Consolidated Telcom Captures New Revenues and Efficiencies with Managed Wi-Fi Service Enabled by Calix GigaCenters and Calix Support Cloud

Popular managed Wi-Fi service enhances subscriber experience, increases retention rates while reducing support costs

PETALUMA, Calif., March 28, 2018 -- Calix, Inc. (NYSE:CALX) today announced Consolidated Telcom (Consolidated), the premier provider of high-speed Internet, telephone, and digital television services in southwestern North Dakota, has experienced impressive revenue and customer retention increases through its Managed Wi-Fi service enabled by Calix GigaCenters and Calix Support Cloud. After Consolidated initially offered its subscribers inexpensive, consumer-grade Wi-Fi solutions which proved to be lacking in performance and challenging to manage, the forward-looking local exchange carrier (LEC) moved to a fully managed, carrier-class Wi-Fi service model from Calix. Now, subscribers are able to receive Wi-Fi speeds of up to 1 Gbps through 844E GigaCenters, while Consolidated can remotely update and troubleshoot the home network through Calix Support Cloud all for just a few dollars more per month for subscribers.

Consolidated’s Managed Wi-Fi service has provided many successes to date, including:

• 28 percent take rate across their subscriber base
• 94 percent retention rate for Managed Wi-Fi service subscribers
• 50 percent reduction in support call times and field technician deployments

“Our market has seen great change and rapid growth in the past decade, with the oil boom bringing in new residential and business subscribers who have diverse service requirements. At first, we struggled to meet their needs by providing different consumer brands of Wi-Fi routers that proved to be difficult and time-consuming to manage and provided a sub-par experience,” said Jeremy Witte, network manager at Consolidated. “By shifting to the Calix solution of GigaCenters and Calix Support Cloud, our subscribers’ experience is much improved, with an added sense of security from knowing their Wi-Fi service is reliable. And should an issue arise, we can now address it faster than ever before without having to roll a truck. All around, the experience with our Managed Wi-Fi service has been phenomenal, and Calix has played a huge role in its success.”   

One of the early adopters of fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) technology, Consolidated started building their NTCA ‘Gig-certified’ network in 2006, which now connects nearly 10,000 subscribers. While fiber reaches the majority of those subscribers, Consolidated is also able to utilize the 844E GigaCenter with subscribers served by cable or wireless technologies. With Calix Support Cloud monitoring every GigaCenter — decreasing support call times and reducing truck rolls — Consolidated has been able to streamline their operations with a single Wi-Fi solution and management system for all physical technologies in their network. Consolidated is planning to offer its subscribers the option to add new 804Mesh satellites to complement their GigaCenters in the coming months. This will enable subscribers to get a sensational whole home Wi-Fi experience that provides optimal coverage throughout the entire premises, and even targeted areas outside the home such as patios, workshops, and garages.

“Subscribers today clearly benefit from a managed Wi-Fi service, but service providers benefit too, as we can see through the success Consolidated has experienced,” said Skip Hirvela, vice president of sales at Calix. “The results speak for themselves as Calix-enabled Managed Wi-Fi is increasing retention and revenues while reducing call times, truck rolls, and overall support costs. And while Consolidated’s results are impressive today, service providers who actively seize this opportunity will be well positioned to win in the rapidly evolving smart home of tomorrow. Managed Wi-Fi is the springboard to owning the subscriber experience, and we applaud Consolidated for recognizing this opportunity to dramatically improve both their subscriber experience and their business results through this game-changing service.”

See more about the success Consolidated has found with their managed Wi-Fi services in this new Calix Success Story video.

About Calix

Calix, Inc. (NYSE:CALX) – Innovative communications service providers rely on Calix platforms to help them master and monetize the complex infrastructure between their subscribers and the cloud. Calix is the leading global provider of the cloud and software platforms, systems, and services required to deliver the unified access network and smart premises of tomorrow. Our platforms and services help our customers build next generation networks by embracing a DevOps operating model, optimize the subscriber experience by leveraging big data analytics and turn the complexity of the smart home and business into new revenue streams.

This press release may contain forward-looking statements that are based upon management's current expectations and are inherently uncertain. Forward-looking statements are based upon information available to us as of the date of this release, and we assume no obligation to revise or update any such forward-looking statement to reflect any event or circumstance after the date of this release, except as required by law. Actual results and the timing of events could differ materially from current expectations based on risks and uncertainties affecting Calix’s business. The reader is cautioned not to rely on the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. Additional information on potential factors that could affect Calix's results and other risks and uncertainties are detailed in its quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC and available at www.sec.gov.

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