Service Transformation through the Internet Protocol (IP) Joe McLoughlin - Head of Astraline

Our heritage Established in 1969 Focused on the North West, North East, Yorkshire and Derbyshire 5000+ properties Modernising the Independent Living offer enabling older people to age well (‘Living Longer, Living Better)

Background How we got here? Partnership is key Challenges, Implementation and Roll Out Success factors B4RN , Broadband for the Rural North, is a professionally designed fibre optic broadband network and are registered as a non-profit community benefit society.   During the rollout it soon became apparent that when B4RN customers upgraded their telephony to a digital infrastructure the legacy telecare monitoring service was not available to them as they had no PSTN, standard landline. In most cases the legacy PSTN had to be kept to enable the Telecare Alarm users to access the service. Our solution in theory ,had to be an IP based carephone which communicated to the Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC) via the B4RN fibre optic broadband network. For that reason Doro Care were at the forefront of creating a solution due to their expertise and longevity of offering IP based social alarms. Astraline together with Verklizan, Doro Care and B4RN joined forces to create a fully digital solution. Our objectives were fundamental and formed part of Astralines journey in becoming the UK’s first IP based Alarm Receiving Centre. Building on the vision of the B4RN solution and utilising the Doro CareIP Carephone, all facilitated by the Alarm Receiving software, UMO which is provided by Verklizan UK. These customers now have a completely reliable and futureproof telecare monitoring system. Astraline customers who are connected to the B4RN fibre network have benefited from financial savings as they are no longer having to pay for standard telephone lines or for phone calls.

Objectives & Outcomes IP TEST READY OBJECTIVE #1 OBJECTIVE #2 Implementation of an IP, Internet based protocol  within the Astraline UMO Platform to allow for the CareIP Carephone to communicate to the ARC in the same nature as a traditional alarm.  Explanation of IP Outcome The ICT infrastructure at Astraline was developed to include the SCAIP, Social and Community Alarm internet protocol,. which has already been successfully implemented at scale in Sweden by DoroCare and Verklizan, and plans afoot to ensure that we are able to communicate with all media, whether broadband GPRS or mobile networks 2 Objective To ensure the IP based unit was reliable and secure in the event of a power cut or change in IP address. B4RN carried out extensive testing on the unit on their network and the conclusion was to offer a backup battery power for the router to ensure connectivity in the event of a power cut. The IP address for the telecare alarm user would be locked. 3 Objective To ensure that people using this service had ready access to the service that they were paying for with no delays. The TECs in use connect to the ARC within seconds of the call being generated. We are ready for our first emergency call and the Astraline operators have been commended on the service that they have provided when false calls have been raised.

What it means for the TECS community, industry and service users? Early adoption – ‘blazing the trail’ for IP and digital Opening up new opportunities for service Making the Internet of Things (IoT) real within Telecare space Saving money and increasing security Astralines approach to be an early adopter will enlighten other organisations currently considering the change and encourage them that IP connectivity is the way forward either via GPRS or Fixed Line. Extending the reach of a TEC solution into areas where it has previously been difficult will promote the versatility of the service. The ability to increase the choice of equipment and services that can be provided will naturally promote the wider work of the TSA, as more partners work together to provide solutions. Cost saving to the end user will be a massive draw, with rental of standard land lines, PSTN averaging a monthly cost of £50.00, compared to internet provider costs from £12.00 per month. This solution will destigmatise the use of Telecare, and with widespread education in the internet of things will make it something that people want to use, offer peace of mind and reassurance to friends and family and ensure that are ageing population can live better for longer. The way that the Doro units are connected means that the connections are being continuously monitored, a heartbeat check is received every two minutes and if there are any problems the information is sent to Astraline in real time to enable the appropriate action to be taken. This online supervision ensures that the service user is always able to generate an emergency call, thus creating trust amongst professionals, commissioners and more importantly the service users

Any Questions? We couldn’t have done it without these guys… big thanks to