China Unicom’s brand offering Smart WO Home uses cutting-edge IT to make home life smarter, safer, healthier, and happier for its customers.
Smart home services have created yet another domain where operators are expected to raise service speed and scope without charging more. As Internet companies, home appliance, and e-commerce brands continue to launch new smart home products, operators run the risk of becoming dumb pipe providers in the smart home market as well as in the communications market.
In line with China's broadband and Internet-plus strategies, China Unicom responded to this threat in March 2015 with its integrated platform, Smart WO Home, which its Sichuan subsidiary launched seven months later. With its 21 local networks serving 1.2 million broadband users, China Unicom Sichuan is one of China’s most pioneering operators, and thus the logical choice to roll out its parent company’s foray into the smart home world.
At its launch, China Unicom Sichuan General Manager Qiao Guiping explained the thinking behind the brand, "Smart WO Home is China Unicom's full digital service solution for home users to make their lives safer, healthier, and more convenient." According to Qiao, the solution integrates Internet, mobile Internet, IoT, big data, cloud computing technologies, and cutting-edge IT. He believes that, with the home as the hub, Smart WO Home "brings families closer" and represents "a revolutionary change in our thinking and way of life in the Internet-plus era".
1-5-3-1 service architecture
Smart WO Home includes integrated access, information sharing, application services, and interactive control services. The solution’s communications package assembles broadband, voice, data, and SMS services under a true 100 Mbps fiber optic full-service sharing package. Home applications include WO Home TV, WO Home Browser, and WO Home Cloud. China Unicom Sichuan also plans to launch WO Home Classroom, WO Home Security, WO Home Doctor, and WO Home Elderly Care.
In readiness for Internet-plus, Smart WO Home is a capability-opening platform that provides practical service support for industry partners and a unified, integrated experience for users. On it, China Unicom Sichuan opens up four of its service capabilities: basic resources, service hosting, central operations, and collaborative innovation.
The 1-5-3-1 service architecture provides:
1 x home integrated communications sharing package
5 x smart home services: WO Home TV, WO Home Browser, WO Home Cloud, WO Home Accelerator, and WO Home Helper
3 x home terminals: a smart router, a smart set-top box, and a smartphone
1 x smart home user interface: WO Bao mobile app
WO Home TV: Bringing happiness
The TV sits at the center of the home entertainment platform in the same way as it does for family life. By making the TV a smart all-round terminal, China Unicom Sichuan delivers computer, mobile, and games to the home through the WO Home TV service.
WO Home TV creates a smart living room entertainment center, so people can enjoy 4K ultra-definition TV shows and do what they like doing online. Logging into the TV service center also lets users pay for their telecom bills, manage device contracts, and buy smart home appliances.
WO Home TV has two pioneering features: One is an online TV shopping service that’s run in cooperation with Suning. The second allows users to access the operator's online and mobile service centers so they can check and change their services, pay bills, and find nearby stores.
WO Home Browser: Managing happiness
WO Home Browser is an integrated full-network, full-terminal, and full-service service solution that uses new tech like hybrid fixed-mobile Internet, IoT, cloud computing, and big data to provide an array of functions including integrated access, information sharing, application services, and interactive control services.
Users can access home automation and security services and check the status of, for example, doors, faucets, air conditioners, and even people. They can also control basic electrical appliances and security systems remotely. The data monitored and collected by WO Home Browser is fed into big data systems that can then provide more services, such as elderly care and health services.
Deputy GM for China Unicom Sichuan Gan Xuejun cites three benefits of WO Home Browser: “First, home security lets people relax when they’re away from home; second, appliance control makes it easier to look after a family; and third, the zero learning curve gives users a headache-free experience.” For industry partners, WO Home Browser leaves plenty of room for innovation.
WO Home Cloud: Sharing happiness
WO Home Cloud lets family members share content like photos and videos across multiple devices, with 500 MB of 4G data free. Unlike Internet companies' clouds, WO Home Cloud connects to the operator’s network through dedicated optical channels for faster upload and download speeds. Content can be shared across any screen – computer, phone, or TV – remotely.
WO Home Cloud communicates with Internet companies' clouds via an open cloud data interface that provides cloud storage and channels on the back end.
WO Home Accelerator: Faster happiness
By accelerating broadband with just one click, WO Home Accelerator reduces download times from, say, 45 minutes to 2 minutes. The operator also provides this service for its partners, including Baidu, Thunder, Youku, and various online photo printers, so users can enjoy Internet speeds of 100 Mbps.
As the first Chinese operator to pilot these kinds of services, Gan is keen to point out the importance of partnerships: "China Unicom Sichuan combines forces with many in the industry to meet customer demands for personal services.” According to him, “Smart WO Home is an incubator for technological innovation, an accelerator of industry growth, and an integrator of happiness."