subject: Poisoned Apple? A New Threat To Isps [print this page] Poisoned Apple? A New Threat to ISPs Poisoned Apple? A New Threat to ISPs
Apple battles ISPs for its piece of the Connected Home pie
The Connected Home: Premium Opportunity for the ISP Community
As people go online for a growing range of activities that make their lives easier, from purchasing goods to monitoring their bank accounts, computers continue to change how we work, think and play. From PCs to smartphones, the growing sophistication and capabilities of our computerized devices allows us to connect from anywhere to everywhere, and with greater broadband capabilities. Whether its investing in stocks, booking flights or making money transfers, were feeling less concerned about security issues, and our interactions for both business and pleasure are increasingly online.
Now, the Connected Home revolution has moved to how we handle our major possessions namely, our homes. The Connected Home allows people to manage a whole new range of daily tasks online, delivering a panorama of services, which include:
Entertainment: Sharing multimedia from anywhere to everywhere, multimedia content management, Audio and Video on Demand, network gaming, social networking, education services, commerce services and convenience services
Home Security: Home camera surveillance, intrusion alarms, fire alarms and protection, and door entry authorization
Home Automation: Automation appliance control such as heating and sensors, controlling lights, air conditioning, curtains, alarms and sensors
Energy Management: Monitoring and reporting on home consumption (including support by smart grid)
Health & Family Care: Monitoring children and the elderly, health data transmission, and enabling doctors and hospitals to provide care with telemedicine capabilities
For ISPs, the Connected Home is a golden opportunity: A chance to expand customer loyalty and increase the ARPU by offering value added services, allowing ISPs to establish their position as a technological leader.
Apple Confronts ISPs
While ISPs view the Connected Home as a chance to increase revenues, reduce subscriber churn rates, expand services and maintain customer loyalty Apple is trying to take this all away.
Unlike other providers of devices and hardware, Apple puts itself in direct competition with carriers and ISPs. Apple turns to the consumer, establishing direct relationships. It sells content to consumers while trying to block carriers from uploading their own content. Apple is also looking for ways to provide additional services (such as Apple TV).
Apple, with its us and only us approach, is bypassing the ISPs attempting to squash their opportunity. For example, theres no adding the carriers logo to Apple iPhones, no adding branded applications. You cant do anything with an Apple phone, except resell. Information about tr-69
What ISPs Can Do
Friendlys Technologies provides ISPs with the tools they need to conquer the Connected Home market, successfully provide the content that consumers want and manage the user experience. With Friendlys solutions, ISPs can establish themselves as technological leaders:
Provide subscribers with a branded Connected Home solution: Offer applications that allow users to consume content from anywhere to everywhere, and to any device. These applications are branded with the ISPs look & feel, positioning the ISP in the market.
Handle all types of devices: Manage a wide range of devices with one, integrated system. This includes routers, cameras, sensors, TR-69, IPTV, iPhones, security systems, electrical appliances and more.
Monitor & improve subscribers QoE: Know if your subscribers are happy, and if not, learn why. Take proactive measures to improve the QoE.
Friendly offers a carrier class device management solution, reducing deployment, management and support costs of data, voice, video and Smart Home services and increasing ISPs revenues offering ISPs a counter to the Apple threat. And Apple isnt the only one causing trouble; other players such as Google and Microsoft have an interest in this arena, as well, which will also need to be examined.
