[Mariehamn, Åland, Finland – 3 December 2025] – Ålcom introduces WiFi+, a new service that delivers stronger, smarter, and more reliable home connectivity across Åland. The service has been developed in partnership with 3KGroup, a value-added distributor and advanced networking solutions provider. WiFi+ is powered by Plume’s cloud-based platform, used by over 400 service providers worldwide and operating in more than 60 million active locations.

WiFi+ uses Plume SuperPods and the Plume Home app as core components to improve coverage, simplify control, and maintain a smoothly operating home network. The system automatically adapts to changes in the home and to the devices connected to the network — helping reduce slowdowns and improve stability without requiring technical knowledge from the user.

Tom Bengtsson, CEO of Ålcom, says: "The launch of WiFi+ is another step towards simplifying and improving our customers' digital everyday life. Our customers get a modern and smart solution while at the same time being able to easily administer and manage their WiFi through the app, with everything from guest WiFi to controlling their children's surfing habits."

In addition to its adaptive performance, the service includes integrated features such as cybersecurity protection, parental controls, and motion awareness. All functionality is managed through an intuitive app available in Swedish and Finnish, giving users a complete and clear overview of their home network.

Karl Staub, Business Development Manager of 3KGroup, adds: “The Plume platform is hardware-agnostic, ensuring its services are not tied to any single Wi-Fi hardware vendor. This allows Ålcom WiFi+ to grow with customers and adopt new devices seamlessly. It’s a true game-changer, and we are delighted to support Ålcom on this journey.”

WiFi+ is designed to help customers get the most out of their fiber broadband subscriptions by making home WiFi simple, stable, and worry-free on a continuous basis. Learn more about the service here: https://www.alcom.ax/privat/bredband/wifi

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About Ålcom
Founded in 1989, Ålcom is the leading local telecommunications provider on Åland, delivering reliable broadband and modern digital services with a strong focus on customer experience and next-generation connectivity.

About 3KGroup
Established in 1997, 3KGroup is a Nordic–Baltic supplier of innovative telco and enterprise-grade networking and Wi-Fi solutions, supporting communications service providers with expertise, training, and value-added services.

About Plume
Founded in 2015, Plume is a pioneer in cloud-based adaptive WiFi technology, offering smart WiFi, cybersecurity, parental controls, and automated services through a hardware-agnostic platform used by service providers around the world.

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Media Contacts:

Tom Bengtsson, CEO – Ålcom – tom.bengtsson@alcom.ax – +358 400 754 168
Karl Staub, BDM – 3KGroup – karl@3kgroup.ee – +372 555 14 002

• LinkedIn

3KGroup, in collaboration with Plume, has taken an important step to make Plume services even more convenient for Estonian, Finnish, and Swedish-speaking users.
As of today, the following end-customer Plume applications are officially available in the most widely used local languages of our region on both Android and iOS platforms:

• Plume Home mobile app (Android and iOS)
• Plume WorkPass mobile app (Android and iOS), guest WiFi portal, and web application

If your device language is set to English, Estonian, Swedish, Finnish, or any other supported language, the applications will automatically appear in that language.

What is language localization? You can read more about it HERE.

Why is this beneficial and even essential?

Localizing Plume applications has been a joint effort — much more than just translating text. Together with Plume’s localization and product teams, we have focused on clarity of language, natural wording for local users, and domain-specific accuracy. We also involved our ISP partners who offer Plume services in the process. This ensures that technical features are understandable even for those without an IT background and that the overall user experience is smooth, friendly, and free from awkward literal translations.

Plume services are widely offered in Estonia, for example by Tele2, and the number of users has been growing rapidly. Both Plume and 3KGroup, as well as our partners, received an increasing number of customer requests to have the app available in their local home language. Working together with Plume, it felt like a natural step to take so that the service aligns even better with the expectations of local users.

A fully Estonian-language application also means that printed manuals are becoming less necessary — the setup process guides the user clearly and step by step within the app itself. This allows anyone to configure their home or business network conveniently, without having to struggle with complex technical menus or needing to understand the app’s original language. In Finland, the number of Plume users is also growing rapidly, so contributing to reviewing and improving the initial translations together with local partners is essential.

A continuous contribution to building a community that values service quality as well as the local language and culture

Our localization collaboration with Plume will continue. This is ongoing work because Plume applications evolve constantly, and 3KGroup keeps the Estonian translations up to date with new features and updates. In addition to Estonian, Finnish, and Swedish — which already meet the needs of our customers in Estonia and Finland — localization for Latvian and Lithuanian service providers is also being prepared.

Providing a high-quality customer experience is important to all of us — it is a core value shared by our partners, 3KGroup, and Plume. It’s what enables users to enjoy the services in the best and most comfortable way.

