Open Access vs Closed Access Fiber Networks: What Operators Need to Know
Explores open access versus closed access fiber models, covering subscriber ownership, multi-ISP network sharing, and provisioning impacts.
AEX NETWORK SERVICES
Building a network and running a network are two different jobs. We do both.
A national backbone, Internet Exchange access, a 24/7/365 NOC, a white-label subscriber helpdesk and the equipment to build with. So your team can focus on subscribers instead of vendors.
Five services. Buy one, or run the whole network with AEX.
A fiber network needs more than good equipment. It needs connectivity, monitoring, support, and hardware working as one system rather than five vendor relationships you have to referee. AEX runs network operations end to end, across 300+ PoP locations in 14 states, anchored in 10 carrier-neutral facilities including Equinix, Digital Realty, and CoreSite.
Backbone connectivity without the backbone build
Stop paying transit prices for traffic you could exchange locally, and stop waiting on middle-mile you do not need to build.
AEX operates a national, predominantly dark-fiber backbone lit with our own 100Gbps equipment, anchored at 10 carrier-neutral facilities: Equinix in Chicago, Newark and Seattle, Digital Realty in Atlanta, Charlotte and Phoenix, CoreSite in Denver and Los Angeles, 123Net in Detroit and TierPoint in Little Rock. These are the buildings where the interconnection actually happens, and where new capacity is hardest to get.
Middle-mile backhaul
Point-to-point and point-to-multipoint circuits across 14 states. Backhaul any PoP to the backbone on day one.
Internet Exchange
Direct IX access at all 10 nodes. Peer with content networks, CDNs, and cloud providers directly.
Dedicated Internet Access
1G, 10G and 100G DIA at all 10 nodes, as primary access or as a virtual ISP's BNG uplink.
Capacity
Every link is managed proactively with headroom. Available now, not subject to a build schedule.
Everything between your fiber and the internet, run for you
BNG, IP addressing, IP breakout, CGNAT, monitoring, and support, delivered as one managed service. You focus on building and winning subscribers.
Running a modern ISP means operating a set of things that have nothing to do with why you got into fiber: a broadband network gateway, IP address management, carrier-grade NAT, upstream transit and a 24-hour operations capability. The AEX Virtual ISP service delivers all of it as a fully managed service on our own carrier-grade national network, so you can be live without the capital investment or the operational headcount.
Internet Exchange
BNG, IP addressing, IP breakout and CGNAT, fully managed.
Connectivity and NOC
Middle-mile to the AEX backbone and a national IX, with 24/7/365 monitoring and Tier-2/3 support.
Subscriber Helpdesk
White-label, under your brand.
Equipment Procurement
Equipment procurement, staging and deployment.
Optional Add-ons
Extend with cabinet hosting, wholesale hosting-as-a-service and tailored infrastructure components as you grow. Add AEX Software and AEX Field Service when you are ready to run the full subscriber lifecycle yourself.
Scale
The service scales with you: predictable performance, no re-architecture, no renegotiation every time you add a market.
You built the network. We run it.
A 24/7/365 NOC, installation and commissioning, and Tier-2/3 engineering, without building and staffing an operations centre.
Running a network around the clock takes skilled engineers, tooling, process, and continuous investment. For an operator between a thousand and fifty thousand subscribers, that is rarely worth doing in-house. AEX's NOC already does it at production scale, across 300+ locations and 500,000 subscribers on managed networks.
NOC
Continuous monitoring of OLTs, switches, BNGs, rectifiers, batteries, and backhaul. Proactive fault detection, field and third-party coordination, and root-cause analysis and reporting.
OEM Escalation
Dedicated Internet Access
Full PoP deployment from site survey and equipment staging through configuration, commissioning, and handover, across Nokia, Calix, Zhone, Ubiquiti, and any TR-069-compatible device. Street-side cabinet deployment in any AEX market.
Tier 2/3 Support
For operators with their own Tier-1 team who need specialist depth on complex issues, with optional hardware spares management so a failure doesn't become an outage.
Better Together
Paired with AEX Software, monitoring becomes event-driven dispatch rather than polling and alerting: the network event creates the job, and the job reaches a technician.
