The Barco video wall tells our customers that we have everything under control, no matter what happens.
FibreConnect keeps Italy’s UBB network health in check with Barco video wall
Rome, IT - 2023
Italian technology company FibreConnect has made it its mission to build a nation-wide Ultra-Broadband network to connect the country’s underserved business parks and industrial areas. To monitor the health and performance of its newly built networks – in particular a new network backbone between Rome and Milan – the company has recently set up a new Network Operations Center (NOC) in Rome, equipped with the latest control room technology from Barco.
Many Italian businesses located in industrial and artisanal areas still rely on copper networks for communication. However, the performance of these types of networks is largely inferior to the Ultra-Broadband (UBB) networks that are available in urban centers. FibreConnect wants to bridge that digital divide. The company is now building a high-performance, redundant fiber-optic network, and offers this infrastructure to local telecom operators.
In November 2022, FibreConnect reached an important milestone with the activation of the Milan – Rome network route, with a capacity of 600 Gbit/s. The company expects this new backbone will significantly contribute to the development of the local Italian economy. The new NOC in Rome has been set up specifically to monitor the performance of this network backbone 24/7.
Monitoring the UBB network
The centerpiece of the NOC in Rome is a 3x2 Barco LCD video wall, on which operators continuously monitor important parameters of the Ultra-Broadband network. The video wall is driven by a Barco NSD series video wall controller, allowing operators to capture networked sources from anywhere and display them on the video wall. The staff also uses Barco's TransForm N CMS control room management software for easy video wall management and collaboration.
“The Barco video wall is crucial in our NOC operations,” says Diego Novelli, control room manager at FibreConnect. “By monitoring the network 24/7 and taking the necessary actions based on the presented information, we can earn the trust of our customers. Without a reliable video wall, that would be impossible.”
Flexible content sharing and collaboration
The control room has six operator seats, of which at least two are continuously occupied. The operators are monitoring a variety of sources on the video wall. Of course, there is a network map that shows an overview of the network traffic. Another application shows the company’s yearly KPIs. But the staff can also zoom in on important parameters of single Points of Presence (PoP), including temperature and backup battery status.
Whenever an incident or power outage should occur, operators can send their personal workstation view to the video wall, so they can share it with the entire team to solve the problem. This is easily done with the Barco TransForm N CMS software. CMS users can also compile useful scenarios, applications and sources that logically belong to each other, and that they can easily call into their screen and share on the video wall. FibreConnect operators have scenarios for daily management, but also for times when visitors need to be impressed with the wall content.
Video wall instills trust
“There is unmistakable marketing value in the Barco video wall as well,” says Diego Novelli. “When we invite visitors or customers to our control center, there is an immediate wow effect. The video wall tells them that we have everything under control, no matter what happens.”
FibreConnect’s control room manager couldn’t be happier with the Barco technology. Diego Novelli: “The video wall’s uniform colors give operators a comfortable, ergonomic view. For our company, the Barco technology offered the perfect balance between user comfort, image quality and budget. On top of that, the support from the Barco service team has been very instrumental in helping us get onboard fast with the new technology.”
Talk to us
Don't hesitate to contact us with your questions. Our team will gladly point you in the right direction.
