In the run-up to World Mobile Congress 2018 (MWC 2018) Finnish telecom gear maker Nokia has introduced several enhancements to its in-home Wi-Fi solution for service providers. According to company official, the new enhancements include meshed Wi-Fi gateways, beacons, a home portal for service providers, a mobile application for users and new software functions and analytics to improve network intelligence.
With this new enhancement company claims service providers will have better visibility into the network and that will reduce the time and complexity to solve network problems. Meshed Wi-Fi solutions include a wide array of entry level Gateways and Beacons that consumers can install throughout the home to create an intelligent mesh, extend coverage and boost performance. Beacons quickly guide each device to the nearest or fastest access point, and ensure an optimal path through the network.
With software enhancements now service provider will be able to quickly upgrade selected existing gateways in the field to support meshed Wi-Fi networking capabilities. Similarly, Wi-Fi Home Portal will provide a single screen, holistic view of a user's in-home Wi-Fi network, allowing service providers to effectively manage devices, quickly identify and resolve issues or upsell new services – such as broadband capacity or additional beacons – to improve network performance.
Nokia said that new software and embedded analytic functions will compile insights on the network, devices and interference sources to automatically self-heal and optimize the Wi-Fi experience. This includes algorithms that automate band and channel steering to improve overall performance and create full in-home coverage with seamless roaming capabilities without service interruption.
On the other hand, the end-user mobile application will deliver an intuitive, simple interface that provides a visual representation of the Wi-Fi network including a heat map to easily locate and manage dead zones and identify the right place to add new access points to fill coverage gaps. Customers can also quickly access device lists and management capabilities to create guest networks. The application gives users access to a wide array of self-install, network care and troubleshooting capabilities.
“For many users, the concept of Wi-Fi and broadband access are synonymous, putting many service providers on the front line of customer complaints if Wi-Fi performance is impacted. Depending on the tools available to service providers, this can become either a business challenge or an opportunity. Nokia's enhanced in-home Wi-Fi solution is unique in that it addresses the customer need for a better Wi-Fi experience while providing service providers with the tools and visibility they need to quickly resolve issues, enhance customer loyalty and create additional revenue-generating opportunities,” said Federico Guillén, president of Nokia's Fixed Networks business group.
