A triple-play network is a robust Internet connection which allows voice, video and data traffic to traverse on one channel using a single access subscription.
Triple-Play networks in Zimbabwe include the fiber optic connections rolled out by Liquid Telecom and ZOL in recent years, giving their subscribers access to Voice-over-IP (VoIP), Video-on-Demand (VoD) and data.
Triple-Play networks carry various applications which allow massive delivering of content to subscribers using the designated communication channels which are managed at the service provider edge.
The most common applications are Telephony, community antenna television (CATV) and high-speed Internet service. The transmission medium may be fiber optic, conventional cable (“copper”) or satellite.
Triple-play networks exist in Zimbabwe and are offered by dedicated service providers like Liquid Telecom, ZOL Zimbabwe, TelOne, Telecontract etc.
Dedicated fibre optic cables are now the modern medium of delivering Triple-Play Networks
Triple-play network telephone service offers standard options such as call waiting, call forwarding, caller ID (identification), call screening, selective call blocking and conference calling.
The TV portion of the service includes legacy network reception, a wide choice of cable channels and a diverse selection of music channels. Other TV-related services may include messaging, interactive viewing and gaming.
The key consideration in the Internet connection is adequate bandwidth, even during peak local usage hours. Nominal Internet connection speeds are 3 megabits per second (Mbps) downstream and 512 kilobytes per second (Kbps) upstream.
Other important features of the Internet connection include screening of e-mail for viruses, content filtering options for connections to be used by children and reasonable guarantees of communications privacy and security.
No matter how advanced the technology may become, customer relationship management (CRM) remains an important factor in the success of any triple-play network. Home users who subscribe to triple-play networks enjoy the fact that they have to pay only one bill each month and can deal with a single entity to resolve problems with their telephone, TV or Internet connections.
The ideal triple-play system functions 24/7 (24 hours a day, 7 days a week). The best triple-play services provide customer support on a 24/7 basis as well; when a customer calls for service, hold times are rarely long. Non-technical features such as these are crucial to maintaining customer loyalty.