We welcome continued feedback and suggestions from users at plume@3kgroup.ee — together with Plume, connectivity service providers, and the end-customer community, we can make the service even better.

On March 14, members of the Suomen Setuverkot organization from Finland attended a reception hosted by us - 3KGroup. We talked about making sure WiFi works well at homes and in small businesses. Plume has a smart and hardware vendor-agnostic way to do this. It helps make internet better for contemporary networks with a variety of devices that all have their own peculiarities. The abundance of different variables today contribute to complexities of maintaining a good quality of experience for residential users and very small businesses. They also deserve to have a good overall internet (incl. WiFi) experience in case they might lack resources to acquire enterprise grade WiFi gear. Plume also adds extra security and cool features without needing users to do a lot or be tech experts.

At the event, Plume's senior engineer, Onder Koyupinar and Karl Staub from 3KGroup gave a thorough explanation of the Plume solution. We discussed the perspectives of both home users using Plume® HomePass™ and small businesses using WorkPass. Service provider applications like Frontline and Signal were demonstrated as well.
We displayed many WiFi devices that work with Plume, made by different companies. 3KGroup brings many of these options to Finland and the Baltic region and offers support for them.

Additionally, we addressed the increasingly relevant and serious issue of internet and WiFi security. It was also the main theme of this seminar trip by the Suomen Seutuverkot organization.

The event took place in such a lovely retro-themed place as Kopli KÖÖK, and we believe it was a great success. We had the opportunity to chat, eat, drink, and expand awareness together. We also received positive feedback, so it's definitely worth organizing such events again. Until next meet-ups!

We are proud to announce that Tele2 Estonia have launched new broadband services with Plume included in the subscriptions!

This is already the second launch of Plume to our regions market and is a nice follow up to earlier launch by a new ISP Apollo TV in June of this year. You can read about it HERE.

Rebels with a cause

Launching new services with Plume is an awesome approach that solves old known problems that home broadband service users are unfortunately quite used to:

"It is what is, the internet (in reality in most cases rather Wi-Fi of the internet provider's router) does not always work properly, and in ensuring internet safety and cyber hygiene, I only have to rely on the awareness of myself, my children, parents and grandparents" - Sounds familiar?

Now people can start to forget about this old and outdated pattern of thinking, because as Tele2 tagline goes:

Secure and functioning internet at homes and for all connected devices should not be a luxury:

Secure and functioning internet at homes and for all connected devices should not be a luxury.

Tele2 Estonia

All Tele2 broadband packages now come with Plume SuperPod™. This allows home or small office users to enjoy a seamless Wi-Fi and secure internet browsing experience that Plume software offers. It also comes with an extremely convenient way to control and manage the network through a mobile app.

Stronger together in partnership with 3KGroup

3KGroup is the value added distributor and local channel for Plume software products and compatible ODM/OEM hardware integrated with OpenSync. There are many choices of OpenSync compatible hardware available through us for Communications Service Providers in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Finland. The availability of hardware is thus not an issue. For example, if there are certain inherent issues with a certain device then there are plenty of alternatives for faster resolution. The service providers can also choose from a variety of technical capabilities and designs.

From experience in telecommunications, Wi-Fi and thousands of successful completed projects for over 25 years 3KGroup knows how to deliver on the promise of value add for our local telco and ISP partners. Our channel makes both the service providers and the vendors life easier and business long term. It is saving our partners valuable time and resources.

Strong partnerships are built on mutual trust and the actions 3KGroup has taken to support our CSP customers. It is a privilege to have Tele2 Estonia amongst our customers from telecommunications industry. 3KGroup is continuing to deliver the best world-class telco solutions to local telco market with sustainability and long-term success in mind.

How this translates to business? This means lower OPEX, higher ARPU and high NPS that comes from reducing churn. From 3KGroup perspective this is not a brand promise. It is the direct result of different combinations of well picked and scalable technological solutions with our local support and ongoing consultation.

As always, the summer has passed quite fast and kept us busy in the midst of many summer vacations.
Starting off September, it is quit fit to do a recap and re-announcement what is going on.

Apollo TV - first to launch Plume in Estonia

On 1-st of June our partner Apollo TV launched as new ISP in Estonia with 1Gbit/s internet services. But that is not all. They also coupled the internet service offering with Plume HomePass services and Plume Superpods as hardware!

3KGroup overview page about Plume HomePass can be found HERE.

The dreams of great agility and speed of entering the market with new digital internet services by an ISP in almost no time is a reality in our region. This is possible with turnkey Cloud based tools by Plume and local support from 3KGroup.

As seen by Apollo TV example - it is doable in real life. Enter the market not only internet service provider, but also Wi-Fi and other value-added services provider that leverages a powerful Cloud platform. This enables to offer a distinctive value proposition that solves real problems on the market.

