I know, strong title, but I think by the end you'll agree that Quantum's current lineup, especially the flagship Q1000 'Smart' NID, are not very strategic choices by the Quantum leadership team.

Quantum's Current NID lineup is as follows:

• C5500XK SmartNID
• C6500XK SmartNID
• Q1000K SmartNID

Okay, so let's look up the network interfaces on each device, mostly ignoring the 'PON support:

So, if you want more than 1 gig speed out of your GPON C5500XK, you are forced into a LAGG run, bridging the two 1G ports. Pretty much above the tech knowledge / hardware requirements of your average user, making it an acceptable single gig NID appropriate for the average user.

The C6500XK is a step up, in that it supports both 10G and 1G RJ-45 switch ports with supported 10G symmetrical bandwidth. A decent piece of hardware for home and business use.

Now, the Q1000K, the so-called flagship of the Quantum lineup. Supporting both GPON and XGSPON, with both 10G and 1G RJ-45 switch ports.

That's great and all Newby, but what's your point...

My problem is this, right off the Quantum landing home page is the following statement, in their service comparison table: "100% Fiber-optic Network"

So Quantum, my question is this...if you are offering an all fiber network, why is the first fucking thing you do after breaching my house, is convert my fiber into fucking copper, denying us true fiber->firewall/switch support?

Now think about that. You are a self-proclaimed fast-emerging fiber company, without the ability to deliver fiber directly to our firewalls and switches, even using your flagship NID.

Fucking Clown Shoes!

ONU Sticks

A side note on ONU sticks. For those of you don't know, an ONU is basically a small computer in an SFP/SFP+ format, using a fiber wan interface. These sticks are especially useful for replacing ridiculous Smart NID options among other things. Quantum is _really_ against customers using these sticks, impersonating their NID devices. They cancel services, legally threaten and intimidate users/developers surrounding these sticks, to which my statement is thus:

If you don't want your customers using these sticks because they are without a legitimate fiber->firewall/switch solution from their provider, stop acting like a DSL company (with a fiber offering), start acting like a fiber company without such weak product offerings:

Put a fucking optical out in your so called flagship NID! Or better yet, jump on board with technology from the late 90's, put an SFP+ port in your flagship, allowing customers to choose their NID->firewall/switch fiber medium.

So, who do we have to thank for this gross oversight? Well Quantum has a couple of product officers listed in the executive team, but nothing listed for their CTO.

This executive entry caught my eye. This chief product officer states he is '...ensuring that the company remains at the forefront of technology advancements in the fiber industry.'

That was the phrase that got me.

So doc, do you really feel at the forefront of the industry, when you lack the simple availability to successfully provide a fiber to switch/firewall solution? The required technology involved is from the late 90's, so it shouldn't take a company 'at the forefront of technology advancements' to support it. I would put forth a fiber company who can't support it, doesn't deserve self-reference like that.

So, you product and technology officers want to make a positive impact? Offer a product solution that aligns with your company and technology goals and give us true fully fiber service!

Now, I can hear the internal discussions about all the problems associated with a move like that:

• Existing Inventory - You keep right on distributing them. What you should be thinking about is introducing a NEW product line with a new hardware solution, which is upon request only. Frankly, I'd also recommend considering a different manufacturer (Outside of Q Fiber) who knows a little more about effective fiber NID offerings and perhaps has an existing offering already, such that you can quickly (maybe 10k units) buy in on a hardware solution that effectively meets your more technically advanced clients and business' needs.
  
  Finally on that front, put the clown currently managing your NID lineup out to pasture. There's no justifiable excuse for having a product gap such as this in your lineup. Time for a change!


• Rollout Issues - Specifically how do you phase it into production...gently. I would propose allowing people to apply for the new hardware in advance. You can get a sense of their tech prowess with a simple online questionaire. You also roll it out to residential customers first. You guys already have a...poor perception issue trying to better penetrate the business class market. Wait until you shake down your new solution before pushing it into high production environments.
  
  
• New hardware requires new (or freshly trained) support team(s). - Specifically a small escalation group created to address issues with the rollout of that hardware specifically. Assign a case manager from that team to people for the initial deployments.

Now, why is a new support team a smart play? It took you 12 fucking techs to get my install working, and I still spent a large amount of time in pfSense working around some of your tech limitations and poor tech infrastructure design. (One of the forthcoming Quantum Fiber focused shaming posts targeted at home and business admins.) Your techs are primarily repurposed DSL techs is my impression, good for running strands, testing signal strength and the like, but they are not highly trained network techs. (They really don't need to be for 95% of their job.) However, 6 of those techs promised me internal escalations. You know how many followed through? 0. Zero fucking percent. Is that who you want on the front-line with technical and business customers?


• Increased Support Costs - Your technical customers are not the folks loading down your support center. Anyone who knows what an SFP+ fiber module is, probably doesn't need your help installing it...

Are you product and technology officers thinking it is too much of an initiative for you and your team(s)? Do your clients and the industry a favor... and just retire, such that we can get some non-antiquated fresh blood in driving new tech decisions and rollouts.