By Claus Hetting, WiFi NOW CEO & Chairman
Mongolian ISP Mobinet – part of the KDDI group – this week became the latest service provider to adopt Plume’s subscriber experience platform, including AI-optimised Wi-Fi. Plume CEO Dan Herscovici says not all AI-based ISP platforms are created equal, pointing to Plume’s end-to-end application of AI, the fidelity and scale of its data, its global deployment footprint, and its ability to take action at the gateway as key differentiators.
ISPs are increasingly adopting AI-based platforms for customer care and subscriber experience management – but delivering consistent value requires more than adding individual AI tools to existing operations. Plume’s newly announced deal with Mobinet (read more here) illustrates the strength of a fully integrated solution, as opposed to addressing ISP needs piecemeal, says Plume CEO Dan Herscovici.
“For us, AI is a tool as opposed to a product. Plume Applied Intelligence powers the full Plume platform, while our specialised AI agents take care of various tasks, such as autonomous resolution, conversational interaction, troubleshooting, and data insights. We believe we’re winning new customers – such as Mobinet – because of our integrated approach, in which AI becomes the enhancement layer that drives operational efficiency as well as subscriber insights,” Dan Herscovici says.
He says Plume’s principal market differentiators include the fidelity and volume of its data. “The quality of AI-based services is highly dependent on the availability of near-real-time data from a large footprint of home gateways and end-user devices. We typically extract more than 250 data points per home, and our footprint spans more than 50 million homes. In addition, the intelligence is actionable at the home gateway, allowing issues to be resolved instantly and directly,” he says.
Despite an array of recent product launches, the use of AI-based platforms among ISPs is still in its early innings, he says. “Applying AI to some operational functions – like billing, for example – is fairly simple. Managing connectivity is notoriously hard but this has been a core Plume value proposition from our founding. We think we’re ahead in applying AI across the full subscriber experience,” Dan Herscovici says.
AI across four areas of the subscriber experience
Behind the integrated approach, Herscovici cites four main areas: Connectivity, customer care, security, and subscriber insights. Connectivity remains Plume’s foundation while Plume Care extends this into both reactive and proactive support, using conversational AI across text, web, app, and voice channels to identify problems and guide customers towards a resolution.
Security capabilities include malicious-link protection, intrusion detection, and the identification of unusual device behaviour. Subscriber insights, meanwhile, are intended not only for network operations teams but also for ISP product managers and marketers. The platform can, for example, help identify customers who would benefit from new Wi-Fi equipment, additional extenders, a higher-speed service tier, or a work-from-home package.
The new Plume deployment gives Mobinet customers access to AI-optimised Wi-Fi, advanced cybersecurity protection, parental controls and real-time home network management through an intuitive mobile app. The Plume Platform continuously learns and adapts to each household, helping deliver stronger WiFi coverage, more reliable connectivity and a safer online experience, Plume says.
Asia poised to become Plume’s near-term growth engine
Dan Herscovici says he expects Asia to become one of Plume’s principal growth engines over the next one to two years, as the company continues expansion across EMEA and the Americas. The Mobinet agreement adds to a regional footprint that already includes Japan’s J:Com, where Plume supports an AI-enabled Wi-Fi 7 service, as well as FPT Telecom in Vietnam and Jio in India.
Although Mongolia is a comparatively small broadband market, the Mobinet deployment may carry significance beyond the country itself. Mobinet is part of Mobicom, a consolidated subsidiary of Japanese telecom group KDDI. The agreement therefore gives Plume a live deployment and potentially valuable customer reference within the wider KDDI organisation.
/Claus.
