Home Networking

Deployment, Challenges and

Technical Lessons

12/6/2012

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Agenda

Atlantic Broadband- Who we are, what we do.

Wireless Product- What we deploy and why.- Wireless Standards

Installation Challenges- Installation paradigm shift

Technical Support- Support Metrics & Challenges

Lessons Learned The Future of Wireless Products

- Wireless AC standard

Q&A

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Overview

Atlantic Broadband launched a Home Networking solution in June of 2011 for our customers. This was done for multiple reasons:

Competitors already offer home networking services.

Many customers already own routers and perceive their router problem as an Atlantic broadband issue

Future consumer products will require a solid IP network within the customer premise.

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Atlantic Broadband

Atlantic Broadband services 250k residential subscribers across multiple systems within four independent service delivery networks (regions)

Services- Digital Video- VOD- High Speed Internet- Line replacement phone- Both residential and commercial

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PA Region

Northern SystemBradford, Warren, Sugar Grove,

Limestone, Grampian, Salamanca

Clearfield SystemClearfield, Grampian,Curwensville, Shippenville

Altoona/Johnstown System

Altoona, Johnstown, Canoe Creek, Huntington, Bellwood, Tyrone, Cassville, Todd, Calvin, Waterfall, Broad Top, Three Springs, Mapleton Depot

Cumberland SystemCumberland, Wiley Ford, WV, Fort Ashby, WV, Frostburg, MD,

Kingwood, WV, Moorefield, WV, Paw Paw, WV, Romney, WV, Keyser, WV

Uniontown SystemUniontown, Hopwood, Masontown,

Fairchance, Tunnelton, WV

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Maryland/Delaware Region (referred to as MD/DE or Delmar)

Grasonville, MD

Queenstown, Stevensville,

Chester, Centreville, Rock Hall,Kent Island, Carmichael, Wye Mills, Sudlersville, St. Michaels, Trappe, Chestertown, Easton, Bozman

Middletown, DE

Delaware City, Odessa, New Castle, Townsend, Clayton, Smyrna, Perryville, Port Deposit,Chesapeake City, Elkton,St. Georges

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Miami Region

Aventura, Sunny Isles BeachNorth Miami BeachBay Harbour Islands,Indian CreekSurfsideNorth Bay VillageMiami Beach South Miami

South Beach

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Aiken Region

 

Aiken areaGraniteville,Jackson,New Ellenton

Low CountryBarnwell,Williston,Blackville, Snelling

Low CountryDenmark, Bamberg

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Wireless Product Overview

Product- Per month a la carte- Installation covers the first 2 devices

- Trip charges also apply if only doing a HN install.- One time charge for the USB wireless adapter (optional)

Includes a leased Cisco E1500 router

Includes 24x7 phone support at no additional cost- Onsite trouble calls are extra

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Our Router: Cisco E1500

Supports wireless b, g & n devices. That covers most all existing devices.

Has 4 10/100 Ethernet ports for wired connections.

Supports WEP, WPA/WPA2 & SPI firewall protection.

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Top

Back

E1500 at a glance

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What is supported on install

Current Gen Gaming Consoles (Wii, PS3, Xbox

360)

PCs, Macs, Laptops

Tablets and iPads

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Customers with existing routers

We will not support customer owned equipment.- Even if the have the same Linksys E1500. - Customers must take our leased router to get Home

Networking.

Why?- Our techs are all highly trained on using and supporting this

device. We are not trained on other devices- By taking our leased device the customer can get a

replacement if something breaks, like with a receiver.- Router lease is included in the monthly HN fee so there is not

any extra charge.

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What we don’t install

Smart Phones

(Android, iPhone, Blackberry)

Video Streaming Devices

(AppleTV, Roku, VuDu, Boxee, TiVo

etc) Peripheral Devices

(Printers, Hard Drives,

etc)Web connected TVs

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Wireless Adapter

We offer the Cisco Linksys AE1500 High-Performance Wireless-N Adapter. (Optional)- $31.99 (1/2 off what retailers charge)- Only supports PCs and laptops NOT MAC or any gaming consoles.

Two reasons customers might want an adapter.1) Their PC or laptop does not have a wifi card in it.

2) Upgrade to ‘N’ so that they get better range and speed.

How can I tell if a customer needs an adapter?- Ask them if their device is already connected to a wireless network.

- If not they need to check to see if they have wifi capability.- Also, techs will carry these to installs and check while there.

