By Ian Wheelock & Charles Cheevers, CommScope; Dr. Sudheer Dharanikota & Ayarah Dharanikota, Duke Tech Solutions Inc.
2020 has been a landmark year for the human race. Never before has the human race been equipped with the technical capability to be able to handle dissecting data as well as innovation in finding cures and prevention to something like the coronavirus strains that now threaten the fabric of how we behave as a society. We are all locked in our homes and trusted areas of interaction with our fellow humans. No sector of the human race has been more affected by the pandemic than the elderly population. The virus itself affects those with compromised or weaker immune systems more often than not. This not only brings our elderly population into the most vulnerable group but also now making elderly care homes possibly the most likely place to catch and spread a virus and contagion.
Even before our pandemic times, it was clear that Aging in Place (AIP) was a key area for new opportunities for Cable Operators to tap into. It’s not only a huge improvement change for elderly lives but also a new source of high margin revenue for the Cable Operators. Lockdown at home has given everyone a taste of what it is like spending more time in your home and in particular the role of connectivity in our digital work and social lives. One could almost claim that the foundation pillar of AIP is connectivity. Thus making it obvious that the Service Provider is in a unique position to open up the floodgates on a new de facto model for living out your life in your own home.
Now is the time for Cable Operators to go beyond the triple play and quadruple-play and add high-value connectivity-based services for the AIP cycle of the connected home life. The following sections of this paper will take the reader through the opportunity and some of the key tenets of a Cable Operator led AIP solution. It will also hopefully open up discussion on the key decision points and also the inertia elements for the operator to pivot into this space. This paper will focus specifically on AIP at home rather than in dedicated living communities which can share a lot of the technology and approaches similar to normal residential housing AIP. It will also highlight the simple approach to AIP with the simple tenets of:
- Technology assist for aging in place
- Connectivity
- Communication
- Data Analytics
With a practical focus on the simple assists for Aging in Place, the Cable Operator can do well in the high-value service that will emerge to keep people at home longer.