FROM THE INDUSTRY
Passive components can often be deployed relatively quickly, provided they meet the required specifications. Active technologies, by contrast, are deeply embedded in network operations. They require testing, validation and long-term planning. That means longer engagement cycles, but also deeper relationships with customers. It’s not just about supplying a product — it’s about becoming a trusted advisor. Does that mean investing in manufacturing in areas where you don’t currently? There is a lot to consider, a lot of products, territories, market forces to think about. Distributing products and manufacturing our own – across the board – is not that straightforward. With all the supply chain issues and an uncertain geopolitical landscape, there is risk attached as well. It’s a massive risk. There are a lot of unknown unknowns, as well as the known unknowns. What will happen? Is it the right thing? What happens if we develop it and they don’t buy it?
Is core-to-edge a strategy that has been imported from the US? Yes, Netceed US has been working with actives for years; this is where a lot of the actives have been made and a lot of the research has been done in Silicon Valley. The time is now right for Netceed to offer core-to-edge in Europe. We feel well positioned now to maintain that knowledge and be a trusted adviser, to tell our customers there’s opportunities for you, such as security, network optimisation. The US has been doing this for several years. What’s the take up there now? Actives is a bit of a different life or a sales cycle. It takes a lot longer to get it into a network. So, where a passive is something you can put in there, it won’t make a big difference as long as it works. A piece of fibre is a piece of fibre, as long as it’s the right fibre. It’s a bit like the difference between a Nokia or an iPhone; there’s a big difference in the user experience and the user interface. This is the same with actives, which is constantly evolving, so we need to make sure we’ve got everything where it needs to be as and when. We need to demonstrate that Netceed is more than just a distributor. We can do a lot more.
Let’s hope that doesn’t happen! Tell me how you are managing this core-to-edge expansion into Europe. It’s a massive job. Luckily, we’ve got the support from the US. My counterpart in the US is Lisa Smiley; she and I work closely together to try and get the same things working, to get the same understanding, do the same training, make sure everybody knows what things are. Has it been a leap for you, personally? Definitely. You need to be thinking about how the core network works, how you’re looking at climbing from a cloud, how you’re making sure that interacts with a whole new network, how the root end runs, how BGP starts running, IP, MPLS. There are multiple considerations, the cyber side, ensuring the right traffic gets in, stopping distributed denial of service, DDoS attacks, and that is just the first layer. Will Netceed be building a NOC in Europe as well as in the US?
There is a NOC in the US and we’re thinking about how we make the NOC
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MAY 2026 Volume 48 No.2
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