What IS "Managed Wi-Fi" Anyway?
Over the last several months, I’ve met with representatives from more than 40 service providers in the U.S. and Canada. We’ve talked about the connected home in general and carrier-class Wi-Fi in particular. One hot topic of conversation is the idea of Managed Wi-Fi, where the service provider manages all aspects of the customer’s home network to provide the best possible home Wi-Fi experience.
In my next few blog posts, I am going to focus on different aspects of Managed Wi-Fi and will share some of the key takeaways from my discussions. Let's start with a view of what service providers include in their Managed Wi-Fi offers.
It all starts with the access point
You may have read the recent white paper that we commissioned from Parks Associates — Staking a Claim in the Connected Home: Service Provider Solutions. The paper cited recent (Q3 2017) research that indicated that 61% of U.S. broadband households get their access point from their service provider.
In my discussions with service providers, it is clear that providing a carrier-class access point, such as the Calix GigaCenter, creates a strategic foothold in the home. Once in place, you have visibility into, and control over, what’s going on in the home network.
Most of the service providers that I have met with to date are moving away from the “BYOD” model. In the past, many struggled with different consumer Wi-Fi routers, which proved to be problematic.
In response to these issues, many providers are looking at ways to encourage all of their subscribers to purchase a Managed Wi-Fi service, which includes a wireless access point. By making a specific access point mandatory (and, yes, some service providers are not giving their subscribers a choice), they can offer an improved level of service. And, while some consumers won't want to swap out their existing access point for one that you provide, most of the service providers that I met with are receiving minimal push-back. In fact, Joel Emter at Consolidated Telcom in North Dakota called it a "very easy sell." You can hear more from Joel, and his colleagues, about the components of their Managed Wi-Fi solution in this short video.
Enhanced ‘whole home’ coverage
When providing the access point, many service providers are also offering in-home setup as part of their Managed Wi-Fi offer. This includes a field technician to perform basic connectivity, do any required in-home wiring, and, in some cases, perform an analysis of the premises to determine the configuration option that will provide the best connectivity. For larger homes, or ones with Wi-Fi-blocking construction, you can improve coverage with Mesh Wi-Fi devices like the Calix 804Mesh satellite units. And there’s more to the 804Mesh than enhanced coverage. It also enables a whole host of new use cases you probably haven’t thought of.
Premium technical support
Premium technical support is a must-have if you're selling a high-quality Managed Wi-Fi service. When technical problems arise—and they will—your customers will expect prompt resolution, and you want to position yourself as their single point of contact. Using a product like Calix Support Cloud (CSC) will help your support team pinpoint issues and improve the customer experience.
Learn more about Managed Wi-Fi and watch the webinar, Show Me, Don't Tell Me: Real-World Benefits of Focusing on Subscriber Experience. You'll learn about the importance of Managed Wi-Fi and how All West Communications is using it to elevate subscriber experience.
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