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AND

Router Considerations

Embedded Will renew its IP address after

modem outage Optimal cable demarcation is not

always optimal wireless/CAT5 demarcation

Often lags capabilities of standalone (802.11n, etc)

Standalone Out-pace the capabilities of

embedded routers (802.11n, parental controls, guest networks, etc)

Can be installed in optimal wireless networking location

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Router Considerations cont…

Modem manufacturers are now just starting to catch up in terms of usability, technology and wireless standards.

No initial driver to use MoCA – expected in future

Pros- IPV6 Supported- Simple- Cisco Connect Software allows for quick installation

Cons- Extra device to track and inventory

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Installation Changes - Placement

Typical demarcation is lacking for normal wireless coverage.- ABB Installations moved from directly next to the PC

to the areas with the largest density of devices needing internet access.

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Installation Changes – Device Density

The average entertainment center can contain a multitude a internet ready devices.

- Web Enabled TV- Web Enabled Blue Ray- Multiple Gaming Systems- Apple TV- Rok, TiVo, Boxxee etc..

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Installation Changes – Wireless Coverage

Fortunately most installs should have the living room in the center of the home.- This actually helps

because the wireless coverage will now extend to most if not all rooms.

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Installation Changes – What about the PC?

As more and more devices go wireless or have wireless built in this becomes less of an issue.- Customers who have a PC are offered the option of

an AE1000, N compatible wireless adapter.

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Installation Changes – Dead Zones?

Inevitably there may be a dead zone or area that needs more wireless coverage. ABB uses the RE1000 network extender

The rules ABB follows:- When

- The extender should be used when a customer is only receiving 20% or less signal (1 bar) and they are well within the normal range. Devices have a tendency to drop offline when within less than 20% signal

- Where- The extender should be placed roughly 50-75% of the distance

between the troubled device and the router itself.

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Installation Issues & Lessons Learned

Top Installation Issues- Unqualified Customers: Computer not up to spec

- Tougher more direct question about the customers PC and Operating system

- No PC on site at time of installation- Technicians now carry a “Pre-staged” router for

installation.

- Password Recovery- We collect passwords now at time of installation and

keep a record for our support group to reference.

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Technical Support Challenges

Overall Technical Support has not been greatly impacted.- Many of the calls we take today involve customer

owned routers so this is not a large shift from normal customer questions.

- Support statistics from the first three months:

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This issue can range from an issue with a current 2.4 GHz wireless phone to electro magnetic field (EMF) interference from other electronic devices. Indication that a base station or wireless unit is interfering will your network signal connection drops completely during an incoming phone call.

We have three option if this is the case:

1. Move the router further away from the base station.

2. Via the admin GIU on the router change the wireless channel.

3. Via the phone’s base station attempt to change the communication channels the phone uses.

Technical Support Challenges – Wireless Signal

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A unit that is not responding to any normal troubleshooting steps can be easily identified using the following three ways:

1. Attempt to log into the admin GUI

2. Does the router respond to ping attempts?

3. Is the power light flashing on the rear of the unit?

Technical Support Challenges – Unresponsive Unit

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Lessons Learned

Our biggest takeaways:- Capturing the password at installation is critical for

support.

- Investing in customer education on the use of Cisco Connect at installs saves us support calls later.

- Building customer confidence is key since customers taking home networking are not as likely to have purchased their own router.

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Lessons Learned: 18 Months Later

Pennsylvania MD/DE SC Miami0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

6261

2258

1534

5479

141 33 31 727 2 3 11

The Numbers

Customer CountSupport CallsTruck Rolls

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The Future of Home Networking

Why MoCA?- Can take advantage of existing home coax wiring if

available- As a wired standard, does not compete with wireless

networks for spectrum use- Can provide uplink network connectivity to wireless

access points

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The Future of Home Networking cont…

Wireless 802.11 AC- Roughly Three times faster

- Theoretical maximum of 1.3Gbps.- Real Life testing shows connecting topping out at

800Mbps.

- Uses “beamforming” technology

- 5GHZ frequency band- This puts it above most wireless home phone

interference.

- 802.11 AC is here today, sort of- While Broadcom has been producing AC chips since

January, wireless retail units are not yet cheap enough for the masses.

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The Future of Home Networking cont…

Home Automation- The Ones we know today

- HVAC- Lighting- Security

- Devices in development- Smart Refrigerators- Plant Watering- Cofee/Tea maker- Pet Feeding- Webo - Belkin

Basically any home appliance that becomes internet enabled

Yes this is a homemade internet enabled cat feeder

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Questions, Comments and Concerns