What are the problems?

Maybe you are not listening to your customers or asking them about it attentively enough? It cannot be denied that Wi-Fi quality for one is a huge problem for ISPs that reflects in higher OPEX and churn rates. We see it day to day as ISP customers turn to 3KGroup as known Wi-Fi experts for help. It is probably not a surprise that people mainly experience their internet quality through Wi-Fi connected devices. It may come as surprise that the solution is not just next Wi-Fi technology.

The long term solution for consumers and small businesses is Plume. It will allow an ISP to deploy new services at scale in less than a month. Basically, you could start to grow and retain your broadband customers base better already now. No need to do develop your own systems for months and recruit lots of technical staff just to get some new services out.

With Plume home and small office networks are managed in a smart and automated way.

Mitigate the risk of overburdening your tech support with service related issues. Problems are usually common with deploying new services that don't fit the needs. Difference is how many will you get and can you do anything about them? With Plume there is full visibility and control of a Software as a Service, tailored to ISPs and customers needs.

All-in-all, this is of course much healthier economically than just coming out with more aggressive internet service pricing. Deploying hardware centric systems with lowest possible CAPEX is not a long term solution.

Acknowledgement is the first step for the better

Let's be honest, generally speaking there is still an elephant in the middle of the room. The commodization of internet has happened and the broadband prices are all time low since there is no added value. Thus it is common to see campaigns offering broadband internet to new customers 6 months for FREE etc. We offer a way to step out of this "normality" into a better reality. You should consider it if you are looking for an easily evoked seismic shift for the better.

Introducing Plume video in English:

Apollo TV version in Estonian:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=hljjyZlUp7E&feature=emb_title

That is how the difference is made.

Who is 3KGroup and why 3KGroup?

3KGroup are Wi-Fi experts with 25 years of experience and computer science level know-how. The specialty of 3KGroup is offering deep knowledge and support of most innovative Wi-Fi systems in the world to our region. We as a Value Added Plume reseller and compatible OpenSync hardware distributor from different hardware vendors are very glad to have played our part in adoption of Plume in our market territory from the very start over a year ago.

We are continuing to offer local Plume support to our ISP partners, with different value added services. Last but not least, steady supply of OpenSync enabled Wi-Fi CPE devices are available through 3KGroup as well. Furthermore, different options coming out continuously. This way our partners get the possibility of streamlining both Go To Market, have a partner in Continuous Business Development. This means a possibility of continuous on-demand personally tailored trainings of Plume services and Wi-Fi in general as well.

Why should You as an ISP care?

What is really important and interesting to You as an ISP is also not a surprise to us. Actually, it is really quite obvious and simple. It's uplifting your broadband customers service experience to reduce churn, raising revenues and/or reducing operating expenses of your broadband deployments.

3KGroup will help to turbo-charge these wishes in partnership with Plume and our chosen OpenSync ODM/OEM partners into reality and help save our partners time and money.

It is important to us, based on years of knowledge and continuous improvement in the Wi-Fi subject matter that our partners get premium level support and guidance we are able to offer. It is beneficial to the local ISP-s as well to be many steps ahead in the game. Deep understanding of the internal workings of wireless systems, technology trends and the local market situation is a solid argument of why you should consider partnering with 3KGroup.

It is OK if you are still not quite sure if we could help. Still we propose to give us the benefit of the doubt - just check out all our references and let's have some conversations to move forward!

Conclusion

3KGroup is continuing the work on the territory of Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. All the ISP-s deserve to get a possibility to choose a channel partner with expert level knowledge and support in Wi-Fi.

This is really just a humble start. Work is ongoing with Apollo TV and we see many more of our ISP customers in our territory that are launching Plume services with our support this year.
3KGroup is also supporting our partners in the vendor agnostic path, offering a variety of OpenSync enabled devices.
We have started partnership with a very innovative and fast moving CPE device vendor Heights Telecom . All of the product line will be soon OpenSync enabled and possible to run it with Plume software.

If you as ISP in Finland or Baltic States are also interested in Plume and what it has has to offer and want to stay in a streamlined deployment timeline, with premium local support at the same time, then do not hesitate to contact Karl Staub - karl@3kgroup.ee. This way you can get both the Plume open platform and compatible devices and corresponding local support all from the same responsive source.

PS: Stay tuned for next Go-To Market examples of Plume and see for yourself that this train is moving fast!

Plume WorkPass application gives control and visibility of a small business network to it’s owner. Perfectly tailored for companies with up to 10-15 employees on average.

Short intro about what is Plume WorkPass can be found HERE

Why is WorkPass Wi-Fi so good?

WorkPass Wi-Fi helps to optimize productivity and give peace of mind to small businesses. This category of companies do not have big IT budgets for systems that are designed to serve large enterprises.

