People are continually looking to improve and customize their own smart home experience to best support their needs and lifestyle, while constantly on the lookout for more bang for their buck. Where do they frequently look for assistance with determining this balance? Their internet service providers (ISPs). Many providers have explored and implemented a range of OTT package offerings, like video streaming services, bundling home security systems with internet packages and offering a variety of IoT devices, but have overlooked low-cost options for upgrading their own hardware to deliver the same type of extra value for their customers.
With the fundamental shift in the work/life paradigm, population growth, and more people choosing to age in place, customers need more than just access to a browser from their ISPs. Home activity insight is a growing market with tremendous opportunity. Adding the power of WiFi Sensing enables ISPs to connect customers with a whole new array of smart devices and services that enable a safer, more dynamic home environment, without any additional hardware. Solutions like WiFi Sensing are one way ISPs can continue to deliver exceptional service to their customers while differentiating themselves from other providers.
What is WiFi Sensing?
WiFi Sensing can be easily deployed on ISP and IoT hardware large and small, from access points and home security systems to smart plugs and lightbulbs. This type of integration and lightweight software deployment is simple and low-cost for the ISP, unlocking tremendous capabilities for customers and enabling a better, more customizable experience overall. So how does it all work?
WiFi signals in a home function similarly to waves in a pool—as one moves around the pool, waves bounce, break and bend around objects like walls, ceilings and people. When paired with AI capabilities such as machine learning (ML), WiFi waves can be harnessed to sense these obstructions and interpret movement—this is called WiFi Sensing.
WiFi Sensing leverages the WiFi-enabled devices already connected to the network to detect environmental changes in a home. When someone crosses the communication path of a wireless router and, say, an Echo Show, for example, an agent running on the router can sense the disruption in the WiFi signals to determine there is human motion and its location. Through the ISPs mobile app, a homeowner can be notified of this activity to determine whether it is unusual and emergency services are required, or whether this is routine movement for the household. With use cases in motion and presence detection, security, home automation, and elder care monitoring, WiFi Sensing has quickly become a less intrusive option for home security, monitoring loved ones, and more.
The value of WiFi Sensing to ISPs
Personal safety, environmental awareness, and customer peace of mind may not be the usual benefits associated with ISPs, but they can be. The history of ISPs has been brief yet extremely effective in connecting the world. What began as low speed dial up connections in 1989 eventually led to cable television companies and telephone carriers offering significantly faster broadband access on their already existing wired connections before introducing the fiber optic and satellite options we use today. Since then, ISPs have been competing to bring as many value-add services in addition to their core service offerings as they can to their customers. Now with the invention and proliferation of WiFi Sensing technology, ISPs can take this even further by offering a more customizable home experience at little cost to their bottom line.
There is currently estimated to be roughly 4.9 billion Internet users worldwide—a number that continues to grow, especially as ISPs focus on creating greater internet accessibility for underserved communities. ISPs have been capitalizing on their ability to offer hardware bundles for years, but even more so as the explosion of IoT devices on the market continues. By adding WiFi Sensing technology to their existing hardware, ISPs can benefit from an increased revenue source that requires minimal upgrades on either end. In fact, last year, Verizon launched their new Home Awareness solution which utilizes WiFi Sensing technology to detect motion and report activity in the home without the need for any cameras or sensors. As WiFi Sensing technology continues to transform the way WiFi is being used in home environments, and more ISPs integrate lightweight technology into their existing or planned hardware, more customers will reap the benefits resulting in a win-win for the ISP. With the formalization of the Matter standard, many providers are already planning their hardware production in the near-future to ensure it is Matter-compliant, which is a natural opportunity to explore the implementation of WiFi Sensing as well.
Customer benefits of WiFi Sensing
WiFi can do so much more than it has been leveraged for thus far, enhancing our lives in material ways every day. When harnessed to its full potential, WiFi Sensing improves our health and wellness at home and our continued safety, with minimal effort required on the customer’s end. In the ISP industry, utilizing WiFi Sensing is the logical next step to bringing these capabilities to life.
Customers have options when it comes to their network providers. What sets each apart are the value-adds they can offer customers, all made possible by partnering with parallel technology providers that deliver even more to their customers. Having a low-cost software solution like WiFi Sensing built into an existing router to wirelessly bring together your connected IoT devices is the game-changing benefit customers are looking for. What’s even better is that through inexpensive upgrades provided by ISPs, the power of WiFi sensing comes to life, offering a safer, more dynamic smart home experience for the customer.
People are continually looking to improve and customize their own smart home experience to best support their needs and lifestyle, while constantly on the lookout for more bang for their buck. Where do they frequently look for assistance with determining this balance? Their internet service providers (ISPs). Many providers have explored and implemented a range of OTT package offerings, like video streaming services, bundling home security systems with internet packages and offering a variety of IoT devices, but have overlooked low-cost options for upgrading their own hardware to deliver the same type of extra value for their customers.
With the fundamental shift in the work/life paradigm, population growth, and more people choosing to age in place, customers need more than just access to a browser from their ISPs. Home activity insight is a growing market with tremendous opportunity. Adding the power of WiFi Sensing enables ISPs to connect customers with a whole new array of smart devices and services that enable a safer, more dynamic home environment, without any additional hardware. Solutions like WiFi Sensing are one way ISPs can continue to deliver exceptional service to their customers while differentiating themselves from other providers.
Where will we see WiFi Sensing technology in the future?
In 2021, WiFi Sensing rose in the tech world’s consciousness. 2022 marked the year that WiFi Sensing technology spread further across industries and applications and, in 2023, the realization of the benefits of WiFi Sensing are now becoming more apparent. Currently, WiFi Sensing technology enables the elderly and those with special needs to live independently at home while supporting remote caregivers with full monitoring and detection coverage. Expectations for how IoT technology should serve the world have evolved from plug-and-play to plug-and-predict. In the IoT space, WiFi Sensing is making this possible by unifying all the smart devices in a home or business to learn, anticipate, and support daily life. Home security providers can also deliver a dependable, frustration-free experience for their customers when leveraging WiFi Sensing to monitor for and detect unknown presences in the home, notifying the customer before alarming authorities, which has significantly reduced false alarm rates, as compared to traditional home security solutions. The health and wellness applications of WiFi Sensing are expected to expand rapidly in the near future, moving beyond at-home use to clinical settings and care facilities. The future will see WiFi Sensing’s implementation everywhere, bringing convenience, safety and protection through broad use across various industries.
At home, WiFi Sensing technology allows existing IoT devices to perform key services like home automation and security without the need for new or additional hardware. Because of this, WiFi Sensing technology has enormous potential in the DIY home security space. Homeowners can set up home protection in a matter of minutes and avoid the privacy violations that can come with camera-based security solutions. As companies integrate WiFi Sensing capabilities into their hardware, it’s going to be especially important to leverage the highest level of fidelity in WiFi signals for highly accurate data and insight.
The future of WiFi Sensing technology in our everyday life is promising and hopeful. With standards and regulations in play, there are thousands of applications for WiFi Sensing across industries. The power of harnessing WiFi—beyond just web browsing—is here and now and will continue to unlock capabilities for the billions of internet users around the world. For ISPs to remain competitive in the market, they must start leveraging these simple, lightweight software upgrades today to create safer home environments for us to live and work tomorrow.
This article was first published on The Fast Mode on February 24, 2023.