For internet network and service providers, knowing where internet networks expand is a never-ending quest of acquiring, collating and mapping the latest datasets. Yet it is vital to stay ahead of the competition and win new clients.
Expanding networks beyond cities
Up to now, big cities were the main focus for network expansions. But network providers are increasingly looking to expand their networks to city outskirts and more remote or rural areas. This is in part because of more complete coverage in cities, and because of the Covid-19 pandemic that saw more people working from their homes.
Benefits of up-to-date data
Understanding where the most recent network expansions and changes occur has many benefits.
Know where to next: Being able to visualise a network’s status and expansion on a map can help network providers identify new areas of opportunity. It can also aid their planning, such as logistics. This can be very useful in small and rural towns where network providers and operators might not be familiar with the lay of the land.
Target new regions, be there first: Internet service providers (ISPs) face steep competition to be the first to win clients in regions with new networks. Early sign-on is crucial for ISPs, as customers of internet services have a long lifetime value with many upselling opportunities.
Establish client expectations to win sales: Network coverage, and the status of new networks (such as whether they are still in planning or in progress), influence an ISP’s offering and pre-order offering. The right offer at the right time, with a client knowing when to expect the service, means fewer missed sales.
Integrated and accurate data matters
28East, as a Google Cloud Partner specialising in Google Location Based Services, has spent a decade refining its network coverage solutions and workflows. Its Feasibility Tool, for example, integrates hundreds of coverage datasets at weekly update intervals, showing on a map live networks, networks in progress, and those being planned.
Each update, well-documented and consistent, undergoes a long list of quality checks and evaluations of spatial features, including visual and manual checks.
And so, the never-ending quest to stay up-to-date with network changes becomes a high-quality and consistent API service that plugs into a company’s workflow to become a key factor for success.
If you'd like to hear more about our map solutions for Internet Service Providers, click here or get in touch at info@28east.co.za