New whitepaper in partnership with Calix addresses the role of managed services and support for the smart home 

A new Parks Associates whitepaper, Revenue at the Edge: Wi-Fi Managed Services and the Subscriber Experience, reports NPS (net promoter score) for service providers increases substantially as their subscribers add more value-added services (VAS), including managed services, going from -10 NPS among users with no VAS to more than +60 NPS among households with five or more VAS. Thewhitepaper, released in partnership with cloud and software technology company, Calix, analyzes recent changes in the broadband market, including the decline of pay TV, increase in connected devices, and the role of managed services and support services in building subscriber satisfaction and loyalty.

“With increased fiber and fixed wireless adoption, there is growing competition at both the low and high ends of the market: players in the middle are increasingly getting squeezed,” said Kristen Hanich, Research Director, Parks Associates. “Declining pay-TV adoption, an ongoing trend, is pointing to the need for new bundles and offerings to attract and retain home internet subscribers. Remote technical support and self-service solutions are key in helping to prevent dissatisfaction among customers.”

Wi-Fi managed services and emerging technology in general represent a new way of deploying customer services, conducting operations, and providing ongoing support.  Proactively identifying and resolving issues results in greater customer satisfaction and retention while reducing the cost of operations.   

"Calix has spent 12 years and more than $1 billion developing a cloud and software platform that enables even the smallest broadband service provider (BSP) to compete and win in their markets,” said Pam Ferguson, VP, product, persona, market segment, and international marketing, Calix. “What we see from the most successful BSPs is a two-part strategy, not solely reliant on speed. They make smart capital expenditure (CapEx) decisions to deliver speeds consumers need. But then they quickly move beyond speed and launch new revenue streams and loyalty-generating opportunities by introducing managed services across their residential, community, and business markets. These managed services include social media monitoring on and off the network, managed home security, connected device protection, community Wi-Fi services, and much more. With such services, BSPs have more opportunity to differentiate on experience and build lasting legacies in their communities."

Consumers are increasingly adopting new technologies that will drive further upgrades and increased service adoption in the coming years. “Smart TV adoption, continued smart home device adoption, cloud gaming services, and continued virtual reality growth will strain home networks,” Hanich said. “Multi-member households in particular report higher needs, with increased 4K video consumption happening simultaneously on different endpoint devices throughout the household.”

About Parks Associates

Parks Associates, a woman-founded and certified business, is an internationally recognized market research and consulting company specializing in emerging consumer technology products and services. Founded in 1986, Parks Associates provides business intelligence and research services through its proprietary methodologies developed over decades, including quarterly surveys of 10,000 internet households.

The company's expertise crosses many industries: home security and smart home, streaming video, broadband and pay-TV services, digital media and platforms, gaming, Wi-Fi and home networks, connected health, support, consumer electronics, home control systems, energy management, and tech solutions for the multi-dwelling (MDU), small-to-medium business (SMB), and commercial building markets.

Each year, Parks Associates brings thousands of leaders together for its webinars and annual events. The firm hosts the annual executive research and strategy conferences CONNECTIONS™, Connected Health Summit, Smart Energy Summit, Smart Spaces, and Future of Video. https://www.parksassociates.com

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