Calix Names Tombigbee Fiber a ‘Giant of Community’ for Delivering World-Class Wi-Fi Services That Radically Improve Life for Students, Educators, Families, and First Responders in Rural Mississippi

SAN JOSE, CA—January 4, 2024—Calix, Inc. (NYSE: CALX) honors Tombigbee Fiber, LLC as a “Giant of Community” 2023 Calix Innovations Award winner. Utilizing the Calix broadband platform and integrated managed services, Tombigbee delivers community-wide Wi-Fi to connect their customers, students, educators, football fans, and first responders when they need it most. They also safeguard families with digital monitoring tools to help prevent the tragedies of unchecked cyberbullying and other digital dangers. Tombigbee’s strategy of prioritizing community needs helped grow their business by establishing them as a trusted local technology leader—as proven by their exceptional +91 Net Promoter Score℠ (NPS®).

Tombigbee Fiber was founded in 2019 by the Tombigbee Electric Power Association (TEPA), a member-owned cooperative. Leveraging Calix platform’s efficiencies from the start, they connected thousands of households across north Mississippi with a major fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) initiative. By their second year, Tombigbee achieved cash-flow positivity, and in three years, they reached substantial profitability.

In 2023, Tombigbee utilized their investment in the Calix platform to expand their service offerings with managed services, boosting home Wi-Fi to city-level quality and expanding into sectors like recreation, community, and government. The Calix platform and integrated managed services have helped Tombigbee elevate the standard of broadband experiences in northern Mississippi by enabling them to:
 

• Safeguard families from unchecked digital dangers like cyberbullying. Tombigbee offers ProtectIQ® (home network security) and ExperienceIQ® (advanced home network controls) to every customer at no extra cost. This year, they rolled out Bark text and social media monitoring to help families combat online threats like cyberbullying and child predation. Bark functions at the device level, so it remains active even when children leave home. As a further commitment to safety, Tombigbee provides Bark to all of their employees.
• Offer secure community broadband experiences all around town. Tombigbee launched SmartTown™ community-wide Wi-Fi in June 2023 with an event in Mantachie and has since expanded to 13 other towns. Before the new school year, the community-focused broadband service provider (BSP) launched SmartTown “Friday Night Fiber” in Itawamba, Lee, and Pontotoc counties to connect nine high school football fields—the center of community engagement in small towns—with plans to expand into other sports programs.
• Prioritize broadband access that supports local community safety. In addition to connecting beloved community spaces in northern Mississippi, Tombigbee has also ensured that first responders in the communities they serve can access community-wide Wi-Fi at no cost whenever they need it.

“Our collaboration with Calix has been a game-changer,” said Scott Hendrix, chief executive officer of Tombigbee Fiber and Tombigbee Electric Power Association. “It’s enabled us to operate with remarkable efficiency, freeing up resources to invest back into our community. We’re committed to providing essential services that enhance the lives of our members and the wider community, often at little or no cost. By leveraging the Calix platform, we’ve introduced crucial managed services like SmartTown for broad Wi-Fi access and Bark for online safety. These aren’t just services; they’re vital steps towards enriching and securing our community’s future. Our partnership with Calix isn’t just about business growth; it’s about forging a better, more connected future for everyone we serve.”

“The success of Scott Hendrix and the Tombigbee team proves that broadband providers don’t have to be large, legacy players to deliver incredible value for their communities,” said Matt Collins, chief commercial operations officer at Calix. “They just need what Tombigbee has—the right innovation, the right partner, and an unwavering commitment to do good for the people they serve. Not only is Tombigbee transforming Mississippi communities by providing incredible managed services at minimal cost, connecting entire towns, and empowering parents to stop cyberbullying, but they are also running the most operationally efficient business possible, rapidly achieving profitability in just two years. Calix is proud to support Tombigbee as they continue to make a positive difference for their communities.”

Learn more about how Tombigbee Fiber is transforming their communities with world-class subscriber experiences by reading “Improving on Perfection: How Tombigbee Is Taking Its NPS to New Heights.”

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.

Net Promoter®, NPS®, NPS Prism®, and the NPS-related emoticons are registered trademarks of Bain & Company, Inc., Satmetrix Systems, Inc., and Fred Reichheld. Net Promoter Score℠ and Net Promoter System℠ are service marks of Bain & Company, Inc., Satmetrix Systems, Inc., and Fred Reichheld.