How We Future-Proofed Our Network and Strengthened Our Community

For over 70 years, we’ve served northeast Missouri—not just as a broadband service provider (BSP), but as part of the community. So when we received performance complaints, it hit hard. These weren’t just customers—they were neighbors. We did not want to fall short, not just by our standards but by our community’s trust.
 

Our standing in the community was also being challenged. New competitors promising cheaper prices and faster speeds wanted to get a foothold in our communities. Unwilling to compete on pricing with these larger players—and knowing reputation alone wasn’t enough to shield us from them—we relied on the quality of our service and support to keep us ahead. And we wanted to act fast.
 

Our legacy GPON network did not meet our subscribers’ evolving demands, and our PONs were becoming oversaturated. We needed an upgrade, but not just any upgrade. We needed to unify disparate systems and tools into a single platform to streamline operational processes and maintain profitability.

Mapping a Smart Path to Transformation

We turned to Calix for help. It started with a plan. Collaborating with the Calix Success team, we mapped out a network transformation roadmap to upgrade to advanced XGS-PON. This began with planning and design, implementation and testing, and then moved to decommissioning the legacy network and activating the new one. Their project management, expertise, and guidance were critical to a smooth migration. It enabled us to follow best practices and accelerate the transformation.
 

By basing our network transformation on the Calix Broadband Platform, we could scale up the new network at a comfortable pace. This meant that moving subscribers over to the new OLTs helped alleviate pressure on the previously oversaturated OLTs that hadn’t yet been moved. What’s more, Calix Cloud® applications in the Broadband Platform gave us 360-degree visibility of performance and health across our GPON and XGS-PON systems, and we could standardize troubleshooting. There was no swivel-chairing between different systems. Using Calix Operations Cloud, we automated the network health monitoring processes, driving further operational efficiencies.

Delivering Improved Subscriber Experiences

Migrating to XGS-PON on the Calix Broadband Platform has improved the subscriber experience. We’ve seen a significant reduction in trouble calls and complaints about the quality of service—for example, video streaming quality during peak times. This transformation has also delivered enhanced operational efficiency.  We’ve moved all subscribers to the AXOS system so we’re not swivel-chairing between management systems, and this has improved our efficiency and standardized our troubleshooting. This upgrade delivered a state-of-the-art network that gave us the tools to ensure our subscribers got the experience they deserve—proactively.
 

But bringing our network up to speed with demand is only the beginning. The platform also provides a launchpad to deploy advanced managed services that deliver real value for our communities. Launching SmartTown™, we provided a service for first responders to stay connected. We also plan to launch SmartBiz™ to serve the small business owners who keep our communities running.
 

We’re now leading with a network that reflects our community’s values. Thanks to our deep collaboration with Calix, we’ve transformed from reactive to proactive, from stretched thin to future-ready. Now, we’re not just delivering connectivity—we’re delivering on our promise to our neighbors.

Is your network no longer keeping pace with your business needs? Watch our new webinar featuring Chariton Valley: “From Legacy to Leading Edge: Top Network Modernization Considerations for the Long Game.”