United Fiber Sees 25 Percent Sales Spike in Competitive Small Business Market With Calix SmartBiz
United Fiber grows acquisition ARPU 10% by partnering with Calix Success to build a transformative go-to-market and workforce model that positions SmartBiz as the cooperative's cornerstone small business offering
Calix, Inc. (NYSE:CALX) today announced that United Fiber achieved a 25 percent surge in sales and a 10 percent acquisition-related lift in average revenue per user (ARPU) within a single month by making the award-winning SmartBiz™ the centerpiece of their small business go-to-market strategy. SmartBiz enables broadband service providers (BSPs) like United Fiber to differentiate in competitive business markets by going beyond connectivity to become catalysts for small business success.
"United Fiber understands that traditional connectivity solutions fall short for this segment," said Darren Farnan, general manager at United Fiber. "From cafes, restaurants, and salons to insurance offices, grocery stores, and farms, these businesses need more than just residential internet access or a stripped-down enterprise offering. When SmartBiz launched, it checked every box for what our customers were already asking for—resiliency, security, segmented access, and ease of use. Now, we offer it to every new small business we work with, and we're even going back to educate current customers who could benefit."
Serving thousands of small businesses across rural Missouri, United Fiber was among the first BSPs in the United States to deploy SmartBiz to their business subscribers. Recently named a Customer Product of the Year by TMC, the purpose-built managed Wi-Fi solution equips small business owners to thrive in a digital-first world with secure, segmented network access for critical systems like point-of-sale, built-in advanced cybersecurity, and content filtering to protect data and boost productivity.
As a fully integrated managed service on the Calix Broadband Platform, SmartBiz is easy for BSPs to deploy, manage, and scale. However, United Fiber's success in the small business market goes beyond launching great technology. By partnering with Calix Success and leveraging the Smart Start program, they evolved their go-to-market strategy. United Fiber leveraged SmartBiz boot camps and hands-on guidance to develop simplified offerings, dedicated sales support, and alignment between sales and field technicians for cultural and operational unity. They also utilized Calix University's workforce transformation resources to support organizational alignment and upskilling. United Fiber's comprehensive, consultative approach has fueled consistent SmartBiz adoption, driving 11 percent month-over-month growth.
"SmartBiz allowed us to shift the conversation from selling speed to solving real challenges," said Farnan. "Partnering with Calix helped us reframe how we sell, how we train, and how we support local businesses. Our field technicians receive hands-on training from our sales engineers. Meanwhile, our small business sales managers build trust and gather feedback to ensure new SmartBiz subscribers understand key features post-installation. In the eyes of subscribers, we are no longer a service provider. We are a trusted advisor who understands what they need to succeed."
United Fiber's rapid results build on a strong history of innovation with Calix. In 2023, the cooperative partnered with the Calix Success team to revamp their residential marketing strategy, resulting in an 11 percent increase in signups for SmartHome™ managed service offerings in just weeks.
"Darren and his team have consistently been at the forefront of adopting Calix innovation throughout our 14-year partnership," said Michael Weening, president and chief executive officer at Calix. "They've created a strong brand among residential subscribers as a broadband experience provider who cares, making a real impact with solutions like Bark to protect kids from the kinds of digital threats that keep parents up at night. Now they're leading the way in their small business market with a total transformation of their go-to-market strategy. This is exactly why we innovated the industry's sole cloud-and-software broadband platform—to enable rapid innovation at scale for any BSP. The best part is that we are still just scratching the surface. With brilliant leaders like Darren and his team, we will continue to achieve big things together."
United Fiber will share more about their SmartBiz journey—including lessons, results, and what's next—in an upcoming webinar on June 12, 2025. Register here.
About Calix
Calix, Inc. (NYSE:CALX)—Calix is a platform, cloud and managed services company. Broadband experience providers leverage Calix's broadband platform, cloud and managed services to simplify their operations, subscriber engagement, and services; innovate for their consumer, business, and municipal subscribers; and grow their value for members, investors, and the communities they serve.
Our end-to-end platform and managed services democratize the use of data—enabling our customers of any size 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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