COS Systems CTO to Address Altnet Integration at Connected Britain 2026

COS Wholesale Engine runs in live production as UK altnet consolidation accelerates

UMEå, VäSTERBOTTEN, SWEDEN, September 7, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- COS Systems CTO Sajan Parikh joins the panel "Making consolidation a reality: integration and value creation" at Connected Britain 2026. The session runs in Theatre 2 on 10 September at 12:40 BST. Parikh will address what happens to network operations after altnet deals close.

The UK fibre market is consolidating fast. More than 100 altnets built competing Full Fibre networks; around 80 still operate. Ofcom's Telecoms Access Review 2026-31 statement of 17 March 2026 records altnet take-up averaging around 18 percent, against approximately 38 percent for Openreach. Overbuilding pressure is accelerating mergers. nexfibre agreed to acquire Netomnia for GBP 2 billion, the largest altnet transaction on record. The CMA referred the deal to a Phase 2 inquiry in July, with a statutory decision deadline of 15 December 2026.

Merging networks is not the hard part. Merging the systems that run them is. Operators face two infrastructure stacks, multiple RSP integrations and one deadline. Subscriber records, provisioning logic, service catalogues and field operations rarely align across acquired networks. The cost of reconciling them lands after the transaction closes, which is where projected synergies are lost.

COS Wholesale Engine operates as a coordination layer outside existing BSS/OSS stacks. It manages service locations, zero-touch multi-vendor provisioning, RSP API integrations and wholesale billing from a single platform. Retail service providers keep their own billing and CRM systems; COS manages the infrastructure layer beneath them. Standards-oriented REST APIs connect BSS/OSS, CRM, GIS, billing and partner systems. The platform runs Calix, Nokia and Adtran equipment in parallel and requires no rip-and-replace during post-acquisition network integrations.

COS Wholesale Engine is in live production with wholesale operators in North America. COS platforms run multi-provider Open Access networks across Europe and the US. COS Systems has been ISO 27001 certified since May 2026.

"Two networks can be merged on paper in a quarter. The systems underneath take years, because nothing about them was designed to combine. Operators discover the real cost after the deal closes." — Sajan Parikh, CTO, COS Systems
Parikh serves as vice chair of the ATIS Open Access Network Forum (OANF), which is developing the Open Access Implementation Specification covering business, operational, technical and regulatory considerations for Open Access fibre deployments in North America. The UK is working the same problem through INCA's wholesale standardisation programme. The API layer in COS Wholesale Engine is built to operate across both.

The Connected Britain session examines the technical hurdles of integrating legacy networks into unified, scalable infrastructure; how CTOs merge network stacks without disrupting service delivery; and how post-merger standardisation shapes long-term operational efficiency. The panel is moderated by Alexander Ohlsson, Principal at Analysys Mason. Co-panellists include David Tomalin, Group Chief Technology Officer at CityFibre; Sean Royce, Strategic Board Advisor at Quickline Communications; Steve Glendinning, NED and Independent Consultant at IDNet; and Lee Smelt, VP Networks EMEA at Amdocs.

Sajan Parikh and Ashley Poling, VP Business Development, are at the COS Systems table in the networking zone on both 9 and 10 September. Further information on COS Wholesale Engine is available at www.cossystems.com.

About COS Systems
COS Systems delivers a cloud-based BSS/OSS platform purpose-built for broadband operators. Operators choose COS Business Engine to run full retail ISP operations — subscriber management, billing, provisioning, and field service — or COS Wholesale Engine to orchestrate multi-provider Open Access networks. COS FSM and COS Prospector extend the platform with automated field service management and door-to-door demand aggregation, so operators can sell faster, scale better, and automate everything.

Maren Buchmüller
COS Systems
+46 73 462 23 05
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