In the interest of full disclosure, this isn't just a customer story - this is personal.
The bodyguard hidden in plain sight: how a solid network became a lifeline
Fabian and I as fathers raising children in the digital era have long understood the critical need for creating safe environments to let our children be children but they're not the only vulnerable family members who need someone watching over them.
The story starts with a beloved family member, fiercely independent and determined to live life on their own terms, in their own home. To support this, their space was kitted out with a range of monitoring and safety solutions – fall sensors sensors, easy communication tools, the works. The goal was peace of mind, for them and for us.
However, we quickly ran into a frustrating, and frankly, worrying hurdle: the internet connection. Relying on a standard, ISP-provided router, we found the connection was anything but stable. This wasn't just a minor inconvenience. When the internet dropped, the monitoring solutions – our eyes and ears when we weren't there – would go offline. The landline phone, now running over VoIP through the NBN, would also become unusable. And yes, even Netflix, which had become a vital antidote to boredom, would frustratingly buffer and drop out.
The unreliability created a constant low hum of anxiety. Was everything okay? Were the safety systems operational? Each outage often meant a reactive, and lengthy, trip – just shy of an hour's drive each way – just to check on things, reboot routers, and troubleshoot. It was clear this wasn't sustainable. The safety net we thought we had in place had significant holes, all stemming from an unreliable network foundation.
This experience was a stark realisation. The kind of low-budget, consumer-grade router and network setup that many homes run on simply doesn't cut it when critical safety and communication systems are at stake. Especially when the person they're supposed to protect isn't tech savvy enough to trouble shoot and reboot things themselves. It inspired part of our offering today, to focus on providing network solutions built with the same robustness and reliability you'd expect in a business environment. We knew we needed systems capable of being monitored remotely for uptime, for ISP hiccups, and for any other gremlins that might disrupt connectivity. This wasn't just about faster downloads; it was about dependable lifelines.
Customer story: the outage
We have systems in place that monitor the health of the networks we support. Not long ago, we noticed an extended internet dropout at our family member's home. Now, a brief hiccup on the HFC network in that particular area isn't entirely uncommon, unfortunately. But this outage was dragging on, much longer than the typical blip.
Our remote monitoring immediately flagged the persistent downtime. Because we could see something was wrong from afar, we were able to raise the alarm with another family member who lived much closer. They went over to check, expecting perhaps a stubborn router or a localised internet issue.
What they found was more serious: the circuit breakers in the house had tripped. Further investigation found the neighbours had also experienced a power outage and little walk down the street revealed the power company was out on the case. A faulty transformer in the street was the culprit. It had died in spectacular fashion sending a slight surge that tripped circuit breakers. The entire house had lost power, taking all the networked devices offline with it.
I can't help but think on that outcome. Without monitoring in place, how long would it have taken to discover this power outage? It might only have been when our family member tried to use an appliance, make a call, or when the lack of communication became a pressing concern. By then, precious time could have been lost, especially if there had been a need for assistance. The internet being down was a symptom of a much larger, more critical issue – a complete power loss.
This recent event was a powerful reminder. When we talk about supporting independent living through technology, the conversation absolutely must include the unsung hero: the network. It's the invisible framework that holds everything together. Ensuring this framework is stable, reliable, and intelligently monitored isn't a luxury; it's fundamental to providing genuine safety, connection, and the peace of mind that families rightly deserve. It’s about making sure that when you can't be there, the systems you rely on are steadfast.