Consumer solutions on the other hand are not designed for keeping small business needs in mind. They are too light and fail to answer the extra security and control needs of small businesses.

WorkPass similarly to HomePass is not only Adaptive Wi-Fi for guaranteeing seamless Wi-Fi connectivity for business to run smoothly. It also offers a virtual firewall for small business network. Wi-Fi Motion sensing helps detecting movement in the business premises of employees, invited and also uninvited guests.

Another value in itself is the design of the Workpass interface. It does not require an IT person/company to operate Workpass – a tech savvy employee is enough. ISP also has very easy possibility to help configure the network and changes to take effect right away if needed from distance.

What features WorkPass offers?

Next, we will go through some of the features that illustrate the distinctive values of this turn-key solution.

THE POWER OF DIFFERENT NETWORK ZONES

Division and Governance helps to provide added security in a small business network.

The customer can configure up to 3 different Wi-Fi network SSID-s, create device groups for easy sharing and access, keep the local area network segregated and secure.

1. Secure zone SSID:

Secure SSID is meant for devices that should be segregated from the rest of the network. In other words, for business infrastructure that requires controlled access.
All devices connected via ethernet cable appear in this this zone automatically. By default, only devices on Secure zone can access other devices in the same zone.

2. Employee zone SSID

This SSID is meant for the employees of the company, many of whom may be using personal devices (added security measure for BYOD).

Secure and Employee zones are sharing one and the same subnet, but automatically there is no access to Secure zone from Employee zone. Devices connected to the Employee zone have internet only access by default.

This is a highly useful security measure, as local area network access can be controlled in an easy to understand way. Sharing access to Secure zone for Employees separately by device or by group can be achieved by just couple of clicks in the WorkPass app.

Limiting network access to unknown devices connecting to Secure and Employee networks:

The ability to limit network access to new devices connecting to Secure and Employee zones is very useful too.
Just one click to enable/disable for both Secure and Employee SSID-s.

As an additional security measure this limits the access to your companies network of unauthorized users who might know the password to your Secure or Employee network SSID.

For best Wi-Fi security, it is advised to keep this feature enabled.

3. Guest zone SSID

The customer has an easy way to configure a Captive Portal for guests of the business. This is especially handy in coffee shops, restaurants etc. The company’s logo and business info can be displayed to users trying to access this network.

The devices connecting to Guest zone SSID will be automatically segregated via separate subnet from Secure and Employee zones. So there is no way of any suspicious devices accessing the company network from guest network

The internet usage of Guest zone can be limited by percentage, so guests do not use up all of the small business' bandwidth.

Guest WiFi - marketing and guest analytics tool!

Different login options can also be used for letting guest authorize themselves and give consent for any marketing campaigns initiated by the business: including email and Facebook login.

The business owner has real-time metrics and history of guest visits at his command to analyze how popular his business is at different times and which campaigns generate most visits.

SHIELD – real-time network protection

The possibility of segregation and access control being really well thought through in Workpass. But it does not stop with that. There is possibility to also enable application monitoring and content access.

In addition to digital access the Small business network will have instant real-time Digital security being taken care of as well.

This is not an antivirus service, that should be installed on all devices and alone is not a sufficient security measure anyways.

WorkPass offers network level real time threat-protection that intercepts and blocks security threats  by monitoring all the network traffic being exchanged between a scary place called internet and small business local area networks.

Three main features that can be separately enabled:

• Online protection: Real-time threat protection against crypto mining, ransomware, malware & more
• Advanced IoT protection: Identifies all connected devices and continuously monitors them for suspicious activity
  If a device is compromised, it is quarantined, preventing the threat from spreading to the rest of connected devices on the network.
• Adblocking: Blocks loading of web and video advertisements and requests to known ad servers.
  
  With WorkPass the small business owner has full control over the online security service. It is not something anonymous pushed on by the service provider, where there is no visibility of security events or any possibility to control content access. For example, the business owner can block or approve certain websites / IP-addresses through the WorkPass app for all employees at once or separately by employee.

KEYCARD - metrics for employee management

The metrics displayed in WorkPass Keycard section provide the business owner a better overview and employee management possibilities.

• At work – displays when employees arrive and leave work based on prescence of their primary device
• Data usage – displays data usage for various application types
• Most used apps – display the most popular applications used by the employee to help manage productivity

TIME OUT from internet at work!

There could be times when being online is actually in the way of productivity. For example, at meetings, training, or when it is just a good moment to stop and pause for a moment.

To make this possible and to ensure that employees are also present and paying attention at times of offline productivity the business owner has ability to set time out for online browsing from the WorkPass app.

This can be applied to whole network at once or to separate employees or devices.

