Our most recent Customer Experience was a resounding success – no hitches and the highest number of attendee’s Vodafone has every had! Delivered on-line with a virtual reality tour of the Vodafone Customer Experience Centre, technical specialists covered the following topics – Connectivity, Internet of Things (IoT) and 5G.
- Top things we learnt:
The exponential growth of home workers has created a significant challenge for all existing networks – there is more traffic than there has ever been and the pressure to maintain quality of service is greater - The speed of growth and development of the network is being driven by the generation of new content and ever increasing number of products fighting for a share of internet bandwidth it’s not just mobile phones, laptops and TV – the integration of lightbulbs, fridges, washing machines, central heating etc are becoming ever present and consumers have an expectation of a continual improvement in service whilst at the same time not wanting to pay anymore for it.
- The constant strain and demand for connectivity is driving the need for a seamless service that utilises different products to deliver this – 4G, 5G, broadband, FTTC, leased lines and soon to be available FTTP (Fibre to the Premises) are part all of converged network that Vodafone has invested significant funds and time into developing this unique offering. BTEE and O2/ Telefonica are years behind the development of their own converged networks and in addition Vodafone have partnered with key service providers (Openreach, Virgin, City) to expand their ability to support and ensure resiliency.
- FTTP (Fibre to the Premises) is available from Vodafone in c.6wks
- 16 million individual numbers are going to have to start thinking about what they need to do about their landlines. The PSTN service that supports them is being stopped in 2023 and withdrawn altogether in 2025 – the time to consider your options is now. From 2025 we will all have to be using SOGEA (Single Order Generic Ethernet Access) – in essence giving you internet access without a phone line to run it over. (We’ve got more information to come on this – you need to be considering your options now!)
- “A company of 200 in a single building becomes a company of 200 separate buildings” – most if not all businesses face the challenge of enabling remote working as a result of lockdown and the issue will not be going away any time soon, 30% of the workforce is projected to be working from home in 2021, the key consideration cover:
– Capability to deploy home working quickly and effectively – have the suitable comms solution and devices
– Scalability to support up to 100% of workforce working from home – cloud based solution
– Reliability/ business continuity – utilise your existing hardware/ devices to maintain communication with customers and suppliers
– Secure company information – minimise the risk of
– Ease to manage – that is quick and simple to configure and enable
– Cost effectiveness – contractual flexibility - The practical application of IoT during the pandemic was outlined with the implementation of solution that controlled the working environment – employees had wearable kit that notifies them in real time that they were contravening safety guidelines:
– a distance control system to reinforce social distancing policies
– body temperature sensors to pro-actively identify potential infectious individuals
– auto-controlled secure access - – 5G is a very different animal to anything we have seen before – we are only on the cusp of fully of understanding what it will enable – coverage isn’t broad enough and the Apps and devices are in their infancy
- – Vodafone has the greatest range of frequencies of all the mobile networks, all other bands will still be operational – the lower the frequency wider the coverage, the higher the frequency the smaller the coverage but the higher the capacity – this will only grow with the investment made
More virtual sessions are scheduled for later in the year and we will also be provided sessions on Remote Working, Business Continuity, What does 5G mean for your business, Cyber Parenting 101 and more. Contact us for details.