Learn how to increase revenue through connected home services
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Service providers are looking for new and loyalty-building strategies to reduce churn and increase revenue. Home control which can provide security, energy management and convenience for busy homeowners is one of the most promising services to arrive in the market. The wireless technologies such as Z-Wave have come of age and both price and ease of installation are no longer barriers to adoption.
Join us for this free webinar – brought to you by telecoms.com in association with Sigma Designs and Verizon – as Jamie Beach, Online Editor for IPTV World Series sets the scene by outlining the business opportunity presented to service providers by the rapid maturation of connected home devices and services, an increasingly savvy customer base, and the growing ubiquity of high-speed broadband.
During this webinar hear about Verizon’s launch of their new connected home service offering a simple plug and play solution for consumers that builds both loyalty and revenue. Technology provider, Sigma Designs, will also showcase the interoperable Z-Wave wireless solution for rapid deployment of home energy management, security and busy household convenience devices which allow consumers to take control.
Key areas to be addressed during this webinar will include:
-Surprising adoption results from Verizon’s connected home launch
-Choosing the best enabling technologies
-How remote access to the home is the game-changer
-Leveraging current market trends to attract new customers and keep existing ones loyal
Tags; Archive, Broadband, Connected home, Featured, home devices, IP&TV, plug and play, Sigma Designs, telecoms.com, Verizon
Thank you all for your questions, the Q&A session is now closed. You can email future questions direct to Ann at ann.w.shaub@verizon.com or Ricco at Ricco_Winther@sigmadesigns.com
Ann, Ricco, Thanks for your great presentation
Thanks!! Both Ricco and I enjoyed our time here today.
Ann, can Verizon’s connected home features be controlled from a TV now? And you need FiOS for that, correct?
Yes. If you have FiOS TV, you can access the Home Control application from the Menu feature. It’s really easy to use!
Have you found more users willing to take the DIY route or using your 3rd party installation partner?
We have found that most customers are using the DIY model for installation. It’s a little early to call on whether this is the trend… we may have some early adopters who are inclined to self install. Regardless, we are pleased that we spent the time on making the setup wizard intuitive and easy to use.
Ann, Ricco great presentation
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed!
Is the architecture of these solutions bases on some existing standards, such as uPnp and DLNA or it is based on some different standards developed within Z-Wave alliance?
This depends a bit on the individual Z-Wave Partner’s implementation.
For managing the SW that needs to reside in the Consumer Premise Equipment, we typically see OSGi used, or that Telco’s utilize their exiting TR69 connection to the box to download new SW.
But in this space, the alphabet soups gets quite thick very quickly, so I recommend you contact us directly to find out what meets your requirements.
Is it possible to obtain a copy of the slides used in this presentation?
To everyone who has requested a copy of the slides we will be in touch with a copy.
Thank you for all your questions today. It was a pleasure to join you on this webinar. Regards~
Does Verizon intend to manufacture its own devices to interact with this service in the future or simply be the provider of service?
At this time, we are working with existing providers of smart devices. We don’t have any immediate plans to move into the manufacturing space. Through our various partnerships and memberships in alliances, we feel confident that the devices we need will be available.
Are there specific products for health-care and enderly people?
We have partners that develop e.g. weight scales with BMI calculations, that bring your results to a web-page where you (and your Doctor) can monitor your development.
We also have Blood Pressure Monitors.
We even have a partner that build an IPTV STB that will allow the healthcare provider have their own TV Channel to their patients!
It seems very interesting.Can we discuss a way of cooperation? I’m doing business in Middle East mostly on a consultancy basis and have some contacts which might be interested for these applications.Could you please send me a message to discuss how we can cooperate?
We will send out an e-mail to everyone who registered for this afternoon’s webinar with the contact information for how to reach Ann and myself.
Looking forward to talking to you…
Hello Ricco, as you probably know ZigBee is quite popular in Italy also for TELECOM application: what could be key argument to prefers ZWave to ZigBee?
This in an interesting topic, and probably need more detail than just a brief comment.
They two key differences I would like to point to, though, are that all Z-Wave devices are interoperable, so you don’t have several generations or “flavors” of devices that each cannot speak to each other due to differences in how the underlying network mechanisms are set up.
And then that Z-Wave uses the sub-GigaHz ISM bands in US, Europe and the rest of the world, so we are not subject to interference from WiFi or Bluetooth in the 2.4GHz spectrum which is getting increasingly congested.
Ricco, can you list the options, again, that a service provider has in how to implement this?
The “fast” way, is simply to use a Z-Wave USB dongle, and many are available today from different Z-Wave Partners. The more scalable approach is to build the Z-Wave RF module into the GW or STB directly, and Sigma is working with several ODMs to do just that.
And as the in-between option I mentioned, you can make a simple device that connects to your existing in-house LAN, that then bridges to Z-Wave from either ethernet or WiFi.
what needs to be done differently when marketing to customers of other operators?
I am not sure I understand your question, can you clarify?