By mere push of a pause button in WorkPass the access to internet is suspended. It can be reinstated as easily, when it is time to get back to online work.

FLOW - movement detection offers physical security

This feature has to be enabled to work.

Flow is based on Wi-Fi motion sensing. It uses disturbances in the Wi-Fi connections to detect movement. By monitoring changes in the Wi-Fi field, Flow uses the help of Plume cloud to detect which changes represent movement. When movement is detected, alert can be sent to the user’s phone.

Flow includes the following capabilities:

• Sensitivity of motion sensing can be adjusted
• A live view and history of up to 7 days are visible in the WorkPass application.
• Alerts can be turned on and off automatically, based on whether employees are present, no additional monitoring is reqiered.

NB! Shield and Flow there are separate 3^rd party partner solutions in play who are world-class experts in the subject matter. Adaptive Wi-Fi algorithms, Cloud, AI and data science magic is however fully done by Plume.

CONCLUSION

All in all easy configuration through Workpass frees small businesses from the need to be and think like system administrators or technical support personnel. No need to pay for costly visits by IT companies and call the ISP helpdesk all the time for any quick changes.

If needed, more than one superuser can be set to have admin or read-only rights to small business network via Workpass.

WorkPass offers a possibility for the small business owner to achieve visibility and control of his business to boost productivity, and offer peace of mind that business is running smoothly, wherever he may be.

And not to forget – WorkPass communicates to Plume cloud, built on principles of virtualization and Software Defined Networking. This enables unprecedentedly fast new services delivery and scaling that is not comparable to CPE hardware centric solutions. Thanks to using open-source OpenSync software on supported CPE for communicating with Plume cloud, the risks of vendor-lock in are mitigated as well.

A strong product to answer small business needs! WorkPass is a solution unlike any other.

What next?

With a Plume subscription the ISP small business customers could get instant access to Plume services. Of course by using OpenSync and Plume certified devices. Both the software and suitable hardware are available through 3KGroup.

If you as ISP/fiber provider are interested to offer this unique services to your end-customers, then feel free to reach out for a demo. We will showcase how the service looks and feels both from customer and also from service provider viewpoint.

contact:

Karl Staub

Business Development Manager

+372 555 14 002

karl@3kgroup.ee

Happening in two days, from 10th to the 11th of November a very much anticipated fiber event is to take place at Tampere, Finland. 3KGroup will be there with our friends from Plume to have some conversations, answer questions, and present the innovative and hardware independent solution to the Communications Service Providers visiting the event.

3KGroup is a value added Wi-Fi systems distributor with over 20 years of continuous learning and competence in Wi-Fi and telecommunications field. Helping Communications Service Providers better succeed with innovative Wi-Fi technologies.

We will be present at the exhibition area to showcase Plume Customer Experience Management platform that is ideal for complementing fiber, by delivering quality of experience at the very last meters of homes and small businesses and for all connected end-user devices - both over LAN cable and Wi-Fi.

Fiber is very good, but fiber with Smart Home services platform including smart Wi-Fi, cybersecurity, access controls and more is even better!

Finnet Fiber Runway 2021 event webpage can be found here

How to be many steps ahead and future proof your internet service offering? Why now is a good time to start offering new value add to basic internet service? With the help of what innovative platform it is possible to offer internet services that adapt to the digitalization of society?

To answer these questions 3KGroup and Plume are organizing a joint webinar for Finnish, Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian communications service providers representatives.

Internet service users who are interested in this theme are awaited join in as well.

In the presentation we will cover, how Plumes innovative system helps to save time, reduce operating costs and open up new revenue streams. There will also be a chance to see Plume solutions demo both from the service providers as well as from service consumers perspective. There will be a chance to ask questions during the webinar.

Webinar details

The webinar will take place on the 23. September 10:00 AM (EEST/EEDT). Prior registration is needed to participate.

Registered participants will be sent a link for attending and a recording after the event has taken place.

Agenda:
Introduction
Threats and opportunities, business impacts of Plume
Plume solution demo

NB! This webinar+demo is over, in case of interest in the additional info and the recording please contact: Karl Staub, karl@3kgroup.ee, +372 555 14 002

How does using Plume customer experience management platform make conventional home and small businesses networks so special? What sets Plume Adaptive Wi-Fi system apart from other cloud-based central management systems? There are quite a lot of differences, but the biggest feature is the use of open source software, which can be integrated into equipment and solutions from different hardware vendors. This means, Plume is a vendor-agnostic solution. The source code and documentation for the OpenSync™ silicon-to-service framework is well documented. Currently, equipment from 20+ CPE vendors is already supported and the number is growing

NB! Not only does OpenSync support a multitude of hardware, it also allows Plume to integrate a variety of smart applications from different technology providers. So it is not only about making Wi-Fi experience better.

