ICS Achieves 10X Faster Time to Revenue and 125+ Percent Increase in MDU Connections With Calix

SAN JOSE, CA—May 2, 2024—Today, Calix, Inc. (NYSE: CALX) announced ICS Advanced Technologies (ICS) connected over 125 percent more residential housing units than expected thanks to their investment in the Calix Broadband Platform. Based in Iowa, ICS has a 20-year legacy of serving the multi-dwelling unit (MDU) market throughout the United States. Until partnering with Calix, the ICS team combined various solutions to cater to the complex needs of property owners and unit residents. With the ease of deploying managed Wi-Fi on the Calix Platform, an early version of Calix SmartMDU™, ICS connected 8,000 residential units versus an estimated 3,500 units in 12 months, while meeting their yearly revenue goal in only seven months. At the same time, they improved customer support for MDU residents (reducing support calls 60 percent), simplified operations for property managers, and rapidly expanded their footprint nationwide.

Currently, the Calix Platform enables service providers to deliver incredible managed Wi-Fi services to MDUs inside and outside of their footprint. The forthcoming SmartMDU solution from Calix will offer even deeper capabilities for service providers that want to serve MDUs. As a fully integrated managed service for the Calix Platform, SmartMDU will include property-wide network solutions to connect guests, staff, internet of things (IoT) devices, even electric vehicles for system updates, and more. SmartMDU will also provide property managers with a dedicated portal, offering visibility into their residential units and property-wide networks.

“ICS went from 0 to 120 MPH with Calix—mainly because of the flexibility, scale, and consistency of the Calix Platform,” said Patrick Bailey, senior vice president of ICS. “Product consistency across every type of MDU helps our team be more efficient during troubleshooting, allows property managers to independently problem-solve when needed, and residents receive premium, white glove customer support experiences. The value ICS delivers to our incredible property management partners is reflected in happy residents, leading to longer contracts and even stronger relationships with our customers. When SmartMDU becomes available, our customer support and subscriber management will be streamlined on a single platform and help grow our value even further.”

ICS is dedicated to serving midsized MDUs that require reliable, multi-gig internet to improve connected experiences for their residents. Calix has helped reinforce this commitment, allowing the company to secure valuable 10-year contracts so ICS can focus on delivering long-term value to their MDU communities and property management partners. With their long history serving the MDU market, ICS is currently a member of the SmartMDU Advisory Board.

By offering premium Wi-Fi services to MDU residents and simplifying how property managers work, ICS is:
 

• Driving more than 75 percent of subscribers to adopt managed Wi-Fi in the first month. Enabled by ICS property management partners, ICS subscriber management software, and Calix Cloud®, property owner-operators are empowered with early opt-in capabilities that allow ICS to substantially accelerate time to revenue—often 10X faster than previous models. Before Calix, ICS typically observed subscriber adoption of 8 to 12 percent per month.
• Providing convenient self-activation options to reduce new resident calls by more than 60 percent. Self-activation options for residents have significantly reduced unnecessary calls to customer support—streamlining assistance for technical issues and allowing ICS to maintain an average hold time that is less than 30 seconds. This has also resulted in a 65 percent improvement in first call resolution.
• Improving property-wide management and deployment for faster troubleshooting and onboarding. Streamlined property gateway management has enabled efficient interference optimization, while remote configuration and reset options with Calix GigaSpire® BLAST™ systems help resolve issues faster and deliver seamless changeover to support new residents.

Unveiled in 2023 at the Calix annual customer success and innovation conference, ConneXions, SmartMDU will join the list of innovative SmartLife™ managed services from Calix, including SmartHome™ (residential), SmartTown™ (community), and SmartBiz™ (small business). With SmartMDU, service providers will extend the incredible connected experiences provided at home, at work, and across town to millions of MDU communities.

“ICS and their rapid growth show the pent-up demand within the MDU market for a purpose-built Wi-Fi solution,” said Shane Eleniak, chief product officer at Calix. “That is why Calix will launch SmartMDU as the industry’s most cost-effective managed Wi-Fi solution that can help streamline connectivity for MDU residents and save time for property managers. The scale and flexibility of the Calix Platform gave ICS the power to rapidly expand their business and more than double their estimated unit connections. With SmartMDU, more service providers will build on the impressive results achieved by ICS and seamlessly deliver incredible experiences to the 40 million U.S. households living within MDU communities.”

Explore SmartMDU and learn more about this managed service for MDU communities.

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.