In Belgium we are busy building and rolling out fibre optic networks, but their management and maintenance (M&M) will also be crucial in the future. Peter Colman, Operations Director at Circet, explains why these new projects are vital for our organisation.
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Peter, what exactly does this project involve?
“At the end of last year, Eurofiber asked us to provide preventive and corrective maintenance for all their PoPs and street cabinets in Belgium. In concrete terms, our job is to fix technical defects, replace broken doors, remove graffiti, etc. at 99 locations throughout the country. In other words, keep the PoPs and street cabinets spick and span internally and externally.”
Management and maintenance, is that something we’ve been doing for a long time?
“In Belgium, the M&M division was launched in late 2020. We then won our first contract for the maintenance of Fiberklaar’s PoPs. This also included inspections and monitoring: if a technical problem occurs in a PoP, we receive an alarm and someone is dispatched to remedy it.”
“If we do our job well, such contracts are sometimes expanded with additional tasks. For example, we are now also carrying out additional quality checks for Fiberklaar: Are the ducts running properly? Is the street pavement in good condition? ... each time based on predefined criteria. In addition, we are already troubleshooting the WYRE fibre optic network.”
Why are M&M projects like these vital for Circet?
“The focus in Belgium today is still mainly on the roll-out of fibre optic networks. But that’s the rather short-term view. Once those networks are in place, we have to use our knowledge and skills in other ways. As our CEO Bavo De Cock sometimes says: ‘Management and maintenance is Circet’s bread & butter’. This business division is our future.”
“Management and maintenance is Circet’s bread & butter” - Operations Director Peter Colman
What are the biggest challenges for M&M?
“Undoubtedly finding the right people. We have a lot of knowledge and experience among our colleagues, but the demand for M&M is growing exponentially. You need the right profiles to handle all these projects. It is a sector that covers a lot: measuring, welding, blowing... We need colleagues who are skilled in all those techniques. We will recruit or train these versatile profiles internally.”
How do you see M&M developing further within Circet?
“Ideally, we should add a new contract every year, but the quality of our work should of course not jeopardise our speed. We play a pioneering role: keeping up with demand is the biggest challenge, but I am already very satisfied with the progress of this department. We are building a solid reputation and happy customers are promoting us. That gives me hope for the future.”