The end-user can use mobile application (available for Android and IoS) for controlling everything in the local network. It is great that Plume has thought of different use cases. But this isn't all. For the service provider, there are separate cloud applications for Tier 1 customer service and a NOC interface for Tier 2 and Tier 3 technical support and engineers and additional tools for more high level insights with automated KPI-s - for measuring, predicting and analyzing use of services. In addition, Plume is based on an open API. This allows the basic operations to be fully integrated with different systems the service providers are using - including self service portal, for example.

Customer facing Plume apps rock!

How easy is it to connect your Plume enabled device to the network - for example Plume pod? It really does not require any prior technical knowledge. All you have to do is download the mobile app, activate your account and connect the devices to the network. In most cases, the device itself detects the settings of the router/bridge environment and the MESH wireless connection if needed. Therefore, the customer only needs to enter the SSID and password in order to start enjoying the service. In addition to seamless user experience the design of plume interfaces are also aesthetic and pleasant to use.

But why do we have home users and small business applications separately at all? This is actually an important advantage of Plume - taking into account the different needs of different customer segments. Plume frees service providers from an old dilemma - either trying to serve small businesses with features designed for home users or with an overkill of complex enterprise systems.

HomePass™ includes many additional features that are easy to use at home. For example, it allows you to limit children's internet time, block inappropriate content and suspicious websites. You can create a separate (temporary) password for friends to use the Internet only, and so on. If all the needs of a company's security systems would be in the same form in a home solution, then regular end-users actually wouldn't understand them. Moreover, they would probably make a lot of mistakes in configuration.

WorkPass™ features on the other hand are designed to cater for the needs of small business owners. Whereas in HomePass only one SSID with different access levels is possible and sufficient, in WorkPass three separate network zones can be created to separate mission critical devices, employees and guests. The ease of use for small businesses who can't afford to keep costly IT personnel has been clearly thought of, when designing this product. Overall the plug and play experience is the same as with HomePass in essence.

Check out the Product Series overview video:

Plume is powered by artificial intelligence

The main pillar of Plume platform for smart services is that it is fully automated AI-based management system that solves interference problems on the run. It adapts to the environment and evaluates the use of neighboring Wi-Fi channels, as well. In addition, the system recognizes the features of hundreds of devices and can manage device roaming between access points. For instance, It can detect phones that don't support the standard roaming protocol (many Samsung Galaxy smartphones we have tested).

The system is based on machine learning. Hence, knowledge of the features of the connected devices and their Wi-Fi antenna systems will increase over time. For example, thanks to artificial intelligence, the system is much more capable today than it was in the early years. This is an ongoing process and it is all possible with minimal human intervention. The system acquaints itself with the surrounding Wi-Fi environment and ongoing cyber attacks and actually starts optimizing itself over time from day one with absolutely every connected Plume powered network. Since there are already over 20 million active deployments of Plume all over the world then we can imagine the level to what the data science algorithms in the system have evolved. Capability to Identify events and trigger actions to remediate Wi-Fi problems and block security threats in real time is continuously improving all the time.

Plume gives internet service providers new magic powers

Let's start with how things are today with standard (i.e. not enterprise grade) internet services generally - at least in this part of the world. There is no magic, just the harsh realities of low digitalization of standard internet access services offered to consumers and small businesses. All hardware centric, the cheaper equipment the better, i.e. with reference design Wi-Fi antennas, no smarts. In case of identified security threats the common way to deal with problems is patching with device firmware upgrades - the speed of which relies usually on human factor.
Quality of Service stops with the service providers equipment, local network and Wi-Fi are left to chance. So when problems arise they are dealt with by trial and error, reactively to customer complaints. Sending technicians often comes as a last resort when customer frustration is at it's peak and even then it is not guaranteed that the problems will be solved. Even if the problem is solved, then due to changing Wi-Fi environments the same pattern might manifest itself again and again.

But what if there is a possibility to make some effortless magic and the unbelievable customer satisfaction a reality, without a need to do big investments and in a sustainable way that helps to cut costs? Plume in fact offers the tools needed for having the "magic ball and the abilities of a fortune teller" to predict and prevent problems happening in customers Wi-Fi networks as well as go back in time and see what happened some time ago. It is a cost effective pay as you go solution for starting to offer more value with working and easily manageable Wi-Fi and real-time network protection. It is possible to raise revenues at the same time by having more clearer insights into what really matters and deliver new and upgraded service offerings.

It should come as no surprise that people generally perceive local Wi-Fi connection and internet access as one service. Plume is a bespoke solution for ensuring the end-to-end Quality of Experience to internet service customers i.e. regarding the customers point of view. This viewpoint translates to an expectation of a seamless experience of using internet through Wi-Fi connected devices - tablets, smartphones, laptops, TV all the while keeping all other devices that demand Wi-Fi connectivity connected as well.

