CDE Lightband Taps ATX to Enhance Customer Services

ATX Networks, a global enabler in broadband access and media distribution solutions, is providing CDE Lightband with a low-cost, pluggable solution that enables the Clarksville, TN-based power and broadband service provider to upgrade its bulk commercial video service without requiring customers to purchase new televisions.

CDE Lightband is initially using the ATX Visium™ Set-Back Box (SBB), a pocketsize security adapter compatible with Pro:Idiom™ and MPEG-4 that features a built-in Interactive Program Guide (IPG), to enable residents in two senior living facilities to receive the company’s recently updated HD video service without upgrading existing televisions, many of which lack internal digital tuners capable of natively receiving the source signals carrying the new programming.

The Visium SBB’s ability to enable older, non-commercial televisions to display video delivered using the latest security and compression technologies factored heavily into CDE Lightband’s purchasing decision, which required a solution that did not place additional financial burdens on property owners.

“We didn’t want to be in a position to force them to upgrade their televisions to receive the new service,” said Christy Batts, Chief Broadband Officer at CDE Lightband, adding that in many cases the facilities’ residents owned their televisions. “We wanted to give them the option of maintaining their service with little effort on their part.”

CDE Lightband desired a cost-efficient solution given that the switch over to HD and the conversion of their analog services to a digital format would not generate additional revenue. In addition to customer retention and loyalty, a chief benefit of the Visium SBB is its ability to reduce maintenance costs and trouble calls at the senior facilities. Before installation of the ATX SBB, power interruptions or other failures would require maintenance personnel to rescan residents’ televisions, a process that took about 15 minutes per television. The Visium SBB’s capability to configure a channel lineup from a USB key in less than a minute makes it very efficient to deploy and maintain.

The ability to program only a select number of buttons on the SBB’s remote control is also expected to reduce maintenance calls, as well as customer frustration. The remote’s selective programming capabilities prevent, for example, the loss of television services due to residents inadvertently hitting a button on the remote, such as the Source button.

“CDE Lightband’s success in upgrading the guest experience and bringing end user-pleasing benefits to local commercial customers for a modest cost is exactly what we had in mind when we designed the Visium SBB and selected Advanced Media Technologies as our distribution partner,” said Jess Zelaya, VP Global Channel Sales at ATX. “Kudos to the AMT team for working so closely with CDE Lightband to solve this critical service issue and protect their commercial service business.”

ATX Networks is a global leader in broadband access and media distribution solutions. ATX’s market-leading and award-winning solutions are based on Agile Innovation design principles, enabling communications service providers to futureproof and evolve their networks in lockstep with market demand.

ATX partners with the world’s most innovative cable, satellite, fixed telecom, wireless and media broadcast service providers to improve people’s lives by enabling affordable and reliable broadband connectivity and media content for everyone, everywhere.

CDE Lightband, the municipal electric and broadband provider for the City of Clarksville, offers electric, internet, video and voice services to customers within the city limits. CDE Lightband serves over 80,000 metered homes and businesses with electric service and nearing 30,000 customers with broadband services over our Fiber to the Premise Network.