Thanks
Probably more appropriate for Ann. I was wondering how the marketing approach differs when selling to prospects that are not already Verizon customers. Are there issues with trust, new billing relationships, etc, etc
You make a really good point. At this time, we are marketing to our own broadband customers, so we definitely are leveraging that relationship. Given the nationwide wide brand that Verizon enjoys as an extension of our Wireless venture, we do have the necessary brand recognition and trust (which is good), but developing the tools to bill for new customers will be a challenge as we move forward. All said, a different marketing approach is required, and we’ll be focused on that in 2012 for sure!
Ann, what has been the effect on subscriber churn and/or revenue per user in the market where this service has been offered?
Well, we just launched in mid October, so it is a little early to measure churn impact. However, we have noticed that customers do like to buy accessories, so the average revenue per customer at initial purchase is more favorable than anticipated.
Dear Ann,
Do you expect the service to be bundled at some point with Fixed Broadband, like PayTV (Triple Play offer)?
Thank you very much,
Fernando
Fernando… as you can imagine, bundling presents a lot of great opportunity to create an even greater sticky experience, and as we move forward, looking at ways to pair this with our broadband services will be a natural fit.
What is the difference between Z-Wave and ZigBee, for example? Why Verizon choose Z-Wave instead of any other alternative?
Verizon chose ZWave because at this point in time, the number and price of accessories available for home monitoring are greater with ZWave than with Zigbee. As the Zigbee protocal becomes more widely adopted, and we decide to integrate Zigbee devices into our portfolio, we can augment our gateway to enable Zigbee as well.
Dear Ann, thank you for your presentation; could you please give color to “Surprising adoption results from Verizon’s connected home launch” (i.e. subscriptions after launch in October)? Related to this, can you share some forecasts about the future? Many thanks in advance
Some results that we found unexpected were the attachment to accessories — people are buying them more than we expected. Also, people who shop online purchase the Whole House Kit more than any other kit. Customers are also using modes… a new concept for most… which is great! And we are thrilled that customers “get” the home and away aspects of home control… they are using smart devices to access their home. Looking forward, we will continue to focus on how accessories enhance the basic monitoring and energy control offer, and how modes bring it all together.
How is Verizon anticipating the Bandwidth demands now & into the future for these Home Monitoring services.
The bandwidth demands for Home Control are managed easily within existing broadband access alternatives like FiOS and HSI. The streaming cameras present the biggest draw, but by limiting the streaming to one stream at a time, we are managing that potential conflict. Ultimately, though, as there are more and more connected IP devices in the home — by latest count, I have over 50! — the possibility for contention will be real. Educating the customer will be essential.
Thanks Ann, could please highlight the other products Verizon is interested in launching in 2012. Thank you.
In the area of Home Control, we will also be expanding our device portfolio, looking to expand the number of ZWave devices and cameras available. We will also expand our interface options by leveraging tablets in addition to smart devices, web and TV. In addition to Wellness, both Home Security and Energy Management both present additional adjacent opportunities we are exploring. More to come in 2012!!
Does this work if the customer is not in a Verizon area?
To start, the service is only available to Verizon broadband subscribers… both HSI (DSL) and FiOS. We have built the platform to be broadband agnostic and are working on a program to enable this to work with any broadband access.
what is the best product to attract new customers and keep the old one
The thing that makes this work is that we are making normal life routines simple… we aren’t asking people to do things that they normally don’t do… they need to unlock a door, they want to see what the kids are doing… by engaging with the customer and making your offer relevant… that is what attracks the new customers and keeps the old ones.
Are there plans to add home health products to the Verizon offering in the future?
Moving toward Wellness devices is a naturally adjacent area we are exploring.
What is the average number of Z-Wave devices purchased with the Verizon control system?
The basic Home Monitoring kit has 2 ZWave devices. The Energy Kit has 5 ZWave devices, and the Whole Home Kit has 6 ZWave devices. All devices in the kits are ZWave with the exception of the cameras, which use WiFi.
What is the most popular kit in the offering?
The most popular kit when a subscribers calls our inbound call center is the basic Home Monitoring Kit. However, for customers who shop online, they are 3X more likely to order the Whole Home Kit.
What is the average development time for bringing products to market?
In most cases you will be able to work with one of the Z-Wave Alliance members, who can supply you with a variety of off-the shelf solutions that can get you to market quickly. However, if you want to make your own device, the time we typically see to develop a new product from scratch is 8-12 months.
I work with service providers and the biggest question I get from them is, “Where do I get started?” to implement a smaller scale number of houses.
There are a number of Z-Wave Alliance Partners that today act as “system integrators” and provide the controller and User Interface that will be the center of the system. To that you simple take your pick of available Z-Wave Devices from the various vendors.
Take a look at the Z-Wave Alliance’s website, where many of the available products are listed under the “Products” tab:
http://www.z-wavealliance.org/modules/Products/
How is interoperability amongst the various vendors and device types maintained?
Through rigorous interoperability certification conducted by 3rd part test houses in US and EU, and through a well defined set of Command Classes describing the format for how devices can exchange information between each other.
What is the trend in home control in Europe?
Saving energy appears to be the key driver in Europe, with security being the close second.