ARC Hotspot

An Alternative to Manual Connectivity Troubleshooting

Many broadband users are familiar with the occasional scramble to troubleshoot a degraded connection at an inconvenient time. One solution is something they’re likely already paying for: using cellular hotspot for powering the Wi-Fi devices on their premises. But shifting from an unreliable network connection to this secondary access network isn’t foolproof.

In addition to being able to recognize when an outage is occurring, a user must know how to turn on their cellular hotspot, disconnect the other Wi-Fi devices from the home or business Wi-Fi network and connect them to the cellular hotspot. Finally, they must also know how to detect when the outage is resolved, how to turn off the cellular hotspot and how to reconnect the Wi-Fi devices back to the home or business Wi-Fi network.

An Automated, Cost-Effective Solution

A new product from Kyrio’s Adaptive Route Control (ARC) product line removes this burden for the user. ARC intelligently routes traffic over the best quality network. ARC Hotspot increases the reliability of broadband services for homes and businesses by automating the switch from wired access to cellular hotspot—and back again. It offers continuous service for devices connected to the home or business Wi-Fi network without the need for additional hardware or a need to reconfigure devices. Developed for broadband service providers, this cost-effective software solution not only creates a better experience for the user, but it also can potentially improve customer loyalty, lower churn and increase revenue per customer.

Pandemic spurred increased need for reliable service at home

As telework and online learning have become ubiquitous in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the need for reliable broadband has become more critical than ever. In a U.S. Census Bureau survey conducted in 2020, more than a third of households reported that an adult in their home had engaged in telework as a result of the pandemic. In another survey, 9 out of 10 households with school-age children reported that those students had engaged in distance learning from home. 

Users say reliability is as important as or more important than speed

According to Cisco’s Broadband Index 2022 report, 78% of almost 60,000 workers in 30 global markets say that the reliability and quality of their home broadband connection is important. Similarly, a 2021 report from the Fiber Broadband Association found that 78% of consumers in the U.S. and Canada said the most important aspect of broadband is reliability. A recent Ernst & Young consumer survey found that 55% of American broadband users think reliability is more important than speed.  

Internet service interruptions can have costly impact on economy

A Deloitte report estimated that the daily economic impact of a shutdown of the internet and internet-based services in a highly connected country was an average of $23.6 million per 10 million population. The 2016 study examined the economic impact of internet interruptions initiated by government authorities, but the findings make clear the ties between connectivity and productivity. Another study, released by Gartner, estimated that a single minute of internet downtime can cost businesses an average of $5,600. 

How ARC Hotspot Works

  • Eliminates need for additional hardware

    ARC Hotspot leverages existing smartphones on the customer’s premises as backup connections. This requires no additional hardware cost for an extra mobile radio connected to the home gateway.  

  • Enables automatic shift from wired network

    Software on a broadband gateway detects when the wired network is down. ARC Hotspot then automatically shifts traffic to the cellular hotspot until the wired network is working again. Because the Wi-Fi devices on the premises don’t need to be reconfigured, they stay connected to the gateway, which simply relays traffic to the cellular hotspot. This allows for continuous service for connected devices on the premises, such as laptops, mobile devices and smart home products. 

  • Improves customer experience

    The ARC Hotspot agent can be added to the original equipment manufacturer’s (OEM’s) legacy and/or new devices and enabled through a simple firmware update. Integrating the ARC Hotspot mobile app’s software development kit (SDK) within the operator’s customer care app ensures a streamlined experience for the user. 

  • Guarantees failover

    Kyrio provides software for gateways and mobile devices to manage the use of the smartphone hotspot as a failover option for the fixed broadband connection. ARC Hotspot currently supports failover and can be extended to also support aggregation, smart queuing and other routing features.  

Kyrio ARC Hotspot

How Kyrio Can Help

ARC Hotspot is now available for licensing to gateway manufacturers and network operators. Kyrio holds commercial relationships with all OEMs and can work with an operator’s OEM of choice to integrate ARC Hotspot into their commercial products. Our Adaptive Route Control product line also includes ARC Mobile, which allows operators to automatically route traffic over the lowest cost network. 

Contact us to learn more or arrange a lab trial