Telecom operators in Europe have spent years eyeing connected home services as a growth lever beyond broadband and mobile subscriptions. The obstacle has not been demand but build cost: standing up a professional security proposition independently requires its own hardware ecosystem, operations centre, and integrations across a market already fragmented by dozens of device standards.
Egardia's wholesale model strips out that capital requirement. The Netherlands-based company, which has operated cloud-based alarm systems since 2008 under its WoonVeilig brand, has packaged its security infrastructure into a SaaS platform that operators can licence and rebrand. Sunrise, Switzerland's second-largest telecom provider, is the first to deploy it commercially.
Under the arrangement, Sunrise can offer subscribers a subscription-based smart home security service under its own brand without owning the underlying technology stack or service operations. Egardia handles the platform; Sunrise owns the customer relationship.
The model addresses a structural problem the industry has circled for years. Professional home security services consistently rank among the features consumers say they would take from a telecom provider if available, yet most operators have found the economics of building proprietary security infrastructure unfavourable against a backdrop of compressed connectivity margins. Egardia's wholesale layer is an attempt to make the category viable for operators who cannot justify the standalone investment.
"Consumers increasingly expect their telecom provider to deliver more than connectivity. They are looking for trusted digital services that protect and simplify everyday life. Until now, building a professional security proposition required significant investments and specialised expertise. Our wholesale platform enables operators to enter this market much faster while maintaining full ownership of their customer relationship."
Robin Rietveld, CEO, Egardia
Following the Sunrise launch, Egardia said it is in discussions with additional European operators looking to add recurring subscription revenue through connected home services.
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