How Tipmont Is Strengthening a Reputation for Service Excellence and Expanding Into New Markets

As an electric cooperative, Tipmont has provided essential services to rural Indiana since the 1930s. We have always focused on delivering reliability and value for our members—people over profits. And when we began deploying state-of-the-art fiber broadband across our footprint in 2019, our cooperative values didn’t change. We aim to provide an essential service to our communities that is reliable, affordable, and easy to use.
 

By the end of 2024, broadband internet will be available to all 25,000 members—around a third of whom are already internet customers. This is only the start. By deploying SmartLife™ managed services on the Calix broadband platform, we can now look at market segments beyond residential. By deploying SmartBiz™, we’ll have an offering suited for small business broadband that needs more than just connectivity (for example, security) at a much lower cost than our enterprise solution. We’re also looking at SmartTown™ to provide secure community broadband to our members, even when they’re on the go.  

Transforming Our Broadband Operations

It’s logical to think that pushing into new markets and rolling out new services would add cost and complexity to our operations. It might even risk our reputation for network reliability and exceptional customer care. After all, our network operations center (NOC) consists of just six employees. But that’s where Calix can help Tipmont transform our broadband operations.  
 

The new SmartLife services are seamlessly managed on the same Calix platform we use for home internet services (SmartHome^TM), so our operations team is ready. No additional tools, training, or staffing is required. Regardless of the service, our small team can leverage the same automation tools, workflows, and network visibility and insights.
 

Calix Operations Cloud (Operations Cloud) has transformed our NOC and fundamentally changed how we serve our members. Where we were once reactive in managing service disruptions and outages, we’re now proactive. We get real-time alerts of potential network issues and use geo-mapping features to identify impacted subscribers instantly. This enables us to address problems faster than ever before, resulting in fewer calls to our support team and huge cost and efficiency savings because we only roll repair trucks when absolutely necessary.  
 

Operations Cloud is just one component of the Calix broadband platform helping Tipmont evolve our service offerings. We use Calix Service Cloud to support our subscribers proactively. We’re also rolling out Calix Engagement Cloud to help increase take rates, even in saturated areas. Combined, these cloud tools enabled Tipmont to deliver a service far beyond what our (often much larger) competitors can manage. It’s helped us continue our legacy of providing value and caring for our members—a mission that has kept us in business for 85 years. 
 

To learn more about how to bring operations and customer support together in the cloud, watch Josh Rice at ConneXions 2023.