Chariton Valley Commits To Protecting All Customers From Growing Cybersecurity Threats With Calix ProtectIQ Home Network Security

Calix, Inc. announced that Chariton Valley Telephone Corporation (Chariton Valley) expects to double its customer connections after providing ProtectIQ home network security to all customers at no cost. Chariton Valley leverages the full power of Calix Revenue EDGE to transform its value proposition and improve the customer experience. In May, the 70-year-old broadband service provider (BSP) launched ProtectIQ, part of Calix Revenue EDGE Suites, as it continues to roll out GigaSpire BLAST systems across its Midwestern communities. In a climate of increased cybersecurity concerns, Chariton Valley has equipped all GigaSpire BLAST customers with effortless access to robust home network security. In doing so, the BSP increases customer loyalty across rural regions and nearby cities in north-central and northeast Missouri. Many Chariton Valley customers have sophisticated internet habits—half identify as gamers and almost 40 percent w*************. By evolving its value proposition, the innovative BSP has also fortified itself against billion-dollar market cap competition in Palmyra and Hannibal. In its first two months of offering ProtectIQ to all customers, Chariton Valley blocked more than 48,000 web threats, intrusions, malware, and viruses from entering home networks—proving the immediate value of its investments.

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“As a member-owned organization, the customer experience informs everything we do”

The comprehensive Revenue EDGE platform enables BSPs of all sizes to easily and quickly launch differentiating turnkey, managed offerings. Chariton Valley continues to evolve its value proposition and strengthen its growing customer connections by:

• Transforming its business to help communities thrive for decades. Chariton Valley is on track to complete a historic five-year, $42 million fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) buildout in its member service territory, and another $40 million in expansion opportunities next year by leveraging the secure broadband access network platform, Calix Intelligent Access EDGE™. In May, it began rolling out turnkey, managed offerings in EDGE Suites, starting with ProtectIQ, recently recognized by the cybersecurity industry as “Best in Anti-Phishing, Network Security & Management,” at no cost to its customers. As a result, Chariton Valley blocked thousands of web threats in only two months—further proving the value of its investment in the region.
• Creating internet experiences that grow with customers’ needs. After the successful rollout of ProtectIQ, Chariton Valley is now taking a targeted approach to introduce its second EDGE Suite, the advanced parental controls in ExperienceIQ. Calix-partnered BSPs have seen a 178 percent increase in people using ExperienceIQ since the beginning of the year. Both ProtectIQ and ExperienceIQ are accessed through the BSP’s branded subscriber-facing mobile app, built on CommandIQ, giving customers more control over their home networks.
• Leveraging data and insights to offer services that meet each customer’s unique needs. Using the insights and analytics in Calix Marketing Cloud (Marketing Cloud), even a small BSP like Chariton Valley can successfully leverage data for segmenting and targeting. For example, Chariton Valley uses Marketing Cloud to uncover which of its customers are most likely to need the advanced parental controls of ExperienceIQ. Now their marketing team can quickly identify the right people for the new service. This enables Chariton Valley to get maximum ROI from every dollar invested in marketing.

“As a member-owned organization, the customer experience informs everything we do,” said Kirby J. Underberg, president and chief executive officer at Chariton Valley. “Chariton Valley is committed to the region’s future—the investment we made building a secure fiber network will benefit people living in north-central and northeast Missouri for the next three decades. However, we also understand that we are responsible for protecting our customers from the increasing threat of digital dangers that come along with the positive generational impact of secure, fast Wi-Fi. By adding critical services like home network security and advanced parental controls, we will continue to invest in our customers by providing superior internet experiences long after the latest deals from our competitors expire.”

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Along with ProtectIQ and ExperienceIQ, EDGE Suites also includes connected home camera security systems (Arlo Secure). Additionally, Calix is launching two new managed offerings this summer: social media monitoring (Bark) and connected device protection (Servify Care).

“Chariton Valley’s incredible first two months offering ProtectIQ to all customers underlines why today’s successful broadband business must be about more than just fast Wi-Fi,” said Matt Collins, executive vice president of commercial operations and chief marketing officer at Calix. “ProtectIQ has helped BSPs of all sizes block millions of digital threats in 2022. The Missouri-based market leader competes against a billion-dollar market cap company and wins because it leverages the full power of the Revenue EDGE platform to easily and quickly launch turnkey, managed offerings like ProtectIQ that improve the customer experience. We look forward to supporting Chariton Valley’s continued growth as they evolve their value proposition to reflect their commitment to protecting customers in north-central and northeast Missouri.”

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