In regards to cybersecurity - the security threats evolve all the time and this demands real time protection. With Plume there is no need to deploy costly and complex firewall solutions to customers with basic security needs. Also, the service providers don't have to leave customers at the mercy of cybercriminals like sitting ducks, while waiting for their standard internet devices security patches. Plume delivers 24/7 real-time internet protection by having a vast constantly evolving knowledge base of known threats and a system for monitoring, identifying and blocking suspicious activity.

Since Plume uses open platform, then the service provider can use the internet security service that comes with Plume - Guard™ for HomePass and Shield™ for WorkPass to serve the needs of vast majority of their subscribers that know nothing about IT security. If there is already an investment planned or another choice made for making internet traffic more secure for the users, then this is not a showstopper when using Plume. It can't be stressed enough, that Plume is a holistic platform for service providers, not only servicing one specific need.

There are many specialized and robust tools for internet service providers to achieve more visibility that come in package with Plume - they are collectively referred to as Haystack™.

Here is an overview video of Haystack suite:

Frontline™ support, for example, helps operators gain unprecedented insight into home and small business Wi-Fi behavior. In addition to regular automatic optimizations, the service providers can also initiate activities manually through Frontline. It is also possible to view past states of the clients network topology in the Time Machine animation, as well as all the Wi-Fi parameters that change over time.

Signal™ is a more high level monitoring view and prediction tool of all connected customers of a service provider, whereas Frontline gives the view into a concrete network. Predictive algorithms of Signal help to identify problems before they escalate to customers complaints. It enables the service providers be more proactive in managing internet services. A feature called Resolve alerts the customers of problems and creates automated self-help workflows.

On a side note. Do these tools in any way replace TR-069 based ACS systems used by telecom operators for the provisioning and mass management of customer premises equipment (CPE)? The answer is NO. Plume complements existing CPE device management tools, with offering a lot more granular visibility and transparency to what is really happening on the Wi-Fi network. The classic tools do not reach that level in default settings. It is possible to integrate Frontline and Signal with existing monitoring and systems thanks to API capability, of course.

Panorama™ is also an important tool in the Haystack suite that completes the picture - it aggregates all the data of connected Wi-Fi devices to a single pane of glass for insights and high level KPI tracking. This kind of data is generally totally missing at this level of granularity from the reach of service providers. So again - a complementing addition of more granular data of client devices distribution and use for communication service providers data warehouse. This means more visibility and insight than only access level DPI offers, completing the puzzle with visibility of Wi-Fi connected devices - it helps to measure the effectiveness customer growth, service adoption and campaign effectiveness. In addition to Wi-Fi and network visibility it gives also access to cybersecurity report overviews of all the threats facing the network, where they come from, and who they are targeting. 

What is the value proposition of 3KGroup?

Plume SaaS customer experience management platform that 3KGroup is authorized to represent as local channel partner in Finland and the Baltics is primarily aimed at telecom operators (and subsequently their customers).

Having extensive experience and knowledge in value added distribution and accumulated Wi-Fi and telecommunications competence we do:

• Consultation and training: help our service provider partners in faster onboarding and implementation of Plume.
  
• Device distribution and logistics: help to choose the vendors and provide devices already integrated or ready to embrace OpenSync initiative and go through integration to make networks smarter with Plume.
  
• Development and system analysis: have the capability to support enabling additional value added services like for example IoT

In partnership we will find the most suitable fit for interested service providers in implementing Plume to their service offering. Be it with existing CPE devices or as Over The Top (OTT) solution.

Best part is, that we will continuously keep supporting service providers locally even after initial onboarding and integrations of Plume.

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Email karl@3kgroup.ee or call +372 555 14 002 and find out more.

In case of additional interest, we can arrange a demo to introduce the Plume solution in more detail and answer any questions that may arise.

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Plume is the creator of the world's first software-based SaaS (Software as a Service) customer experience platform for communications service providers and their customers. Plume enables the rapid delivery of large-scale new services for connected homes and small businesses.

Plume.com

March marked the birthday month for 3KGroup, celebrating our 24th year! Our dedication remains unwavering as we continue to prioritize delivering top-tier Wi-Fi solutions as a Value Added Distributor (VAD).

Spring symbolizes new opportunities and growth, and we are thrilled to unveil the latest addition to our portfolio. We're excited to introduce a groundbreaking solution tailored specifically for communication service providers. This year, 3KGroup proudly presents the Smart Services platform featuring an Adaptive Wi-Fi solution, setting new standards in the industry.

Our new partner is a truly revolutionary, the first of its kind pioneer in Smart Home services, Plume Design, Inc.

3KGroup is pleased to announce that we are representing Plume in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Finland!

