Research & Innovation

Esri Ireland, the market leader in Geographic Information Systems (GIS), has implemented a new digital mapping system for telecom network service provider, KN Circet. The solution has led to a 20% reduction in the time taken for KN Circet engineers to complete network works, helping to speed up fibre broadband rollout nationwide.

KN Circet is opening a Design and Innovation Hub in Letterkenny, County Donegal, housing a dedicated team using Esri’s ArcGIS platform to co-ordinate projects across Ireland and the UK. The company is aiming to create 50 new jobs which will be based in the hub in the coming year.

KN Group recently merged with French company Circet and, as KN Circet, is now one of the largest telecoms contractors in Europe. The company is involved in a number of broadband projects across Ireland, including the National Broadband Plan, which will deliver fibre-to-the-building broadband to connect over half a million Irish homes and businesses with speeds of up to one gigabyte per second.

KN Circet is rolling out Esri’s digital mapping technology across the organisation, to help manage and digitise the services it provides customers – including surveying, designing, building and maintaining new broadband networks. The technology is transforming KN Circet’s business, moving the company away from paper-based processes to a single digital platform.

Field-based teams can now use smartphones and tablets to log data on-site, with this information immediately available to view and act upon in KN Circet’s Design and Innovation Hub. The application enables engineers to record each element of infrastructure upgrades and works with a high level of accuracy. KN Circet’s customers can also receive real-time progress reports, through a view-only mode on the app.

This improved availability eliminates the costs associated with unnecessary administration tasks, such as the reduplication of data, and allows staff to make better informed and faster decisions. Safety is also greatly enhanced, as potential hazards encountered in the field can be flagged through the app. For example, teams can use the multiple network layers on the app to view the location of electrical power lines before beginning any excavations.

Greg Mullen (pictured right), Head of Planning and Design, KN Circet, said: “The entire KN Circet team has been blown away by the functionality and benefits of Esri’s digital mapping technology. It allows us to monitor the performance of contractors and KN Circet teams more accurately and has moved us beyond slow-paper based processes in the design department; increasing productivity and saving costs on needless administration.

“The Esri Ireland team has been fantastic to work with throughout the implementation and are always on-hand to assist with any issues or questions. The technology is applicable to virtually all of our activities, such as our work on transport and electrical networks, and we will implement the technology across the entire organisation over time. The ArcGIS platform is making a real change to the way we do our job.”

Dermot O’Kane (pictured left), Head of Sales, Esri Ireland, commented: “KN Circet is a highly successful and growing company working on major projects across Ireland, the UK and internationally. The demand for fibre rollout is huge and we are very excited to see the continued impact our applications will make on the efficiency of these projects’ delivery. We are delighted that KN Circet is already seeing a significant return on its investment in technology and huge time savings in the completion of broadband rollouts. This ultimately means that many more homes and businesses in Ireland will get to enjoy high-performing and stable broadband sooner rather than later.”