Calix Upgrades GigaCenter, Brings Booming Mesh Wi-Fi Opportunity for Telecoms

Calix, Inc., a global enabler of Subscriber Driven Intelligent Access solutions has announced the first mesh-enhanced Carrier Class Wi-Fi solution designed specifically for communications service providers.

With this announcement, Calix is delivering mesh-enabling software upgrades to its GigaCenter solutions and adding the new 804Mesh satellites. These enhancements will transform home Wi-Fi coverage and enable GigaCenter solutions to intelligently adapt to today’s increasingly complex home Wi-Fi environments.

Now service providers can exploit the burgeoning mesh Wi-Fi opportunity by delivering a mesh-enhanced Carrier Class Wi-Fi experience unmatched in performance or value by any consumer class mesh solution.

As the Wi-Fi experience has become increasingly important to subscribers, many are paying up to $500 for consumer class mesh products. Service providers, armed with mesh-enhanced GigaCenters, can now offer a superior Carrier Class mesh Wi-Fi solution at a fraction of the cost of these consumer products. Available for all GigaCenter deployments and remotely managed with Calix Cloud, the Calix mesh-enhanced Carrier Class Wi-Fi solution offers Calix customers an opportunity to create a superior subscriber experience, generating new revenue streams with the 804Mesh satellites and reducing service costs. As a result, they can lower the TCO of the GigaCenter solution and maximize their return on their investment.

“Over 50 percent of service provider customer care calls are Wi-Fi related – which means that even if the service provider is not managing the equipment providing Wi-Fi, they are still incurring the costs of supporting the subscriber. They also face the risk of increased churn if they cannot solve Wi-Fi problems,” said Shane Eleniak, Calix vice president of systems products. “With mesh-enhanced Carrier Class Wi-Fi, our customers can turn this resource drain into a significant opportunity – one that allows them to elevate the subscriber experience and convert common home Wi-Fi frustrations into a new source of revenue. By offering the 804Mesh unit for as little as pennies per day, service providers can save their subscribers hundreds of dollars, provide cutting-edge technology, and increase ARPU. In addition, Carrier Class mesh Wi-Fi is enabled through a simple firmware update versus a costly hardware rip and replace of an ONT, allowing our customers to maximize the value of their long-term investment in GigaFamily solutions.”

The upgraded GigaCenter solution allows streaming video, gaming, and other online applications to run at their optimal performance throughout the home. By complementing this solution with Calix Cloud, service providers can easily manage the subscriber experience via remote troubleshooting features that provide unprecedented visibility into the entire home network. Finally, the 804Mesh was designed for self-install to ensure that subscribers get up and running at the lowest cost possible.

One innovative service provider who is ready to separate itself from the competition with mesh-enhanced Carrier Class Wi-Fi solutions from Calix in this manner is Nebraska fiber innovator ALLO Communications (ALLO). With ubiquitous all-fiber networks in seven communities including a rapidly expanding subscriber base in the state’s capital of Lincoln, ALLO has demonstrated a long commitment to delivering the ultimate business and residential subscriber experience. As a continuation of that commitment, ALLO is taking the next step to ensure that this unique experience extends through their managed Wi-Fi service. Their existing GigaCenter deployment will now be enhanced with 804Mesh satellites, allowing them to stay ahead of growing broadband needs and easily expand the reach and performance of Wi-Fi for their subscribers on demand.

“Our expansive fiber network has provided a unique foundation for our customer service focus at ALLO, giving us the ability to quickly grow our business and deliver services that go above and beyond our subscriber’s expectations,” said Brad Moline, ALLO President. “Providing a managed Wi-Fi service is key to that service portfolio, as our subscriber’s wireless experience is becoming more important in their daily lives. GigaCenters combined with 804Mesh satellites and Calix Cloud will enable ALLO to efficiently serve our subscribers’ Wi-Fi demands in larger homes with more devices, and even in their outdoor spaces. ALLO looks forward to delighting our subscribers with this new offering and keeping the ALLO brand closely associated with the best broadband service available anywhere.”