Mainland Telecom Increases Rural Broadband Subscribers with Calix

Calix, Inc. has announced that Canadian broadband service provider (BSP) Mainland Telecom has experienced a 66 percent surge in net-new subscribers in just three months since expanding the availability of its unrivaled managed Wi-Fi services to residents in the rural municipality of Clare, Nova Scotia, with Revenue EDGE.

These premium services, which are delivered with lightning speed via the Wi-Fi 6 certified GigaSpire® BLAST u6 systems and the optional, intelligent mesh extensions of the GigaSpire BLAST u4m, are helping increase the appeal of the community in the midst of a booming real estate market as a viable option to live and work from remotely.

Mainland Telecom’s branded CommandIQ® mobile app, HomeHub, coupled with unprecedented in-home network visibility enabled by the seamless integration with Calix Support Cloud, excites subscribers with the ability to create, manage, and enhance their Wi-Fi 6 experience over a brand-new fiber broadband network powered by Intelligent Access EDGE. Residents of the remote community in western Nova Scotia—whose choices previously ranged from outdated technologies such as DSL and substandard options like wireless and satellite—can now connect reliably to expand their employment, education, entertainment, and economic opportunities.

Mainland Telecom began offering residents in Clare two tiers of premium Wi-Fi 6 services earlier this year following a successful pilot to roll out the services over its new, 172-mile Calix-based fiber broadband network. Subscribers also have the option to add, via the HomeHub mobile app, EDGE Suites applications ExperienceIQ™ and ProtectIQ™ to elevate their experience further. With ExperienceIQ, subscribers can control their family’s online experience and optimize their home network, devices, and applications as well as prioritizing applications for Wi-Fi bandwidth via My Priorities.

Mainland-branded ProtectIQ offers advanced security protection from threats such as malware, ransomware, and other types of increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks. Home network security is particularly important for the community’s elderly population, who are among those at most risk from online threats. As Mainland Telecom expands its fiber footprint, it expects increased adoption of these applications as more permanent work-from-home opportunities continue to attract people from other parts of the country to relocate to rural Nova Scotia.

“Over the last year, I have fielded many calls from Canadians who are eager to live in rural Nova Scotia to either care for aging parents or who simply wish to make a lifestyle change as their work-from-home arrangements became more permanent, but their moves have been contingent on the availability of reliable, high-speed internet access,” said Nick MacArthur, operations officer for Mainland Telecom. “Working with Calix to address this urgent broadband gap enables us to deliver world-class Wi-Fi services on par with those offered in the big cities over a simplified and future-proof network with the capacity to scale rapidly as demand grows. Residents of Clare have eagerly adopted our managed Wi-Fi offerings and we anticipate that other municipalities will welcome our much-needed services as we continue to expand. With Calix, we now have the infrastructure and services to excite new and existing subscribers and drive growth in our rural communities.”

Mainland Telecom selected Calix last year following its successful qualification as a technology partner for the Internet Nova Scotia initiative spearheaded by Develop Nova Scotia, an organization responsible for providing high-speed internet to more than 95 percent of Nova Scotia homes and businesses. The Canadian BSP chose the Intelligent Access EDGE to simplify the operation of its new fiber broadband network, harnessing the power of the Network Innovation Platform (AXOS®) to deliver Always On broadband connectivity. Coupled with the Services Management Connector (SMx), Mainland Telecom was able to quickly integrate with back-office systems and rapidly provision GPON fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) gigabit broadband services to residents of Clare—joining other Calix customers who have completed integrations up to 83 percent faster than industry averages and turned services up for new subscribers in seconds. The BSP is also streamlining customer care with Support Cloud, gaining unprecedented visibility and intelligence into subscribers’ experiences to further enhance their satisfaction and grow loyalty.

“In just three months, Mainland Telecom has achieved the perfect trifecta of results by simplifying operations, exciting subscribers, and growing their value to the community,” said Alan Lieff, vice president of sales for Calix. “Fiber is the most viable long-term option for offering the premium services subscribers want and need, and by partnering with Calix, Mainland has positioned itself to deliver today and well into the future as it expands into other service territories. The Intelligent Access EDGE and the simplified operations of the Network Innovation Platform enable it to build a uniquely future-proof fiber network and embrace an everyPON strategy. Combined with an unbeatable subscriber experience delivered via the Revenue EDGE, Mainland Telecom is poised to deliver the ultimate Wi-Fi experience to even more residents and businesses in rural Nova Scotia.”