Following the takeover of 24 senior living residences previously operated by Réside Études, the Stella group had a clear mission: to rebuild within just a few weeks a homogeneous, high-performing and energy-efficient network infrastructure capable of serving both residents and administrative teams. Wifirst was selected to orchestrate this end-to-end transformation — from WiFi to IP telephony.
// THE INFRASTRUCTURE AT A GLANCE
The Stella infrastructure deployed by Wifirst now represents an industrial-scale network managed in real time from the Wifirst Center portal:
- 24 senior residences connected across France
- 1,832 WiFi access points supervised (uptime > 98%)
- 124 switches 100% managed
- 23 Trunk SIP lines live
- 6.82 Gbps of consolidated bandwidth
- ~950 devices connected simultaneously on average
// THE CHALLENGE
Taking over 24 sites in operation meant inheriting a patchwork of operators, heterogeneous equipment and fragmented contracts. Stella needed:
- A unified infrastructure to reduce operational complexity and recurring costs.
- A resident experience aligned with today's standards: instant connection, comfortable bandwidth, seamless mobility across common areas.
- A secure, isolated business network for administrative teams, separated from the public WiFi.
- A modernized telephony system, ready for the planned end of PSTN, with portability of existing numbers.
// WIFIRST'S RESPONSE: A 100% CONVERGED OFFER
Wifirst deployed a complete stack across the entire Stella portfolio, operated from a single point of control:
- WiFi as a Service: 1,832 access points deployed in rooms and common areas, with two distinct SSIDs (residents / business).
- Managed LAN: 124 switches supervised, centralized configuration, remote updates.
- Dedicated FTTH WAN: guaranteed fiber connectivity on every site, with QoS to prioritize critical workloads.
- Trunk SIP: 23 phone lines migrated to IP with number portability and zero service loss.
// DEPLOYMENT: THREE PHASES, ZERO INTERRUPTION
Phase 1 — Lightning-fast scoping (20 days). Audit of the existing setup, technical sizing and commercial offer validated in less than three weeks to meet the takeover window.
Phase 2 — Business network & WiFi. Deployment of the managed LAN, firewall rollout, segmentation of resident and business flows, integration of the 1,832 access points.
Phase 3 — VoIP migration. Trunk SIP configuration, portability of the 23 phone lines, switchover with no service downtime for residence teams.
// MEASURABLE BENEFITS
- One contract, one point of contact to manage connectivity, network and telephony across the entire portfolio.
- Significant reduction in telecom costs through pooled access lines and the move to Trunk SIP.
- Total service continuity during the switchover: zero disruption felt by residents or staff.
- A future-ready infrastructure capable of absorbing new services (telecare, IoT, smart building) without further work.
"The deployment of VoIP Trunk SIP and the business network across the entire Stella estate, carried out at the beginning of March, marks a major step in the modernization of our telecom infrastructure and the improvement of the user experience for teams in residence. Thanks to seamless coordination between the technical and operational teams, the switchover to Wifirst IP telephony was carried out without any interruption to service, while providing improved call quality and a significant reduction in costs. This project is a fine example of successful collaboration with concrete benefits for the residences and their occupants."
Jean Duquennoy
Administrative and Financial Manager, Résidences Services Seniors Stella
