• The Livebox switches the whole household to the customer’s smartphone hotspot. No app, no VPN, no extra hardware.

Paris, France – SoftAtHome, an independent software provider for broadband, Wi-Fi, video, and analytics, today announces that its cutting edge Always’ON product powers Orange’s new “Reconnexion Flash” service for customers in France. When a fiber line goes down, the service running on the Livebox automatically routes the connection through the customer’s own smartphone. Every device in the home stays online without any reconfiguration.

A fiber cut or routine maintenance usually causes significant disruption to end users. The fallback has usually been dedicated backup hardware such as a 4G dongle or mobile router. Always’ON removes that step. The Livebox detects the outage, connects to the smartphone’s hotspot and continues to serve the home network. Laptops, tablets, smart TV’s, and connected devices continue as before, over Wi-Fi or Ethernet.

Orange activated the service remotely for customers equipped with the latest Wi-Fi 7 Livebox: Livebox 7 Wi-Fi 7 and Livebox S. There is no hardware to ship and no time wasted on complex set-up.

Simple by design 

The customer does not install a mobile app, configure a VPN, or depend on a dedicated server. Setup takes a few minutes:

1. The Livebox screen shows a QR code as soon as the outage is detected.
2. Scanning the code opens a short web tutorial. It explains how to turn on the smartphone’s hotspot and set the password the Livebox provides.
3. The Livebox detects the nearby smartphone and connects automatically. The customer does not need to pick a network name.

Once ‘set up, the connection to the smartphone’s hotspot is fast during the outage. When fiber service is restored, the Livebox redirects traffic back to the fixed line and closes the mobile link automatically.

Internet services, including streaming video apps, run over the backup connection. Services tied to the fixed network, such as the Livebox landline phone and Orange’s multicast TV channels, resume when the fiber line is restored.

Simpler and faster reconnection 

“With Reconnexion Flash, we are simplifying our customers’ lives at a key moment by offering them a fast and autonomous solution to maintain their internet connection in the event of an outage. This unprecedented technological breakthrough on the French market illustrates Orange’s commitment to strengthening network resilience and delivering an optimal customer experience.” Laurence Thouveny, Customer Experience EVP, Orange

“An outage is a sensitive moment when a broadband customer judges their operator. With Always’ON, the home stays online via the customer’s smartphone, and the operator maintains control of the experience. It is a real value-added service designed to run on different gateway software environments, including prpl. Arnaud Bellivier de Prin, CEO, SoftAtHome