Subtonomy adds broadband network support
May 4, 2022
By Colin Mann
Customer and network experience platform provider Subtonomy has added broadband network support to its Network Experience Platform. This means CSPs can now benefit from a fully-convergent view of the network experience they are providing to individual customers in real-time – enabling them to monitor experience efficiently, fix faults proactively, meet customer service expectations, control costs and develop new, quality-based products irrespective of the delivery network.
Broadband networks continue to expand worldwide. Point Topic calculates there were just over 1.2 billion fixed broadband subscribers in 2021, up 85 million connections from the year before, with most of those coming from Asia. But demand from existing subscribers for higher speeds and more reliable broadband networks is also increasing rapidly – driven by the needs of bandwidth-hungry and QoS-sensitive services such as gaming, UHD streaming and video communications; the proliferation of smart home devices; and the demands of homeworking.
These trends are leading to a huge and fast upgrade of broadband networks, as countries make them gigabit-capable in order to close the digital divide and ensure they are well positioned for the future digital economy. Analysts firm Analysys Mason forecasts this will result in worldwide fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) coverage increasing from 43 per cent at the end of 2020 to 57 per cent by the end of 2026. For the foreseeable future, however, broadband networks will be delivered over a mix of network types – traditional copper, cable, full fibre, fixed-wireless access, mobile and even satellite (LEOs).
But speed isn’t everything. As they become increasingly network-dependent, broadband customers need their connections to be reliable. And when things go wrong, they expect them to get fixed fast. Subtonomy research has revealed that more than a quarter of customers (26 per cent) now expect 24×7 support and 1 in 3 (29 per cent) won’t wait longer than five minutes to receive it. But hybrid networks, complex and demanding applications, and impatient customers create a perfect storm of demands for customer service teams. Without a change in approach, CSPs risk soaring costs, frustrated customers and increased churn.
Subtonomy notes it has been providing insight to mobile CSPs for the last 10 years, successfully retaining all our customers. Now it is extending this support to broadband and fibre networks. The same functionality is now available to support all customers, across all networks and all customer service channels.“ In the 10 years Subtonomy has been supporting mobile CSPs, our customers’ needs have changed,” observes Fredrik Edwall, SVP Sales & Marketing at Subtonomy. “Many now offer both mobile and broadband services, or have identified the broadband market as one they wish to expand into. In response, we’ve extended our market-leading mobile Network Experience Platform to support broadband and gigabit fibre networks. This enables CSPs to deliver the type of fast, digital support that customers increasingly expect – no matter what the service or network technology – from a single pane of glass.”
Subtonomy says its approach brings unique advantages:
- Unified, accurate and real-time data – Subtonomy’s platform brings together data from both mobile and broadband networks (2G, 3G, 4G, 5G NSA, 5G SA, broadband and gigabit fibre) in real-time to deliver an accurate and up-to-date view of customers’ network experience in a single pane of glass.
- One source, multiple users – real-time experience data is available throughout the organisation to operational teams, customer support, self-service platforms, digital channels (including chatbots), marketing, sales and business teams.
- Non-disruptive – Subtonomy can re-use a wide range of data sources so there’s minimal disruption to the CSP.
- Digital autonomy – accurate, real-time data is fed to all channels simultaneously, supporting customers’ desire to fix their own problems via self-service or other digital channels. This enables 90 per cent of queries to be resolved through proactive self-service.
With Subtonomy’s help, CSPs can now deliver a new standard of support that is fit for the Gigabit era, differentiating themselves and positioning themselves as a provider of a quality network experience. Its broadband and gigabit fibre solution is now in production with its customers and available for general release to service providers worldwide.