GigabitNow Pioneers Community Network Model with Calix in Northern California

PETALUMA, CA — Calix, a provider of broadband communications access systems and software, and Seattle-based GigabitNow are deploying their first community network together at The Sea Ranch in northern California. A popular vacation destination located along a 10-mile stretch of the Sonoma County coast, The Sea Ranch community encompasses 2200 homes. As announced earlier this year, GigabitNow has been working closely with The Sea Ranch homeowners, who will own the fiber infrastructure. Being in an unincorporated area, the Sea Ranch homeowners association, a private organization, performs many of the functions normally undertaken by municipalities. Many communities across the country are using a somewhat similar public-private partnership model whereby the community funds and owns the fiber network, while partnering with a private entity to build and operate the network. Residents and visitors to The Sea Ranch can now look forward to an unmatched subscriber experience with the Calix solution delivering voice and data broadband services under the name Sea Ranch Connect.

Streamlining Operations to Optimize Total Cost of Ownership
“GigabitNow has a strong history of building and operating gigabit fiber networks for both residents and businesses throughout this region,” said Steve Milton, CEO at GigabitNow. “As we began this project with The Sea Ranch, we were looking for a new solution to not only deliver the best broadband experience to our subscribers, but also streamline our operations to optimize our total cost of ownership (TCO). The Compass software and GigaCenter solution delivered on those needs and will allow us to remotely monitor and troubleshoot subscriber’s home Wi-Fi networks from one centralized location, even as we scale to serve new communities throughout the Pacific Northwest and northern California.”

Wi-Fi-related support calls account for over half of all consumer support calls, making this remote support capability critical to enabling smaller communities to roll out broadband networks that are on par with those found in more urban environments. The Calix solution includes Compass software, 844GE GigaCenters, and the E7-20 Fiber Access System.

“We are excited to partner with GigabitNow on this first community fiber project,” said John Colvin, senior vice president of North America sales at Calix. “Our work with GigabitNow at The Sea Ranch will serve as a strong foundation for our ongoing relationship and showcase the ability to deliver an unmatched subscriber experience no matter how remote the community.”