Silver Star Communications Deploys the Calix Unified Access Infrastructure

Leading regional service provider uses the flexibility of the Calix portfolio to deliver advanced broadband services

PETALUMA, CA—Calix, the largest telecom equipment supplier focused solely on access solutions for broadband service delivery, today announced that Silver Star Communications, a progressive communications service provider based in Wyoming, has deployed the Calix Unified Access Infrastructure across its network. Serving much of western Wyoming and eastern Idaho, Silver Star provides a wide array of traditional and broadband services, including wireline and wireless voice, high-speed Internet, and IPTV, to both residents and businesses. Silver Star, which leverages its existing copper and fiber assets and is also deploying fiber in all new builds, has deployed the Calix C7 multiservice access platform (MSAP), the Calix E-Series multiservice over Ethernet platforms, and the Calix P-Series customer premises solutions, as well as the Calix Management System (CMS), which provides end-to-end visibility across the entire Unified Access Infrastructure.

According to Ron McCue, Silver Star Communications vice president and chief operating officer and chair of USTelecom, “Silver Star is no longer just a phone company. We are a broadband company. We see broadband as the lifeline technology of tomorrow, so when we choose a business partner, we are selecting the path to our future. We have selected Calix as our primary access partner not just for technology reasons, but because we see its business vision aligned with our goal of remaining our region’s preferred broadband solutions provider.”

Delivering cutting-edge services across a mountainous service area, Silver Star has balanced its investment in its existing copper infrastructure with investment in fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) in all greenfield scenarios. Today, Silver Star is using both the Calix C- and E-Series, as well as the Calix family of 700G Optical Network Terminals (ONTs), to deliver advanced services independent of media type. Leveraging the flexibility of the Unified Access Infrastructure, Silver Star is able to deploy the best-suited technology and form factor for the variety of scenarios it faces across its diverse geography. This hybrid model has allowed Silver Star to reach high-speed-data penetration rates of over 70 percent throughout much of its subscriber base.

Along with high-speed data services that range from 1Mbps up to 100 Mbps delivered to the customer premises, Silver Star also offers services like IPTV, in-home network support, and a full host of business services.

“Silver Star is a perfect example of the future of service providers in North America,” said John Colvin, vice president of field operations at Calix. “The company has been able to provide its customers with a rich portfolio of broadband services by leveraging both copper and fiber and using a variety of product form-factors to bring the highest speeds to residential and business subscribers alike. The Calix Unified Access Infrastructure perfectly aligns with Silver Star’s vision and will help the company remain the dominant service provider in its region.”

Silver Star has proven to be unique among its service provider peers over the past decade. Silver Star has been systematically gaining access lines each year in many parts of its service area, which includes the growing ski community of Jackson Hole, Wyoming. This influx of new customers, from farmers seeking broadband connectivity to CEOs, has led to high demand for broadband and a thirst for faster bandwidth. Keeping a step ahead of its customers, the provider currently offers high-speed data services of up to 100 Mbps of bandwidth to the customer premises in parts of its service areas. This high-speed offering is enabling the growth of telecommuting and home-based businesses across Silver Star’s subscriber base and bringing advanced services that most people in the country can only dream of to this remote mountain region.