Residential Internet services: At home with Generation Y

Internet connectivity has rapidly progressed from a fringe service used by the few and the privileged to a point where, for many people, especially for 'Generation Y' individuals, it is as essential as lights and water are.

This fact is reflected in the growing trend of deploying Internet connectivity solutions into newly constructed residential estates.

Taking this development one step further, the innovative Internet company YSL Group is providing complete hosted communications services on top of raw connectivity. The result is that residents of new estates are fully equipped with a low-cost, unified communications solution the minute they move into their home.

Generation Y defines the generation of people born from the early 1980s to the early 1990s. They are also sometimes referred to as 'millennials'. As a workforce, this tech-savvy generation has quite specific wants and needs from their employers, such as flexi time, work-from-home and mobility.

According to Louis Yssel, chief executive officer YSL Group, the company provides a Microsoft-based, fully hosted Unified Communications solution for new residential complexes. "From a single Ethernet port into the home, the user has access to a full communications suite which includes e-mail, fax, telephony, SMS, and Internet access. It is a single piece of reticulation which delivers every conceivable Internet based service, removing the need for unsightly wires which are messy and annoying," he says.

The company's Y-Suite solution is based on Microsoft's Unified Communications Server and Active Directory. Furthermore, as an Exchange-based solution, all data is protected in a SQL Server database and can be accessed remotely.

Unified communications, says Yssel, is perhaps more commonly encountered in the offices of large corporations and integrates phone, e-mail, calendaring, SMS and faxing into a Microsoft Outlook mailbox.

He says what Y-Suite means for Generation Y is that they are equipped with an enterprise-class communications solution in their home. "This directly meets the growing trend for professionals to work from home with a full suite of communication modes available through the single interface of Microsoft Outlook," says Yssel.

While Generation Yers may have heightened demand for in-home connectivity, Yssel notes that there are individuals of all ages who enjoy the benefits of easy to use, simple to buy Internet services.

He points out that the previously clearly defined boundaries between work and home are blurring rapidly and that many individuals want to be reliably connected and ready to work regardless of their context. "Y-Suite facilitates this level of communication. While it is a hosted residential solution, it is based on the premise that reliability and availability is an absolute essential," he says.

This connected generation, stresses Yssel, does not brook disconnection. As a result, he says Y-Suite is designed for the always-on connectivity usually reserved for business customers, which in the industry is referred to as 'carrier-grade' service. "To date, residential services, especially in the telecoms environment, have not had any priority attached to their support and reliability. However, with the changing work/life dynamic every user is potentially a business customer - therefore, Y-Suite is backed by a help-desk which ensures that any issues are immediately addressed or escalated until resolved."

From a single cable into the home, Yssel says YSL Group is delivering the connectivity and services which are demanded by a new generation of Internet user. "A single line does it all, which is quite unique - and the resident pays only for the services received, on a monthly basis just like the water and lights bill," he concludes.