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Mar 16, 2022
3 min read

90 Percent More Broadband Service Providers Grow Subscriber Trust by Using Calix ProtectIQ To Stop Hundreds of Monthly Cyberattacks per Home

SAN JOSE, CA – March 16, 2022 – Calix, Inc. (NYSE: CALX) today announced that, in just one year, 90 percent more broadband service providers (BSPs) are defending their subscribers from cyber intrusions by building on their managed Wi-Fi packages to offer ProtectIQ. The rapid mainstreaming of remote work, global instability, and the exploding connected device market have led to more cyberattacks targeting homes and businesses. Fortune reported a 105 percent increase in ransomware cyberattacks worldwide in 2021, attributed to the surge in remote work outside office networks. ProtectIQ is a network-level security application that works quietly in the background to keep malicious websites, viruses, and intrusions away from subscribers’ homes and businesses. Accessed through Calix EDGE Suites, ProtectIQ adoption is skyrocketing as more BSPs are offering this turnkey premium service to eliminate frustrating calls about malware-infected devices, strengthen subscriber relationships, expand brand trust, and potentially increase average revenue per user. By adding this impactful service to their custom branded CommandIQ® mobile app, even the smallest BSP can secure their community, grow subscriber loyalty, and increase revenue in the process.

These BSPs adopted ProtectIQ to defend their subscribers. As a result, they are seeing explosive app adoption and engagement:
 

  • Canadian Fiber Optics blocks 100 threats per subscriber monthly and increased app adoption by 278 percent. Canadian Fiber Optics made app adoption a priority. First, they leveraged Calix Marketing Cloud to find the best subscribers to target with tailored communications. Then, they made campaign updates in real-time with the help of their customer success manager from Calix. As a result, Canadian Fiber Optics predicts a 246 percent growth in CommandIQ adoption and 6,200 percent growth in ProtectIQ adoption in just six months.
  • Mount Horeb Telephone Company blocks 25 threats per subscriber monthly and grew overall app adoption by 132 percent. Mount Horeb Telephone Company (MHTC) in Wisconsin has seen a 288 percent increase in ProtectIQ subscriptions since they started the campaign in October of 2021. They have also achieved 79 percent adoption of ProtectIQ, nearly doubling the addressable market for future upsells.
  • CentraCom achieved 76 percent adoption of ProtectIQ in six months. The popularity of ProtectIQ and its regular cybersecurity updates helped drive 75 percent more subscribers to adopt Utah-based CentraCom’s personalized mobile app, CentraWiFi Hub (built on CommandIQ).
  • Centranet reached 94 percent adoption of its EDGE Suites in the first two months of adding ProtectIQ. The Oklahoma-based provider reached an 84 percent adoption rate of their Centranet app this year, which is built on CommandIQ. Centranet incorporated the app into their installation process, ensuring their subscribers can benefit from the Centranet app and EDGE Suites immediately, answering demand for easy-to-manage cybersecurity services.
     

The United Nations identified a 600 percent increase in malicious emails in 2020. Today, subscribers are increasingly vulnerable to sophisticated cyber threats to their homes and businesses. Device-based security is almost impossible to maintain as each home now holds a double-digit list of connected devices that are notoriously clunky to update. Statista predicts 75 billion connected devices will be in use worldwide by 2025, demonstrating that the complexity of home cybersecurity is growing. Offered in EDGE Suites, ProtectIQ leverages a large cloud database of known virus, intrusion, and ransomware threats. By looking for the specific signatures of these threats in real-time, ProtectIQ terminates the transfer of data before a malicious payload is delivered and provides subscribers with timely notifications within the CommandIQ app. By offering ProtectIQ security, the BSP protects the entire home or business network and gives subscribers an added layer of protection for connected devices.
 

“For the BSP that is focused on improving the lives of their subscribers while raising the well-being of the community, offering ProtectIQ to secure the home network is not an option—it is their duty. The average subscriber is up against impossible odds as cybercriminals and rogue states attack with an incredible level of sophistication. The BSP is in the best position to offer that protection and prove how much they truly care about their subscribers,” said Michael Weening, president and chief operating officer at Calix. “The BSP that brands ProtectIQ and puts that service into a subscriber’s home or business is making their brand synonymous with security and trust—values that any brand would be proud of. Every day, when the CommandIQ app that proudly displays their brand notifies the subscriber of a stopped threat, the BSP’s subscriber loyalty grows.”
 

Learn more about how ProtectIQ, in Calix Revenue EDGE Suites, is helping BSPs respond to subscribers’ increased cybersecurity concerns.
 

About Calix

Calix, Inc. (NYSE: CALX) – Calix cloud and software platforms enable service providers of all types and sizes to innovate and transform. Our customers utilize the real-time data and insights from Calix platforms to simplify their businesses and deliver experiences that excite their subscribers. The resulting growth in subscriber acquisition, loyalty, and revenue creates more value for their businesses and communities. This is the Calix mission; to enable broadband service providers of all sizes to simplify, excite, and grow.
 

This press release contains 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.
 

About Links to Third-Party Websites

This press release includes links to third-party websites, including Fortune, ABC News and Statista web pages. Calix does not control or—by virtue of providing the link—endorse all of the content on those web pages. Readers should use their own judgment as to the significance and accuracy of that content. 

 

Press Inquiries: 

Alison Crisci
919-353-4323
alison.crisci@calix.com 

 

Investor Inquiries: 

Tom Dinges
408-474-0080
tom.dinges@calix.com  

Calix, Inc. (NYSE: CALX)— Calix is a cloud and appliance-based platform and managed services company. Broadband service providers leverage the Calix broadband platform, cloud, and managed services to simplify operations, engagement, and service, innovate for their consumer, business, and municipal subscribers, and grow their business and the communities they serve.  
 
Our end-to-end platform and managed services democratize the use of data enabling our customers of any size to operate efficiently, acquire subscribers, and deliver exceptional experiences. Calix is dedicated to driving continuous improvement in partnership with our growing ecosystem to support the transformation of our customers and their communities.

Press Inquiries:

Alison Crisci
919-353-4323
alison.crisci@calix.com

Zach Burger
669-369-1991
zach.burger@calix.com

Investor Inquiries:

Jim Fanucchi
investorrelations@calix.com