In order to provide additional information about Plume products, we have created a separate website with the address plume.3kgroup.ee. We are updating it with new information regularly.

Plume was founded in 2014 by four veteran telecom and wireless industry experts who took a revolutionary platform approach to Smart Home Services delivery. The company has grown rapidly, you can find out more about Plume's development here.

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What is Plume and why it was created

Plume CEM (Customer Experience Management) is a unique cloud and software defined platform. It brings together the best of recent developments in Wi-Fi, machine learning and cloud technology. The main goal of this intelligent system is to provide a simple yet highly functional Wi-Fi solution for service providers. Plume is an ideal solution for ensuring the quality and user experience of Wi-Fi for consumers and small businesses.

We understand that for the average end-user, Wi-Fi connectivity and internet access are often perceived as one and the same. Most consumers lack technical expertise and prefer not to deal with troubleshooting Wi-Fi issues. Given the complexity of the topic, finding a simple, reliable solution is crucial. Home users and small businesses, in particular, don't want to incur extra costs for IT professionals.

Additionally, users expect consistent, high-quality connections across all their devices. Our proposed platform was developed with these expectations in mind. Plume offers significant advantages on various fronts, providing users with an easy-to-use, functional, and foolproof solution that ensures seamless connectivity without the need for additional technical expertise or costs.

The value of Plume CEM with Adaptive Wi-Fi

It has many strengths that complement each other:

• Smart algorithms that work automatically ensure The quality of the Wi-Fi connection. This reduces the impact of the human factor, and the need for specialist intervention is small.
• With an intelligent self-optimizing and distributed Wi-Fi system, the service providers can offer managed Wi-Fi at a significantly lower cost.
• The possibilities of the platform are extremely flexible and diverse, which guarantees enjoyable ease of use.
• HomePass and WorkPass are comprehensible mobile applications for end-users. The purpose is to literally bring the control and administration of a home or work network to the average user's fingertips.
• It is completely software based and does not require the use of any specific Wi-Fi device.
• Flexibility: each communication service provider can, if desired, design the services offered by Plume according to their needs and customer base.

Plume is developed with the broader goal of offering solutions to the obvious shortcomings in the Wi-Fi in private houses, apartment buildings, etc. Consumer expectations to find a suitable working Wi-Fi solution on the market is much higher now than ever before. Plume tops outdated solutions and provides a truly high-quality Wi-Fi connection for absolutely all devices that require a Wi-Fi connection.

In addition to laptops, smartphones, tablets, more and more Internet of Things (IoT) devices need a stable Internet connection via Wi-Fi. Of course, the number of devices that need a good Wi-Fi connection is no longer limited to a maximum of two devices per user. Plume offers a wide range of options for managing the Wi-Fi needs of any type of device.

The situation of last year and this year, together with the COVID-19 health crisis and the resulting home(office) situation also denotes the problem. Wi-Fi solutions used in homes must also withstand extreme situations and the resulting congestion problems.

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The OpenSync framework opens up even more possibilities

Plume is based on the open source OpenSync framework, which allows it to be used with any Wi-Fi-enabled Internet devices. Hence, a truly innovative approach as it does not require the purchase of new devices. This in turn, supports the principles of environmental sustainability and is also cost-effective.

Thus, in the case of Plume with OpenSync, the additional investments necessary to replace the equipment are essentially excluded. By looking at the capabilities of OpenSync also through the situation created by corona crisis, it can also help alleviate the system chip deficit caused by the crisis due to production and delivery difficulties.

OpenSync is supported by the most common system chips for Internet devices:

• Qualcomm
• Broadcom
• Quantenna
• RDK wifi_hal (supports Qualcomm, Broadcom Quantenna, Celeno, Intel)
• Open source driver (TIP, RDK-B on Turris Omnia)
• Mediatek

Due to the fact that OpenSync is implemented at the system chip level, it works with various Wi-Fi routers and MESH extenders. OpenSync enabled Plume pods are one of many choices. Several major hardware vendors are already cooperating with Plume. You can find the list of devices supported by OpenSync here.

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3KGroup as value added channel partner for Plume

In short, Plume has hit the nail on the head by delivering a solution long awaited on the market. It is a smart, independent, simple and high-quality solution to the real problem of Wi-Fi networks in our homes and small businesses.
That is why 3KGroup and Plume have joined hands and decided to start cooperation so that 3K would represent and support the adoption of this innovative approach on the vertical of Finland - Estonia - Latvia - Lithuania.

Stay tuned - many news and posts are to follow on this dedicated showcase webpage and social media channels.

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Plume is the creator of the world's first software-based SaaS (Software as a Service) customer experience platform for communications service providers and their customers. Plume enables the rapid delivery of large-scale new services for connected homes and small businesses.

Plume.com