Life in a 21CN world: a working mum

What will everyday life really be like for you and your business and consumer customers in the 21^st Century Network (21CN) world? The answer for Communications Providers (CPs) comes not from hitching a ride on a time machine but from a series of profiles created by BT Wholesale.

Designed to give a clearer idea of what future market demands and sales opportunities could be, they show how people with a variety of different jobs, workplaces and lifestyles might be using the advantages of 21CN-enabled services to support and enrich virtually everything they do.

We are publishing these conceptual end-user customer profiles regularly in The Loop - looking today at Amy Famille, a working mum with three children whose social lives rival the Hollywood glitterati and cause chaos in the Famille home.

Feeling the pinch of the credit crunch and irritated by multiple novelty phone ringtones at mealtimes, Amy and her husband banned their children from using their mobiles in the home. This didn't go down well. But as bills were spiralling out of control - and being paid by the Bank of Mum and Dad - the ban was deemed absolute and not up for discussion.

The action cut costs but did little to stop the ringing mobiles at dinner. Instead the home phone had become an all-hours hotline - but thanks to 21CN the solution for Amy has been easy, fast and cost-effective.

With the many new voice services the new network supports, each family member now has their own number with its own ringtone on one landline. That means Amy knows who the call is for even before it's answered. No more feeling like a human answering machine for Amy!

The move has also helped to free up the original phone. After the mobile ban, the home phone was always engaged, especially when eldest daughter Becky was talking to her boyfriend. But with a line each, congestion is a thing of the past as all the Familles can all be talking on the phone at the same time.

As the family can access their personal numbers in and out of the house, Amy can monitor usage online to help control costs. They have one calling plan between them so they can share minutes and get the best possible deal - which is critical for this talkative lot!

And in fact, Amy can also control the times when the phone rings. When they're at dinner, all calls are diverted to voicemail and a message intercepts each call before it rings to invite the caller to leave a message. Equally, when the family heads for bed, no incoming calls are received after a certain time, making sure there's no disturbance to a good night's sleep.

The service is software based. That means Amy can access, manage and control her phone easily online. She finds changes are simple to make - and without a call to her Provider's helpdesk.

And the advantages of 21CN go far beyond home phone voice services. The Familles now have complete control of all their communications and can access all messages on any device. There's no longer a difference between SMS, Instant Messages and email. They are all simply 'messages', with even voicemails being translated into text - and vice versa.

21CN has given Amy greater flexibility and control than she ever thought possible. She has made her single home phone line into a flexible home phone system with multiple messaging options - accessible from any device, from anywhere - to meet the demanding needs of a lively household. And particularly her avid social networkers.

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Look out for more 21CN end-user profiles in future issues of The Loop.

Want to find out more about BT Wholesale's growing portfolio of 21CN-based products and services, available right now? Read "Hello 'mixed economy'. Goodbye 'one size fits all' " in this issue now.

Or contact your BT Wholesale account management team.