Silver Star Communications receives a 2023 Calix Innovations Award for maintaining exceptional customer support—leveraging Calix Service Cloud and Customer Success Services to achieve an 83 percent increase in first call resolution and solve subscriber issues 35 percent faster—all while completing an historic network expansion in half the expected time

Calix, Inc. (NYSE: CALX) honored its customer, Silver Star Communications (Silver Star), with a 2023 Calix Innovations Award, recognizing them as a “Giant of Customer Service and Support.” The award spotlights Silver Star for maintaining customer support excellence while growing rapidly across Idaho and western Wyoming.

Silver Star recently completed a $100 million fiber-optic network expansion in five years instead of the expected 10, becoming the first broadband service provider (BSP) to deliver 10G service in Wyoming with an XGS-PON network. A Calix customer for more than a decade, Silver Star leverages the Calix platform and award-winning Calix Customer Success Services (Customer Success) to provide superior customer support that contributes to exceptional subscriber experiences.

Along with support and training from Customer Success, Silver Star leverages deep data and insights in Calix Service Cloud on the Calix platform to advance subscriber visibility and improve operational efficiencies for their customer support team. With deeper data-driven insights, Silver Star’s customer service representatives (CSRs) increased their first call resolution rate 83 percent while reducing unnecessary truck rolls by 41 percent—leading to a better experience for their subscribers and greater operational efficiency for their business.

“Customer service is paramount to us. In the event of network issues or trouble calls, it is vital that we resolve them with minimal disruption,” said Barbara Sessions, president at Silver Star. “For over a century, Silver Star has prioritized providing exceptional customer support. By leveraging the Calix platform and guidance from the Customer Success team at Calix, we have expanded our network in record time while maintaining the level of service excellence our subscribers expect.”

This customer-centric growth strategy underscores Silver Star’s commitment to innovating for their community, a tradition that spans an impressive 111 years. Silver Star leverages the Calix platform to grow their business and maintain a high level of customer support by:

• Solving subscriber issues 35 percent faster and reducing hardware replacements. With the help of Calix Premier Customer Success and Calix Business Insights Services (a Customer Success program) Silver Star standardized troubleshooting processes using Service Cloud. This led to a better subscriber experience, enabling CSRs to solve issues 35 percent faster and cut the number of required hardware replacements 14 percent.
• Cutting call handling time by one minute thanks to no “swivel chair” delays. Service teams often face delays and strain due to “swiveling” between multiple tools for troubleshooting. Through a partnership between Calix and National Information Solutions Cooperative’s (NISC) iVUE trouble management system, joint customers like Silver Star can streamline CSR workflows to more easily access information, reducing average call handling time by at least one minute.
• Engaging 74 percent more subscribers in using their branded mobile app. Silver Star launched their subscriber-facing mobile app, built on CommandIQ®, in 2020, with two key managed services: home network cybersecurity (ProtectIQ®) and advanced home network management (ExperienceIQ®). In the past year, 74 percent more subscribers have started using the app to manage and monitor their home network, conduct speed tests, and use self-service options.

“Efficiencies on the Calix platform, like the NISC partnership, have enabled our customer support team to solve subscriber issues faster without putting more strain on our CSRs’ day-to-day,” said Sessions. “While we expand our business into new markets, optimizing our customer support processes has enabled us to free up resources to pour back into our community with several scholarships and donations that benefit local youth. We are honored to be recognized by Calix for raising the bar on subscriber support.”

“We proudly present Silver Star Communications with the 2023 ‘Giants of Customer Service and Support’ award,” said John Durocher, chief customer officer at Calix. “Silver Star delivers service excellence by leveraging our platform and managed services to provide customer support that differentiates their brand as they expand their service territory. Notably, their dedication to simplifying support operations contributes to an enhanced experience for both the support team and subscribers—offering more proactive care and expertise for faster resolution. Silver Star’s significant focus on community engagement through scholarships and donations showcases how their care extends beyond providing next-level broadband service to positively impacting their community, team, and customers. We are delighted to be their partner for close to two decades and look forward to continuing to support their success.”

To learn how BSPs can enable their support organizations to deliver service excellence, watch John Durocher present “How We Serve You” at Calix ConneXions 2023.

About Calix

Calix, Inc. (NYSE: CALX)—Broadband service providers of all sizes leverage the Calix platform and teams to simplify their business and excite their subscribers to grow the value of their business and for their communities for generations. The democratizing power of the platform and portfolio of managed services enables them to operate efficiently, acquire subscribers, and deliver exceptional experiences. Calix is dedicated to driving continuous improvement in partnership with our growing ecosystem to support the transformation of our customers and their communities.

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.

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