Vodafone Group Plc (LON:VOD) today announced the launch of Super WiFi, a smart home network that delivers a fast, reliable, Wi-Fi signal to every corner of the home. Super WiFi uses easy-to-install small extenders, strategically placed throughout the house, to deliver a consistent signal in every room. Depending on the size of the house, up to three extenders should ensure that everyone can do exactly what they want to do online, wherever they want, whenever they want.
Unlike standalone plug-ins available on the high street, the Super WiFi network is managed by the cloud. This means the extenders connect seamlessly and simply to Vodafone’s home broadband router, creating a smart, dynamic network that adjusts automatically to deliver the best possible connection to each type of device, whether it is a mobile, laptop or connected TV. Cloud-based self-learning algorithms means the network is constantly improving over time, and able to respond to internal and external changes. Not only can it switch between channels to deliver the strongest available signal, it is also able to detect electronic interference from other devices and adapt to compensate.
The smart network can be monitored and controlled through the Super WiFi app, and it is also able to identify and solve the most common Wi-Fi problems that may arise – with Vodafone’s customer care team available to tackle any remaining issues remotely.
Ahmed Essam, Vodafone Group’s Chief Commercial and Strategy Officer, said: “We know that the vast majority of people’s broadband issues are actually down to poor Wi-Fi signals in their homes – around a quarter of calls into customer care are about Wi-Fi issues. Super WiFi is a simple way to address these problems and give our customers the best possible connection in every room of their house, every day of the week.”
Over three-quarters of European families in a recent survey1 reported Wi-Fi related issues in their home. Broadband speeds into the home may be getting faster, but many users still have problems with buffering, latency and download speeds. This is partly because of the increasing number of devices in the average household, along with the fact that thick internal walls or interference from other electronic equipment can weaken or even completely block the Wi-Fi signal from the router. Of those who took part in the survey, a third (33%) of customers claimed that their Wi-Fi was slower in some rooms than others, while 28% had difficulty in establishing a connection in some places in the house all together.
Super WiFi will be available from Vodafone Spain in the next few weeks, and will roll out across other major European markets over the summer. Vodafone currently has approximately 21 million fixed broadband customers.