A subscriber helpdesk without the hiring and the training.
Tier-1 support under your brand, staffed by agents who understand ISP environments and know your products and your network.
Subscribers expect a fast, informed answer, and building a helpdesk that delivers one takes time most growing operators do not have. AEX provides a fully managed, white-label technical helpdesk: a single point of contact for technical issues, service requests, billing questions, and sales enquiries, so your subscribers get consistency and your team gets its time back.
Comprehensive Support
Chat, email, phone, and text. Advanced ticketing and workflow: accurate fault logging, proactive follow-up, full case visibility.
Escalation Path
A structured escalation path into AEX's Tier-2 and Tier-3 engineering teams.
Trained Agents
Trained on your specific products and network configuration, not a generic script.
Equipment Procurement
Equipment procurement, staging, and deployment.
Better Together
Paired with AEX Software, agents work inside the full customer context: account, service, network status, and billing in a single view. That is what cuts handling time and lifts first-call resolution, rather than just moving the queue somewhere else.
Source and deploy network hardware in one step
An authorized Nokia reseller and multi-vendor supplier that commissions and monitors what it sells.
Sourcing equipment from one vendor and commissioning it through another creates delays whenever the two schedules don't line up. AEX sources, stages, and delivers network hardware coordinated directly with your installation and commissioning timeline because we also do the commissioning.
OLTs and ONTs
Nokia, Calix, and others offer GPON through 25GS-PON. ONTs range from single-gigabit Ethernet to Wi-Fi 6E gateway models.
Wi-Fi and Gateways
Wi-Fi 6E gateways and mesh extenders, including Eero, are managed through the AEX ACS.
Network Hardware
Street cabinets, BNGs, CG-NAT appliances, switches, patch panels and power systems for a full PoP build.
Supply Chain
Authorized vendor channels, staging before deployment, delivery coordinated with commissioning, and optional spares management.
What makes this different from a NOC vendor or a transit provider
Our NOC connects natively to AEX Software's monitoring layer, so alerts become dispatched jobs rather than emails. Our helpdesk agents work inside AEX's customer management module, with the full account, service, network and billing picture in one view.
You can buy any of it standalone. It just works better together.
Talk to the team that runs the network, not just sells the gear.
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Learn more →FAQ
What's included in AEX Network Services?
AEX Network Services covers the infrastructure layer of your operation: a national dark-fiber backbone lit with AEX's own 100Gbps equipment, connected at 10 carrier-neutral facilities, middle-mile backhaul, internet exchange access, and dedicated internet access. On top of that, AEX runs a 24/7/365 NOC, handles installation and commissioning, provides Tier-2/3 engineering escalation, and staffs a white-label subscriber helpdesk.
Do I still need to build my own backbone if I use AEX Network Services?
No. AEX operates the backbone for you, so you get middle-mile connectivity and internet exchange access without building or leasing that infrastructure yourself. You can backhaul any PoP to AEX's backbone on day one.
What does AEX's NOC actually monitor, and what happens when something breaks?
AEX's NOC continuously monitors OLTs, switches, BNGs, rectifiers, batteries, and backhaul, with proactive fault detection and root-cause analysis. If an issue needs vendor involvement, AEX's Nokia-certified engineers escalate directly into Nokia, Calix, and other OEM technical teams, so you're not stuck being the go-between.
Does AEX handle subscriber support, or just network operations?
Both. AEX provides a fully managed, white-label Tier-1 helpdesk for your subscribers, covering chat, email, phone, and text, staffed by agents trained on your specific products and network. Anything that needs deeper technical work follows a structured escalation path into AEX's Tier-2/3 engineering teams.
Can I use AEX Network Services on its own, without AEX Software or AEX Field Service?
Yes. AEX Network Services works as a standalone offering, and you can add AEX Software and AEX Field Service later if you want to run the full subscriber lifecycle yourself.
What scale does AEX's managed network operations run at?
AEX's NOC already operates at production scale, managing 300+ locations and 500,000 subscribers on managed networks, so an operator doesn't have to build and staff that same operations capability in-house.