Arbuckle Adds More Subscriber Capacity on Existing Infrastructure

At a Glance

To meet the growing demand for high-speed internet in Southern Oklahoma, Arbuckle Communications sought to maximize the efficiency of its existing fixed wireless infrastructure. By deploying the Bequant Quality of Experience (QoE) platform, Arbuckle successfully reduced network latency, packet retransmissions, and RF utilization. This optimization allowed the ISP to increase subscriber rate plans on their existing Tarana Wireless base nodes, driving higher subscriber satisfaction without requiring immediate, costly hardware expansions.

"The team and products at Bequant have been a complete game-changer for us! Bequant gives us the edge by helping us deliver the fastest bandwidth with the lowest latency possible."

— Scott Pope, Network and Operations Officer, Arbuckle Communications‍

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Background & Challenge

Since 1931, Arbuckle Communications has been a cornerstone of tele-communications in Southern Oklahoma. Headquartered in Ardmore, Arbuckle provides residential and business internet & VoIP services, managed Wi-Fi and network solutions, plus RV park & outdoor Wi-Fi coverage for their customers in over 10,000 square miles of the Sooner State.

As a respected member of WISPA, Arbuckle is committed to delivering cutting-edge technology. Currently serving thousands of Fixed Wireless Broadband (FWB) subscribers, their network backbone relies on twenty-nine towers with over 100 Tarana Wireless base nodes (BNs). However, as a FWB provider, Arbuckle faced a common industry hurdle: maximizing return on investment of existing infrastructure that can become easily congested because of limited available RF spectrum and hardware capacity. With limited resources, the team needed to extract more value from their current access network. Specifically, they aimed increase service tier download speeds while simultaneously improving the end-user experience – and do so without a change to infrastructure.

Even with a high-performance FWB and/or Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH), subscribers' in-home Wi-Fi networks can often lead to a sluggish feel for customers, even when bandwidth is technically available. The core challenge was to mitigate high latency and packet retransmissions that naturally occur in wireless environments.

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Objectives

Arbuckle’s leadership identified key goals for this optimization initiative:

• Infrastructure Optimization: Use TCP Optimization (TCPO) and Automatic Congestion Management (ACM) to reduce access network latency, lower packet retransmissions, and increase network efficiency so they could increase subscriber density or offer higher speed plans on the existing access network.
• Billing Integration: Seamlessly connect Bequant software with BillMax Billing Solutions to automate subscriber plan enforcement and educate application shaping.
• Enhanced Visibility: Gain insights from granular, per-subscriber KPI data to proactively manage the customer experience.
• Competitive Edge: Deliver the lowest latency possible in an increasingly competitive regional market.

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The Solution

Arbuckle deployed Bequant QoE at each tower of their distributed FWB network with NATing at each tower. The implementation project followed a proven, structured approach:

1. Baseline Gathering: The appliance was initially placed in "transparent mode" for two days to collect baseline KPIs, including total throughput and congestion levels.
2. Activation: The team enabled TCPO, which uses Bequant’s patented algorithm, and ACM, which manages network congestion to prevent CPE buffers from overflowing.
3. Billing System Synchronization: The BQN appliance was integrated with BillMax, allowing BQN QoE software to automatically import subscribers, network topology, and billing profiles then apply specific rate plan enforcements, application shaping policies, and subscribers' speedtest assurances.
4. Traffic Shaping: Facilitated by Bequant's Deep Packet Inspection (DPI), application-aware traffic optimization was enabled to prioritize latency-sensitive teleconferencing traffic and enforce fair-sharing rules so high-demand services like streaming video were not degraded by background applications like bulk software downloads.

Results

The deployment of Bequant QoE transformed the efficiency of Arbuckle’s Tarana-based network. By optimizing how data is transmitted over the network, they successfully reduced average packet retransmissions to less than 1%, effectively either freeing up more airtime for new customers or offering higher speed packages to existing customers.

With new network efficiencies, Arbuckle Communications was able to roll out doubled speed packages with current offerings of up to 400-by-50Mbps for residences and 450-by-100Mbps for business customers.

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Added Flexibility

As a FWB internet service provider for over 20 years, Arbuckle understood the saying "adapt or perish". As they transition to new access technologies, they appreciate a single, technology-independent traffic optimization tool that is easily & quickly configurable based on the current mix of access technologies.

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Reduced Support Calls

As Arbuckle started deploying QoE across its FWB network, they noticed another positive attribute common to Bequant QoE customers: network performance-related support calls dropped – not due to subscribers leaving – because customers' in-home internet experiences improved.

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Optimized Streaming

Of all KPI improvements, high-volume streaming HD/4K video applications on the Arbuckle network were dramatically enhanced using a combination of TCPO; ACM to reduce overall network congestion typically caused by customer premises equipment (CPE) buffer bloat; and a single video traffic profile type that was applied to all subscribers in the network.

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Powerful Network Insights

With per-subscriber network KPI metrics, Arbuckle was able to easily identify subscribers with weak KPIs: say, congestion caused by in-home Wi-Fi routers.  The result: faster issue resolution with more proactive support.

With the BQN platform and BillMax integration now active, Arbuckle is equipped with enhanced visibility and a scalable QoE platform that will support their growth as they further improve performance for existing subscribers and densify their service footprint.

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Lessons Learned

• Prioritizing QoE over simple bandwidth delivery, Arbuckle demonstrated that network optimization is a viable alternative to expensive hardware upgrades.
• Arbuckle could increase network-wide revenue, reduce CapEx & OpEx and improve overall network performance via a rapid and simple software project implementation.

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Bottom Line

For ISPs looking to add more paying subscribers or up their speed packages, Bequant proved that you don't always need more bandwidth or infrastructure — you just need a smarter way to manage what you have.