Automating an Internet Provider’s Back Office
A fast-growing wireless internet provider in the UK offered business connections as an alternative to the national phone network. Our engineer joined to build its core systems and later led its Linux team.
The challenge
Every new customer meant hand-configured routers, IP addresses tracked in spreadsheets, authentication set up by hand, and paperwork created and emailed manually. A new mobile data service was about to add SIM cards, usage limits and monthly billing to the pile.
What we did
- A network operations system: Software that managed network devices, allocated IP addresses, controlled customer authentication, populated monitoring and generated each customer’s router configuration
- Paperwork automated: Customer documents generated as PDFs and emailed automatically
- A self-running mobile service: SIM barcode scanning, activation, data limits with automatic warnings and disconnection, usage graphs and fully automated billing
- Joined up: Integration with Google, Salesforce and the SIM provider’s systems
- Smarter licensing: Software that calculated radio link efficiency from over 50 parameters
The result
- Over $2 million a year saved: The radio calculations cut spectrum licensing costs dramatically
- Zero-touch deployment: New customer equipment was configured automatically
- A service that ran itself: Staff only had to scan and post SIM cards; everything else was automatic
- One system: Rack space, peering, contracts, stock, fault notices and health and safety reporting managed in one place
Services involved
Got work your team does by hand that a system should be doing? Call 04 282 0045 or send us a message.