KN Circet is hopeful of creating 50 jobs in new Letterkenny design and innovation hub with specialised digital mapping team, as the firm contracted to complete 1 GB/s fibre broadband rollout across the country.

Esri Ireland, which specialises in Geographic Information Systems (GIS), has announced that it has implemented a new digital mapping system for telecom network service provider, KN Circet.

A 20% reduction in time taken by engineers to complete network works

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, Co 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 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 more than 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.

Use smartphones and tablets to log data on-site

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.