Powered by KORE connectivity, GrandPad ensures that the digital revolution doesn’t leave seniors behind.
With the 85 and older population in the United States projected to more than double from 6.6 million in 2019 to 14.4 million in 2040 - and similar statistics across the globe - there's a huge challenge to keep them connected in today’s digital world. But existing technologies, like phones and tablets, are not simple to use or connect and often require caregiver support, leaving seniors and those with limited mobility feeling even further isolated.
GrandPad is a simple device that helps vulnerable groups like seniors communicate with family and friends to stay connected easily. And in war-torn regions like the Ukraine, where the aging population has been disproportionately affected and isolated due to ongoing conflict, GrandPad connects seniors with their loved once when they need it most.
GrandPad is an innovative and user-friendly communication device designed to help seniors stay connected with their loved ones effortlessly. This cloud-based curation service allows older adults to securely communicate with family and friends, offering a wide range of features such as voice emails, photo and video viewing, music listening, games, and video calls. Additionally, caregivers and family members can stay connected through a companion app that complements the GrandPad experience. The tablet utilizes 4G LTE connectivity, ensuring seamless access to content without the need for any setup or configuration.
GrandPad’s mission is to create a world where no seniors are lonely or isolated and improve their lives by fostering meaningful connections with their families, friends, and caregivers; however, achieving simplicity in connectivity was not without its complexities. Most of GrandPad’s target market of Super Seniors – individuals over the age of 75 – often lacked access to Wi-Fi. Even if they did, the process of connecting to Wi-Fi posed a significant onboarding challenge. And in areas of conflict such as Ukraine, where broadband infrastructure is often at risk, the engineering team recognized the need for an alternative and explored cellular connectivity as a solution.
While cellular connectivity seemed like a viable option, GrandPad discovered that implementing it was more intricate than anticipated. APIs and documentation varied greatly across U.S. carriers and the hurdles working in a fragmented ecosystem posed significant challenges - as they aimed to scale globally, the complexity only grew. Moreover, they required a level of granular data control to manage their fixed-price offering and APIs to automate processes, as they were getting overwhelmed with manual activations. These frustrations were only amplified by the refugee crisis, wherein displaced Ukrainian seniors, now in areas like Ireland and Estonia, struggled to reach friends and relatives back home.
GrandPad’s commitment to simplicity extended to every aspect of its operations, including procurement and ordering. By partnering with KORE, GrandPad was able to streamline the process and ensure that seniors do not have to do anything but ‘power up.’ Upon receiving their devices, seniors could effortlessly activate their devices, as KORE's APIs remotely handle the SIM card activation. This eliminated the need for users to navigate complex Wi-Fi setup procedures, ensuring communication in and between areas without working broadband infrastructure.
KORE's platform also played a crucial role in powering GrandPad's management dashboards. GrandPad is being used to connect more than 1.7 million seniors with families, friends and caregivers and KORE has allowed the customer service and technical teams to monitor data usage effectively, ensuring smooth operations and superior support.
Simplicity remained a top priority for GrandPad's success, and KORE's contribution was instrumental in achieving this goal. By preconfiguring the devices, GrandPad completely eliminated the complexities associated with Wi-Fi setup, a step that was previously too complex for users. Scott Lien, CEO & Co-founder of GrandPad, emphasized the significant improvement: “We ship our GrandPads to individuals or often in bulk to our enterprise healthcare customers. Our initial manual process was painfully slow and error-prone. With KORE it’s 100x faster.”
Similarly, billing simplicity was equally important for managing high data usage and ensuring a fixed-price service that aligned with GrandPad's business model. “With KORE, we can manage and monitor data at a granular level, like setting initial limits,” added Scott. “This allows us to look at data usage across any slice of our population to ensure that we deliver the services our users have come to love while staying profitable in our fixed price model.”
Reliability is crucial for continued success and maintaining seniors' trust. “When a senior taps the ‘Help’ button on their GrandPad, our Member Experience agents are there to resolve the issue as quickly as possible,” noted Scott. “If there’s any problem there, our seniors will lose patience and confidence in the product.” Reliable Voice over IP (VoIP) connectivity over KORE's connections is paramount, especially considering that over half of GrandPad users have hearing impairments. The 4G LTE connectivity provided by KORE ensures high-quality communications.
With the help of KORE’s connectivity solutions, GrandPad tablets have been seeded to Ukrainian Seniors in the Ternopil region of Ukraine in addition to Ukrainian refugees in Estonia and County Wexford, Ireland. With a combined 200-plus hours of usage on the GrandPad each week, Ukrainian seniors have been reconnecting with their loved ones with voice and video calls, listening to their national radio broadcasts from abroad and enjoying the games on the tablet. Most importantly, the feedback from volunteers at GrandPad has been that the tablet does effectively help with alleviating the isolation faced by Ukrainian seniors during this difficult time.
GrandPad has grown into a worldwide business that is being used to connect more than 1.7 million seniors, families, friends, and caregivers in 120 countries. GrandPad's next endeavor involves global acceleration, including expansion into Japan. “With KORE’s platform, we have the ability to quickly and affordably roll new geographies with the same infrastructure that we have in place,” added Scott. “We can’t wait to improve the lives of seniors across the globe, all powered via KORE.”
Based in Minneapolis, GrandPad™ is a digital health company that develops engagement solutions to improve the health and well-being of older adults by reconnecting them to families, friends, and caregivers through technology that is safe, reliable, and easy to use. To learn more, visit GrandPad.net
KORE is a pioneer, leader, and trusted advisor delivering mission critical IoT solutions and services. We empower organizations of all sizes to improve operational and business results by simplifying the complexity of IoT. Our deep IoT knowledge and experience, global reach, purpose-built solutions, and deployment agility accelerate and materially impact our customers’ business outcomes. For more information, visit www.korewireless.com