“The wired broadband speed at home is already 200M, why is the WiFi speed still so slow?” “I spent over 1000 yuan on a high-end wireless router, why is the WiFi signal at home still unsatisfactory?” “I want WiFi coverage in the bathroom and kitchen at home, what should I do?”… Nowadays, people have a growing demand for home WiFi access. Recently, China Telecom Shanghai officially launched the “Smart Networking” product, where professionals assist users in enhancing the quality of their home WiFi network, improving the user internet experience. The more significant implication of the launch of the “Smart Networking” product is that it lays a solid foundation for the implementation of China Telecom’s smart home strategy.
International mainstream operators are accelerating their layout
“Smart Networking” is the foundation for developing smart home services. Now, smart homes have been regarded by telecom operators as the next blue ocean and opportunity. Major international telecom operators such as AT&T and Verizon in the USA, Deutsche Telekom in Germany, Orange in France, and KT in South Korea are all taking action.
Representatively, AT&T and Deutsche Telekom are leading the way. AT&T has established a digital life platform that integrates products provided by partners, such as Cisco providing the main controller, Honeywell providing smart thermostats, and Linear providing wireless security controllers. Users can easily control various aspects of their digital life through smartphones and applications, such as changing the temperature of their homes with thermostats and remotely monitoring their residences. Just like regular online shopping, users can purchase the smart home applications they need on the AT&T website, such as a smart leak detection service for $4.99 per month or remote control of home appliances and lighting for $4.99 per month.
In contrast to AT&T’s model of opening its platform based on proprietary products, Deutsche Telekom provides a unified, open platform. Deutsche Telekom acts as a backend solution provider, offering manufacturers application integration software development and maintenance platforms, sales channels, customer installation, and micropayment services, while providing smart control terminals to home users, who can remotely control different brands of home appliances through smartphone applications.
China Telecom has also made early strides in the smart home field, having established a smart home industry alliance two years ago, focusing on home communication solutions and building a collaborative product system. This year, smart homes have been listed by China Telecom as one of the five emerging business areas that need to accelerate breakthroughs. Gateway access, smart networking, and application filling are important components of China Telecom’s smart home strategy. Various smart home application terminals are inseparable from home wireless networks, making the importance of “Smart Networking” self-evident.
Now, Shanghai Telecom has officially launched the “Smart Networking” service, which is an important business reflecting the differentiation of telecom broadband and can effectively address the “pain points” in home wireless networking.
Improving the quality of home WiFi access
Mr. Zhang from Jiading lives in a three-story villa, using China Telecom’s 200M broadband, with a home gateway with WiFi functionality deployed on the first floor and a WiFi router on the second floor bedroom. However, Mr. Zhang hopes to extend the WiFi signal coverage to more areas of the house, especially the kitchen and bathroom on the first floor.
Telecom technicians visited to conduct an on-site inspection and found that there were no wired network ports near the kitchen and bathroom, making it impossible to add WiFi devices to cover that area. Therefore, the technicians deployed a WiFi repeater on the first floor to expand the WiFi signal coverage. They also discovered that the WiFi signal in Mr. Zhang’s home was easily interfered with by the neighboring WiFi, so they suggested changing the channel used by the home WiFi devices to avoid interference, which also improved the WiFi internet speed.
The launch of “Smart Networking” is precisely to solve the WiFi coverage issues for broadband users at home, with professional technicians from telecom helping users eliminate their frustrations. “There are many factors affecting WiFi signals, such as the performance of WiFi devices, their placement, room layout, channel conflicts, and signal interference. Technicians need to determine the AP location and device performance to see if additional information points are needed and adjust WiFi network parameters,” a relevant person from the new business department explained.
During the provision of the “Smart Networking” service, technicians follow a complete set of processes. First, they need to communicate with users to understand the layout of their homes and network structure, and assess the current state of the home WiFi network. Then, they design a networking and optimization plan, deploy information points, and install and debug the equipment. Once these tasks are completed, technicians need to reassess the home WiFi network environment, and only after user approval is the job considered complete.
