This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Read our privacy policy
Zeop overview
Reunion Island is an island of approximately 2.5 thousand square kilometers and over 860 thousand people, with 328 thousand households and 10 thousand SMEs. It is a French overseas department and region located in the western Indian Ocean.
Zeop's vision is to connect all the people of Reunion to its advanced fiber-based network, and the company has made the following six commitments:
- Connecting all: Zeop has already covered a large proportion of households on the island and aims to eventually cover 100%.
- Providing the best connection at the best price: Currently, Zeop is ranked 1st for download and upload speeds as well as latency, with an average download speed of 320 Mbps.
- Connecting Reunion to the world: Zeop is deploying and connecting submarine cables to make Reunion Island less vulnerable to outages.
- Boosting local employment: Since 2011, the company has been promoting employment and local development.
- Promoting equal opportunity: Zeop looks to develop solutions that reduce inequality and bridge the digital divide.
- Offering a unique experience: Zeop aims to provide the best possible Internet experience to its users.
Business drivers for FTTR
Most homes in Reunion have four or more rooms, and although Zeop was providing a Wi-Fi access point (AP) by default, the different types and brands of CPE hardware within its footprint made it difficult to manage the home Wi-Fi environment. This resulted in varying levels of service experience, which led to growing customer dissatisfaction and increasing churn.
To counter this, Zeop decided to transform its current ONTs and Wi-Fi APs into a single, unified fiber to the room (FTTR) solution from Huawei. The advantage of the FTTR technology is that the main and sub FTTR units can be connected through optical fibers to ensure optimal Wi-Fi experience in each room.
FTTR provides the ultimate home solution
In 2024, Zeop launched its FTTR offering with the target of upgrading 95% of all ONTs to FTTR ONTs by 2027. This ambitious deployment shows Zeop's commitment to providing the best connectivity to all Reunion citizens.
Product positioning
We decided to develop a large-scale business because we think that everybody should be eligible for FTTR. So, we decided to change our traditional plan to a new one with the same price but with an FTTR-ready box. That was the first step of our strategy.
Some homes require only one ONT. In this scenario, the FTTR-ready solution can be used with a main FTTR unit installed. If APs are required in the future, a sub FTTR unit can be added. The main and sub FTTR units can be connected by Wi-Fi mesh or optical fibers based on customer requirements and home networking conditions to deliver good Internet access experience. Unlike traditional solutions, the FTTR networking solution supports continuous optimization and evolution of home networks.
Marketing strategy
To encourage both existing and new customers, Zeop ran an extensive marketing campaign across multiple channels including social media, Internet, print, and physical locations such as business halls and shopping malls. The key messages focused around invisible cabling, guaranteed multi-gigabit speeds, 360-degree Wi-Fi coverage, and doubling of the number of devices managed.
Improved installation efficiency
Installing a fiber backhaul network in the client's home can be an expensive and time-consuming endeavor. To minimize both cost and customer inconvenience, Zeop took advantage of Huawei's extensive experience and best-of-breed FTTR installation training program. Based on this training, Zeop developed recommended installation times ranging from 2 to 3 hours per household, depending on how many sub FTTR units need to be installed.
In addition to new hardware, installing a new, unified, cloud-based home management system is also vital to success. This software suite provides three vital tools: an assistant application to help with and verify the engineer installation, back-end software for support staff to ensure QoE, and an end-user app for home Wi-Fi management and control. Utilizing such software can dramatically improve the customer experience, regardless of what home hardware technology they are using, and reduce customer service calls.
Success metrics and overall outcome
According to Zeop, its FTTR strategy has seen significant success across a number of key business metrics.
Increased performance compared to Zeop's Wi-Fi mesh solution
A key aim for Zeop in deploying FTTR technology was to increase the home Wi-Fi experience. By using a combination of new hardware and software management tools, Zeop's FTTR strategy has resulted in improved speeds and latency performance (see the following table).
Increased ARPU and expected churn reduction
Zeop's FTTR pricing strategy is designed to encourage a greater number of customers to choose the higher-tiered broadband services. This in turn increases ARPU for Zeop.
Zeop's state-of-the-art FTTR solution featuring guaranteed multi-gigabit speeds and 360-degree Wi-Fi coverage has upgraded the broadband experience for the people of Reunion, resulting in reduced user churn and increased ARPU. The company is confident that the solution's cost-effectiveness and capacity for network upgrade will continue to enhance customer satisfaction as well as brand influence.
Table: FTTR has realized significant network performance improvement
