O2 has resisted the temptation to make it too sophisticated, preferring to make sure that it just one step away from the current market demand for landline-based systems. Increasing numbers of people are choosing not to have landlines and many will want to have an alarm system that they can take with them everywhere once they realise that it is possible.
Mindful of the need for the system to be reliable and for the trust in its brand to be maintained, the company has concentrated on selecting devices that work robustly with its network. O2 will be using its marketing power to offer the £20 a month service to the public later, but is initially hoping to interest council and NHS organisations to offer it as an alternative to ‘traditional’ pendant alarm systems. It has a customer service team to train telecare services to set-up user details on the system, which is done over the internet.
It’s frustrating that big companies can state in the press release that “the UK’s first telecare service built around mobile technology” without checking out the market first! Our SeNCit product is totally build on mobile technology and is more that just a press release and a graphic on a flyer as it is in homes helping people.
“the UK’s first telecare service built around mobile technology” = a PDF
Is it me, or is this a case of the Emperor’s new clothes ?
@Chris H
Unfortunately not. They were new last year:
http://mhealthinsight.com/2012/03/13/could-false-starts-effect-market-confidence-in-mobile-operator-branded-mhealth/