Tri-County Rural Electric Cooperative, Pennsylvania’s First to Deliver High Speed Broadband, Goes All in on Fiber With Calix

Wholly owned subsidiary Tri-Co Connections is delivering needed broadband to rural communities lacking reliable Internet

Calix, Inc. today announced Tri-Co Connections, the newly formed broadband arm of the Tri-County Rural Electric Cooperative, is deploying a complete set of Calix solutions to build its first fiber network. Tri-Co is the state’s first electric cooperative to build out a state-of-the-art fiber to the home (FTTH) broadband network. It will serve northern Pennsylvania communities currently limited to spotty cable and unreliable wireless. Tri-Co is building its access network with AXOS® for simplified operations and accelerating the deployment with Calix Professional Services. They are also tailoring service packages for members with advanced network intelligence from Calix Support Cloud and providing the ultimate Wi-Fi experience with the GigaSpire® powered by EXOS.

“The communities we serve have never had reliable Internet, but simply connecting them isn’t enough,” said Bill Gerski, senior VP of business development for Tri-Co Connections. “We are committed to delivering a quality broadband experience to every one of our members. By partnering with Calix, we are assured that our network is future proof, so we can keep our focus where it belongs—on the communities we serve.”

Tri-County Rural Electric Cooperative was founded in the 1930s to deliver electricity to rural communities in north-central Pennsylvania who had been left behind by traditional providers. Seeking solutions that would deliver needed Internet connectivity today and into the future, the rural provider selected end-to-end solutions from Calix. The AXOS E7-2 Intelligent Modular System simplifies network operations, and the GigaSpire powered by EXOS, working in concert with Calix Support Cloud, elevates the subscriber experience.

“When given the opportunity to design this network from scratch, Tri-Co selected Calix as its end-to-end partner, positioning itself to deliver world class services over a next-generation fiber network,” said Skip Hirvela, vice president of sales for Calix. “This build is indicative of a national trend of electric cooperatives stepping up and delivering broadband to previously unserved and underserved rural communities. Our expertise and the completeness of our portfolio are particularly valuable to non-traditional service providers like electric cooperatives, who are stepping out of their traditional roles to deliver these valuable services.”

Source: Calix media announcement