“High-difficulty tasks” are left to professionals
The launch of the “Smart Networking” product is a response to the changing needs of users and the internal value enhancement of telecom operators.
Currently, the proportion of mobile phones and TVs accessing the internet is gradually increasing, and each user has multiple internet terminals simultaneously. Users want wireless network coverage in every corner of their homes and demand for increasing internet speed. However, for many users, completing home networking by themselves is a “high-difficulty task,” requiring router, smartphone, or tablet internet settings, and even cable production and installation, as well as multi-router settings. When faced with such challenges, users often seek external help. Market research shows that even if telecom operators do not provide home networking services, nearly one-eighth of users still turn to telecom operators for solutions.
From an external perspective, there is a strong demand for home networking services among users; from an internal perspective, launching home networking services helps operators enhance broadband user experience and ARPU value.
Now, high-speed broadband is becoming increasingly common in users’ homes, but some users have a poor perception of high-speed broadband. Relevant data shows that among 200M broadband users, 30% of the poor perception is due to wireless networking issues, and 20% is due to wired networking issues. Through “Smart Networking,” the wireless network at home can be further optimized, enhancing users’ perception of high-speed broadband.
Seizing the next opportunity
Renowned research institution Juniper Research predicts that the global smart home market will reach $71 billion by 2018, with the Chinese market accounting for 32%. The enormous market “cake” has attracted internet giants, home appliance companies, telecom equipment manufacturers, and real estate giants, and telecom operators with inherent advantages cannot afford to miss out.
Among internet companies, Xiaomi, JD.com, and Alibaba have all entered the smart home field. Xiaomi has built a smart home ecosystem through its own applications, investments, partnerships, and capability openness. Xiaomi has launched home networking (smart routers), home video entertainment (smart TVs/smart set-top boxes), and expanded smart home services in collaboration with Midea, investing in over 100 content providers and hardware manufacturers. JD.com has formed the Joylink alliance, aiming to bridge the gap between different smart hardware.
Although there are many competitors, telecom operators have their advantages in laying out smart homes, as they have already established a foothold in users’ homes through the deployment of gateways and other devices, which is something other companies lack and aspire to achieve. In China Telecom’s smart home strategy, the smart gateway serves as the entry point, optimizing the home WiFi environment and creating smart home application services to attract users and strengthen the industry chain.
Link: The “Six-Step Method” for Smart Networking
Every user’s home environment and network environment are different, and their needs also vary, so “Smart Networking” can be considered a non-standardized product, requiring a tailored solution for each household. However, the installation process for “Smart Networking” can be standardized, and the relevant departments of the company have already formed a standardized operating procedure, which can be divided into six stages.
[Demand Analysis]
Telecom professionals need to conduct on-site inspections and communicate with users to understand the user’s home layout, network structure, and specific internet needs.
[Current State Assessment]
Professionals need to assess the current state of the user’s home network environment. They test the wired access rate on the home gateway side and use specialized software to test WiFi network quality at the user’s designated WiFi test points.
[Design Plan]
Telecom staff provide users with a networking plan based on the on-site situation and explain the expected effects.
[Device Selection]
Based on the customer’s network needs, suitable devices are selected. For example, switches should be gigabit switches to ensure the development of various services. When selecting APs, attention should also be paid to ensure that the uplink and downlink interfaces meet the requirements.
[Installation and Construction]
According to the design plan, information points are deployed in the user’s home, and AP devices are installed and debugged.
[Completion Testing]
After the networking is completed, telecom staff conduct a quality assessment of the home broadband network. If the network quality assessment results do not meet the expected networking effects, further adjustments are needed. Once the network quality assessment results meet the expected networking effects, the user confirms completion.
Source: Shanghai Telecom Report
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