A distance of 160 kilometers of fibre optic cable has been laid by Eurofiber since I interviewed the group director of the company exactly one month ago. This impressive statistic is why the Dutch-based open digital network provider is leading the way in helping European cities stay connected.
The pace of deployment is staggering and started back in 2000 when Eurofiber laid their first 500km stretch of fibre network to connect the four major Dutch cities of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, and Utrecht. Today, they have laid more than 38,000km of fibre - laying 40kms each week - have 10 data centres and a digital footprint that covers the Netherlands, Belgium, France and a new branch in Germany.
There was a time when a river was the lifeblood of a city for its trade and commerce, but as the pandemic has shown, the future of remote working for millions of people now relies on being connected to a digital world - as does the future safety and security of a city.
Eurofiber is literally laying a lifeline for the digital society of so-called ‘smart cities’. The network is already being used to control 75 per cent of the movable locks and bridges along Amsterdam’s famous canals. “Vital infrastructure” is how the Dutch government designates the company’s open digital network which means different providers, from hospitals to FinTech, companies, governments and non-profit organisations can install and operate their services in an efficient way.
“Utilising our own fibre optic network and data centres, we provide smart, open, future-proof cloud infrastructure and connectivity solutions to companies, government bodies and non-profit organisations,” said Daniel Danon, Group Director Products & Solutions.
“Customers have complete freedom to choose the services, applications and providers they need, allowing them to tap into the full potential of digital innovation,” said former French engineer Daniel Danon, who joined Eurofiber in April 2020 at the height of the pandemic.
Speaking from Utrecht, Danon said the DNA of the company is an “open fibre network to enable others” pointing out he is proud to lead an organisation - rich with a strong ecosystem of partners from Netways Europe to Infradata - and has the aim of helping others at its heart.
Open fibre network
Eurofibers’s open digital infrastructure, which they own and operate, is designed to independently support a wide spectrum of industries and innovations. The companies Dataplace, FullSave and Eura DC operate their 10 data centres in the Netherlands and France.
“We were lucky enough in 2000 to have the vision of how fibre was going to be a key part of the future and it has become the most future-proof, dynamic, element of our digital world. We have been able to create an infrastructure that is cost effective, which is very important to us as we want to enable other people’s businesses in a financial and technical way,” said Danon.
“As a company we have a digital all the way approach, we're fast growing so everything has to be scalable and that means being digitised. So we know how important it is to be digital, to have our processes and our systems, at the disposal of our 550 employees and of our partners, wherever they are.
“Going digital for our customers can also be counterproductive if you don’t keep it personal.
Whenever we're thinking about digitisation, it's very important for both our customers and for colleagues, that we go digital - but we always keep it personal.”
Hybrid cloud management
The Eurofiber Group consists of: Eurofiber, DCspine and MatrixMind (in the Netherlands and Belgium), Dataplace (Netherlands), FullSave, Lumos, Eurafibre, ATE and Eura DC (France) and provide the following services:
- Ethernet
- Secure cloud connect
- Business Internet
- WDM
- SD-WDM
- Managed dark fibre
- Data centre services
“We also provide services to secure cloud connect that allows you to have a direct connection into a player such as Amazon, Microsoft Azure or Google cloud, and not have to go through the internet remaining on an ethernet layer which means it is very close to the customer,” said Danon.
“What I think customers really need from us is overall hybrid cloud management. It's not just about connecting one office building to another. We are connecting our customers and partners to their data, wherever it is, and helping them manage that data flow, in their own premises, in the data centres that are close to them, as well as into the public cloud.”
Competitive advantage
Danon cites that having an open network model allows them to be “different and powerful” giving Eurofiber the competitive advantage.
“From the start we were an open network, and it really is part of the DNA of the organisation that Eurofiber was built to be the fibre for everyone. We've brought that into the larger digital infrastructure, including colocation and connecting data centres, which is unique and powerful.
“Our open network is different and powerful as it allows us to invest once, for many. It allows us to deliver ultra low latency and because we have a mesh network the routing is much more dynamic and direct,” said Danon who also pointed out having a presence across Europe was also important.
“In addition, when you're thinking about data, it's also about colocation and connecting to the cloud. Managing and controlling all aspects of this hybrid cloud also puts us in a competitive position. That means that we really are the partner of choice in terms of digital infrastructure.
“We are continuing the vision of a dynamic digital world first envisioned by Eurofiber when the company started more than 20 years ago.”
Partners - Infradata and Netways Europe
Danon outlined the importance of being an open network which enables Eurofiber to work with an ecosystem of partners which include Netways Europe and Infradata.
“It’s not just about how we enable our partners, but also how partners enable us. Netways is our key partner for logistics, they grew with us, and always go one step beyond.
“We have worked with Netways for many years and they have always taken care of written processes which is very important. They’re always trying to improve our partnership, which is very important by thinking ahead and [they] have always helped us to go a step beyond.
