Six Weeks After Deployment, Brandenburg Telecom Grows Bark Offering To Help Protect 3X More Kentucky Families From Social Media Harm
By leveraging the Calix broadband platform, Brandenburg Telecom quickly deploys and grows their Bark social media monitoring offering so more families can access the critical tool in the new school year, expanding on their 73-year history of serving their Kentucky community
SAN JOSE, CA—September 26, 2023—Calix, Inc. (NYSE: CALX) announced today that Brandenburg Telecom (Brandenburg) is growing their Bark social media monitoring offering to help protect more families in their Kentucky community. After launching Bark weeks earlier, the broadband service provider (BSP) expects to deliver the AI-enabled social media monitoring tool to three times more families in the next few months. Because Bark is offered as a managed service on the Calix broadband platform, it is incredibly easy for BSPs like Brandenburg to deploy to their subscribers in just weeks.
Bark monitors children’s texts, email, YouTube, and 30+ apps and social media platforms for issues like cyberbullying, adult content, sexual predators, suicidal ideation, and more. Parents and guardians receive alerts when their children interact with concerning content. This negates the need to comb through online interactions, keeping their children’s privacy intact.
Brandenburg ensures all families who need Bark can access it. The Brandenburg team attended local back-to-school events to answer questions and educate parents about available tools. They work closely with schools’ IT personnel to help facilitate secure internet experiences for children. The BSP also met with their local chambers of commerce and leveraged local media to further inform the community about Bark’s benefits.
“We decided to deploy Bark because we recognize not only the conveniences of being on the internet but also the dangers,” said Allison Willoughby, general manager at Brandenburg. “We’ve been serving our residents, friends, and neighbors with critical services for over 73 years, and we take that responsibility and earned trust very seriously. While the internet has transformed the world, it’s also a place that can present unique worries to parents. Bark on the Calix platform allows us to help our community by offering a tool to protect our children from harmful encounters. Adding Bark to our offering wasn’t a question of ‘if’ but ‘when.’ And because of its integration with the Calix platform that we have leveraged for years, Bark has been one of the most uncomplicated service offerings we have deployed.”
To help Brandenburg deploy Bark quickly, leadership leveraged Calix Smart Start for Managed Services. The program, created by the award-winning Calix Customer Success Services team, helps BSPs rapidly plan, launch, support, and grow managed services like Bark to benefit their subscribers.
“Brandenburg is living their values by providing world-class subscriber experiences that keep local children safe in their Kentucky community,” said Michael Weening, president and chief executive officer at Calix. “Bark is a lifesaving social media tool that empowers parents and guardians. As Bark is integrated with the Calix broadband platform, the Brandenburg team was able to deploy it in a few weeks to ensure families can access social media monitoring in the new school year. Due to our platform simplicity, Brandenburg quickly allocated resources to align with the start of the school year, working closely with schools, community centers, and local government to deliver support to families who want to learn how Bark can improve their lives. We are proud to continue supporting Brandenburg as they find new ways to deliver more value to their community.”
To learn more about Bark on the Calix platform, watch the webinar replay, “Will Your Broadband Business Protect Your Most Vulnerable Subscribers?” and schedule a Bark consultation.
About Calix
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.
Calix and the Calix logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Calix and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. A listing of Calix’s trademarks can be found at https://www.calix.com/pages/trademarks.html. Third-party trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners.