work last month (
here).
Netadmin CEO, Matthias Trygg, explained:
"Rural broadband is being held back by the fact that ISPs currently have to create a unique integration separately to each access network and respective support system. This results in large operational expenses and potentially low quality service fulfilment and assurance processes. In many cases this precludes commercial viability.
The Service Exchange Platform provides a single interface so that services and subscribers in multiple external access networks can be managed simply and effectively. This will enable efficient service delivery even in smaller local networks, providing services to not-spots, and increasing market reach for service providers.
By combining the real world experience of Magdalene in building last mile networks with an integrated v OSS/BSS stack and Fluidata’s wholesale platform we have a compelling case to work with any provider or network to deliver access to multiple ISPs. By delivering choice to consumers we are ensuring competition at the service layer which helps to drive innovation in high speed service availability."
In theory the new platform, which is expected to see its
first deployment later this September, could resolve the country's niche rural patchwork of often isolated services. Broadband providers would be able to interconnect into the platform and then deliver access to any of the potentially hundreds of disparate networks across the country.
So far the platform has already managed to gain support from over 40 ISPs, including several major operators (e.g. BT and O2 / Be Broadband UK) and more are expected to follow. At this stage there's still much we don't know, such as how the service will be priced and what impact it will have upon situations where an ISP is both the provider and infrastructure developer (i.e. conflicting interests).