“In these crazy times where, for example, the chip market went haywire and Netways helped us adjust our stock management. They are a key part of our logistics and together we can continue to keep our standards very high for our customers, even in these extraordinary times.”
Commenting on Eurofiber and Infradata, Danon said this was one of their core partnerships. “Infradata is not just a partner, they really are our system integrator,” he says. “Our network is largely based on equipment they manage with us and that equipment is an integral part of all of the service level agreements – our promise to customers. They have been supporting us and taking care of the ethernet and internet network.”
Healthcare and FinTech
Danon said Eurofiber will continue to be agile to their customers by making sure they are available and adapt to their needs. “We’re constantly monitoring developments in industries like healthcare and FinTech and we build scenarios on that to make sure our network will continue to be the infrastructure they need. This also includes security encryption, reach and latency and bandwidth.”
“It’s also about our colocation infrastructure being more than just real estate but being part of how customers connect to the cloud, and that cloud is, in itself, a very agile and dynamic place to work in. We've already recognised how we can build an infrastructure – an orchestration capability – to combine everything we've got. It’s not always about the invention of something new. It's also about combining what we have with the expertise of our partners.”
Danon said he was looking forward to focusing on their new venture in Berlin. “Extending our fibre networks and data centres across Western Europe is part of the future plans but we are also committed to focusing on the growth here in the Netherlands. Belgium and France still have a lot of fibre and cloud connectivity opportunities and we are focusing on our joint venture in Germany,” he said
QUICK FIRE QUESTIONS:
In the hot seat with, Daniel Danon, Group Director Products & Solutions
What technology do you predict will be used by data centres in the future?
Data centers will bring data closer to the consumers and businesses. It will not just be about cloud but edge and ultra low latency. At the end of the day it's making sure data is very close to customers. This will impact things such as Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality, 5G, 6G as we move into the future.”
What plans do you have for the future?
“To be the best open infrastructure for the digital world. We want to enable our customers to grow and innovate without any digital limitations, and thus empower the digital society.”
What is the next smart city you will be working on?
“We are not focusing on one city. We've got a very dense mesh network across our territories and on a daily basis we are connecting more elements within a city than ever before. We are working with cities across all of our footprint in The Netherlands, Belgium and France.”
“Our work in Berlin with Vattenfall is an amazing asset for the community to have in the ground and will benefit households and businesses as well as the city's optimisation management.
Eurofiber - seven steps to a fast, secure and cost effective service
- Ethernet - connect sites securely and flexibly over a custom private network with Ethernet VPN
- Secure cloud connect - offers a safe, direct access to multiple cloud platforms
- Business Internet - offer employees fast and secure internet access with business internet
- WDM - benefit from high bandwidths with WDM and don't worry about management.
- SD-WDM - software replaces manual management
- Managed dark fibre - control the bandwidth of your dark fiber and grow as needed
- Data centre services - data and applications optimally and securely available in a Tier3 data centre
- Connectivity - the foundation of a smart city
How Eurofiber is connecting cities
Amsterdam
Eurofiber has a unique partnership with Amsterdam Smart City (ASC) who work with companies, governments, knowledge institutions and the people of Amsterdam with the aim of developing the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area as a smart city.
As the Dutch government has recognised, for a city to become connected it needs an open digital network so different providers can install and operate their services in an efficient way.
Eurofiber’s fiber optic infrastructure in the capital is very dense. The fine-meshed network coverage across the Dutch capital is laying the foundation for smart city applications so that sensors, intelligent systems, Internet of Things applications and big data analyses can be used efficiently.
Amsterdam has the most inhabitants of a Dutch municipality: 859,732 in an area of 219 km² - a quarter of which is water. Eurofiber’s coverage extends to hospitals, schools, metro services, energy stations and the famous canals with some 50 bridges and locks connected via the Eurofiber network, as well as 200 bus shelters and dozens of security cameras in the public space. With an average network distance of 400 meters to the backbone, 96 per cent of the locations in the Amsterdam region are within their network coverage.
Rotterdam
Eurofiber started in 2018 with the construction of a large-scale, fine-mesh fibre optic network between all locations of the Municipality of Rotterdam. With this project, all existing fibre optic networks of the Municipality of Rotterdam are optimised and linked to the Eurofiber network, creating a single high-quality fibre optic network for the municipality.
“We've helped them connect everything from bridges to cameras and the electricity network. When we talk about a smart city, it means that everything in that city will benefit from being connected with fibre and opening up opportunities for the people living there,” said Danon.
“It is a key enabler which will allow the city to live its full digital potential and deliver its citizens more ecological and effective connectivity. We also have to think of future-proofing a smart city and prepare it for a future of 5G and edge computing.
Berlin
Eurofiber has just appointed Christoph Klein as Managing Director Germany to lead the expansion in Germany as part of its European growth strategy. Eurofiber entered the German market with a joint venture with Vattenfall, which is established to connect more than 500,000 households and businesses in Berlin.
