Aergera care home
‘Older people need a TV service that’s easy to use.’
Daniel Corpataux, Manager, Aergera care home
The story in brief:
For residents of the Aergera care home in Giffers (Fribourg), watching TV is an important part of everyday life. Swisscom has developed a TV solution ideal for residential homes and hotels alike.
Room 101 at the Aergera care home is where 80-year-old Mrs Egger lives. She brought her furniture – including table, chairs, sofa and TV set – with her when she moved here. There’s a knock on the door and Hans-Peter Vonlanthen, the home’s infrastructure and logistics manager, comes in. He wants to quickly check a connection and looks for the instruction manual for the TV remote control. He can’t find it.
He smiles: “That’s a good sign! It means Mrs Egger knows how to use her TV without the instructions.” He’s right: she uses the same remote control for her TV Box and TV to easily scroll through her channel list. Even though she says her poor eyesight means she does not watch many programmes.
Mission impossible in Giffers?
For Daniel Corpataux, manager of the Aergera care home, a state-of-the-art TV service for residents is essential. That is why he wanted a new, future-proof solution. “For people who need care, TV is one of their few windows to the world,” he says.
His list of requirements for the new TV service was stringent, as he explains: “Our aim is for our guests to feel as comfortable as possible in familiar surroundings. That’s why they bring their old furniture with them when they move here. An important part of home is your own TV, as well as a familiar channel list. And, of course, your TV service must work at all times. A week without TV and we’d have an uprising on our hands!”
Daniel Corpataux made two other demands: “A single remote control for the TV and the set-top box, and a WLAN in the bedrooms and restaurant. Although not all the residents are as interested in the Internet, we want to be ready to meet the needs of future generations. We also have to remember family members such as grandchildren, who like to be connected to the Internet when they visit.”
‘Older people need a TV service that’s easy to use.’
Daniel Corpataux, Manager, Aergera care home
An ambitious, innovative solution.
Daniel Corpataux contacted his local Swisscom partner, Net26, who in turn called in a blue TV specialist, and the three of them discussed his requirements together. No, Swisscom did not have a ready-made solution, Corpataux discovered. But they would develop one! No sooner said that done. “Swisscom worked really hard,” recalls Corpataux.
“It was impressive to see how well they engaged with us, even though we were a relatively small customer, and put together a fantastic overall package. Both Net26 and Swisscom showed a clear desire to give us exactly what we needed, which I really liked.” The result was a tailor-made solution, ‘made in Giffers’. Each bedroom has a blue TV connection box. All TVs, whatever the model, work immediately thanks to ‘plug-and-play’ technology and their own blue TV Box.
Daniel Corpataux can quickly and easily programme individual channel lists on his PC. And if a resident wants WLAN access in their room, he can easily switch it on with a mouse click. Since all services are provided by the same partner, administrative costs are significantly reduced. And support can be accessed quickly and easily – even on Sundays.
Quality and convenience for attractive prices.
The prototype that was developed in Giffers is now a fully developed service: blue TV Host advanced. More and more hotels and residential homes of different types are using the new service. “We’re rather proud of it,” admits Daniel Corpataux, who happily lists the benefits that the solution offers: “Older people need a TV service that’s easy to use. The quality and convenience are excellent and enhance quality of life. The local Swisscom partner solves any problems very quickly. Last but not least, the fixed monthly price per connection (blue TV and WLAN) is attractive.”
So what’s the catch? “Swisscom know we want remote controls with fewer, larger buttons, so it’s already on their to-do list,” replies Corpataux with a smile.