Broadband Service Providers Can Now Protect Children From Cyberbullying and Online Violence as Calix Revenue EDGE Suites Expand With Online Safety Leader, Bark

With 85 percent of teens experiencing bullying and 75 percent involved in a self-harm situation, Calix Revenue EDGE portfolio expands on the existing, industry-leading home Wi-Fi parental controls solution, ExperienceIQ™, by launching a new partnership with best-in-class online safety company, Bark, to deliver a comprehensive solution that protects children inside and outside the home

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today Calix, Inc. (NYSE: CALX) announced a partnership with award-winning online safety leader, Bark Technologies. Cyberbullying is now the most common form of harassment faced by teens and tweens. Bark data shows that 85 percent of teens experienced bullying last year, and 75 percent were involved in a self-harm situation. As the latest addition to a growing ecosystem of premium service offerings in Calix Revenue EDGE Suites, Bark gives broadband service providers (BSPs) the power to help protect communities’ most vulnerable members. Bark uses artificial intelligence (AI) monitoring technology to detect and alert families about cyberbullying, online predation, self-harm, suicidal ideation, violence, and more across text messages, emails, YouTube, and 30+ apps and social media platforms. Through this partnership, Calix and Bark enable even the smallest BSPs to expand their value to the communities they serve by helping families protect children at home, school, and everywhere in between.

Together, Calix and Bark—which monitored over 3.4 billion online activities last year—will further enable community-minded BSPs to protect their subscribers. Calix has a history of partnering with BSPs to keep kids safer online; since 2019 parental controls have been available through ExperienceIQ™. Earlier this year, Calix announced a more than 90 percent increase in BSP adoption of ProtectIQ™, a cybersecurity service that stops thousands of cyberattacks each month from threatening subscriber homes. As social media has proliferated, parents now need expanded options. Eighty-three percent of children believe social media platforms should do more to address issues they face online. With this comprehensive Calix and Bark partnership, BSPs have a set of turnkey services to help protect families, even as the average time spent online surpasses seven hours per day.

Seamlessly integrated with the Revenue EDGE, Bark gives BSPs a turnkey solution that will increase their value in communities, reduce churn, and boost subscriber satisfaction. Here’s how Calix enables even the smallest BSP to easily market, deploy, manage, operate, and support this industry-leading social media monitoring offering:

• Easily identify subscribers that would benefit most and reach them through targeted campaigns using Marketing Cloud. With the advanced behavior analytics engine Calix Marketing Cloud (Marketing Cloud), BSPs can analyze subscriber behaviors, such as the number of connected devices. This allows them to identify subscribers with the greatest need for Bark services. Using Marketing Cloud, BSPs can pick the social channels with the highest subscriber engagement and run targeted campaigns to drive adoption quickly and cost-effectively.
• Accelerate time-to-market and simplify management with the fully integrated, turnkey Bark EDGE Suite. As with all EDGE Suites, Calix integrates the industry-leading Bark tool with all components of the Revenue EDGE. With no custom integration required, BSPs can add the service to their portfolio, provision subscribers, and help protect them immediately. Calix Support Cloud (Support Cloud) enables BSPs to provide tier one support for the Bark service as part of their subscribers’ complete connected home experience.
• Quickly drive adoption with comprehensive Calix Services and Market Activation capabilities. Calix Customer Success Services, recently awarded a Gold Stevie® for Customer Service Team of the Year from the American Business Awards®, partners with BSPs to accelerate their communities’ access to these critical services. A customer success manager (CSM) works with the BSP to share best practices, customize campaigns that leverage Calix’s extensive market activation assets, and support them through a successful launch.

“We’re excited to partner with Calix and offer Bark to thousands of BSPs simultaneously,” said Brian Bason, chief executive officer at Bark. “Families face a multitude of digital dangers that target their children at home, in school, and everywhere else they bring their smartphones. This partnership will help more families protect their children online and in real life.”

“The broadband service providers we serve are dedicated to their communities,” said Michael Weening, president and chief operating officer at Calix. “Parents and families will gain huge value from using this incredible online safety tool. Meanwhile, Calix BSPs will be able to add value to their communities by keeping kids protected at home, school, or wherever they might go. By helping and protecting the most vulnerable, BSPs can further expand their positive local impact. This is another great example of how the Revenue EDGE platform uniquely creates opportunities for even the smallest BSP to be the giant of their community. We often talk about value in terms of brand, ARPU, or reduced churn. This is a completely different type of value, as helping children aligns closely to the mission statement of many Calix customers. I know BSPs that partner with Calix will eagerly embrace this opportunity.”

Learn more about how BSPs can protect their communities’ most vulnerable members with Calix parental controls and the online safety tool, Bark.

About Calix

Calix, Inc. (NYSE: CALX) – Calix cloud and software platforms enable service providers of all types and sizes to innovate and transform. Our customers utilize the real-time data and insights from Calix platforms to simplify their businesses and deliver experiences that excite their subscribers. The resulting growth in subscriber acquisition, loyalty, and revenue creates more value for their businesses and communities. This is the Calix mission; to enable broadband service providers of all sizes to simplify, excite, and grow.

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