Broadband ISP Virgin Media (O2) has issued a brief update on the gradual roll-out of “Smart Support”, which is a new service that aims to boost the reliability of internet connections by proactively identifying and tackling issues remotely at no extra cost. Some 200,000 customers have now benefitted from this (up from 50k in July), with 150k more to join by the end of 2024.
Just to recap. The Smart Support service is built on technology from Cisco’s ThousandEyes (formerly SamKnows) platform (i.e. cloud-based data sets and advanced device ID technology), which initially targeted customers “whose connections will be checked throughout the year as the service learns and evolves” (i.e. it monitors for things like speed drops and disconnections), before being rolled out more widely.
Smart Support is still going through Phase 2 of its deployment and is currently only “available to fibre customers and not full fibre” ones, which in the land of Virgin’s peculiar definitions means that it will work on both their Hybrid Fibre Coax (HFC) and RFoG (Radio Frequency over Glass) based FTTP broadband lines, but not their latest XGS-PON FTTP network (many ordinary users probably won’t know which one they have).
The forthcoming Phase 3 deployment will also add machine learning to help fix faults and prevent them from reoccurring, but we still don’t know when that will begin. After that, the plan is to develop Smart support to support digital TV issues (e.g. buffering), but for now it’s focused purely on the core internet connectivity angle.
Smart Support’s Multi-Layered Approach Includes:
➤ Always-on monitoring: Using smart support technology to constantly monitor the customer’s broadband speeds and connection performance.
➤ Problem solving: If a fault is detected, the WiFi Hub will work automatically overnight to try and resolve the issue.
➤ Tailored advice: If the suspected issue cannot be fixed remotely, the customer will be sent personalised advice on how they can try to resolve the issue themselves.
➤ Easy to book expert help: Should this be unsuccessful; the customer will be invited to book a free engineer appointment at a time that suits them.
➤ Regular check-ins: The customer’s connection will be monitored continually and they will be updated within 48 hours at every step.
One other benefit of this approach is that it could reduce calls to Virgin Media’s support lines, since customers won’t need to manually report all of their faults. But we should point out that proactive monitoring of broadband lines is something that other ISPs have also adopted, albeit to varying different levels of effectiveness and sophistication. Sometimes this comes as part of a premium add-on, while in other cases it’s a default feature.
Gareth Lister, Director of Connectivity at Virgin Media O2, said:
“We’re committed to giving our customers the very best broadband experience, that’s why we’ve invested in accelerating the roll out of smart support so even more homes can benefit from the service at no extra cost each month. Smart support is a unique benefit that no other major network offers. This game-changing technology will give our customers extra peace of mind, without them having to lift a finger.”