By Adam Hotchkiss, Plume Design, Inc.
Central to every 21st-century home are ‘smart’ applications that require robust, secure, and dependable internet to operate smoothly. These applications encompasses everything from 4K video streaming to advanced heating controls and video conferencing. With ever-increasing network complexity, households are progressively dependent on Communications Service Providers (CSPs) for expertly-managed connectivity solutions to ensure superior Quality of Experience (QoE) across floorplans, devices, and pps. Our industry spends an astounding amount of time discussing WiFi 7’s expansive speed and performance as a means to solve for evolving application use in the home, but that’s the wrong conversation. WiFi 7 is only an enabling technology to easily connect and send data between devices. We must fundamentally shift the conversation around delivering flawless application experiences for every device in the consumer’s home, regardless of WiFi standards. This paper proposes a comprehensive QoE delivery approach down to the application level, harnessing the potential of Plume’s Full Stack Optimization. It further offers technical guidelines for CSPs on the deployment of cloud-based learning algorithms. These algorithms, paired with precise Key Performance Indicator (KPI) metrics, leverage capabilities of any WiFi networking protocols, and open-source platforms to address the intricate challenges of ensuring optimal connectivity.