Virgin Media ‘Plume Pods’
January 12, 2021
Liberty Global’s UK unit Virgin Media has announced a new “game-changing” Intelligent WiFi Plus service that will give millions of customers the UK’s fastest widely available broadband speeds throughout their homes, at a time when fast, safe, secure and highly reliable WiFi ia crucial.
The Intelligent WiFi Plus service consists of new features on Virgin Media’s Hub 3 and Hub 4 routers as well as Intelligent WiFi Pods which make use of Plume’s innovative cloud management platform. Liberty Global has invested in Plume since 2014 through its investment arm Liberty Global Ventures. Bundling high-value Smart Home Services – including AI-powered cybersecurity, advanced guest access and parental controls – with the best possible WiFi, Plume provides customers with unparalleled WiFi performance, personalisation and security.
As UK households face a further period of lockdown, the need for a fast, safe, secure, and a highly reliable broadband connection to facilitate home working, learning and entertainment is greater than ever. Combining automatically deployed firmware on Virgin Media’s Hub 3 and 4 routers with Plume’s WiFi Pods creates one Mesh network, thereby boosting WiFi reach, speed and reliability within the home by intelligently optimising and prioritising device connections.
Ankur Prakash, Partner, Liberty Global Ventures comments: “As founding investors in Plume since 2014, it’s great to see our collaboration extend to the integral role their product plays in Virgin Media’s new Intelligent WiFi service, available to our customers in the UK and allowing them to make the best use of our broadband network at this critical time. Plume has established itself as a true market leader with a world class team and we continue to be strong supporters of the company as it expands its customer base to more than 150 ISPs and over 21 million active households around the world.”
Fahri Diner, Co-founder & CEO, Plume, adds: “The Liberty Global Ventures team embody the ideal partnership for Plume. They bet on Plume early, and have supported the growth of the company through the years. They bring in real world operational experience contributing to Plume’s bold vision, and we are fortunate to be working closely with them.”
The WiFi Pods are powered by Plume’s award-winning Consumer Experience Management (CEM) Platform that combines sophisticated cloud management, AI technology, and OpenSync open-source software, to enable proactive management of a subscriber’s smart home experience. Plume’s algorithms monitor and self-optimize WiFi connectivity to every device to ensure a flawless experience, whatever the application.
Virgin Media plans to roll-out additional smart home features during the year and Liberty Global is looking to expand the service to other European markets in due course.