Cablefax The Magazine August 2022 - 18

INDEPENDENT
DIGITAL EQUITY
AWARD
When Newnan, Georgia, was hit with an EF-4
tornado last spring, WOW! was on the ground
not only ensuring service was restored but
also that the town's residents could have a
sense of normalcy.
" We did whatever we could to get the
market up and running, but also helping
those in the community, " says Teresa Elder,
WOW! CEO. " It was around Easter, so we did
Easter baskets for the kids, and we had WiFi
hotspots in parking lots so people could bike
or walk or however they could get there to
tell their loved ones they were OK. "
Those efforts, as well as co-sponsoring
the " Where I Come From: Tornado Benefit
Concert " headlined by hometown country
music star Alan Jackson, is all in keeping
with the company's mantra: " Customers are
neighbors, not numbers. " It's an axiom that
has led its drive to expand the digital equity
lens to include both residents and small,
family-owned businesses in the nine states
in which it provides cable and internet service,
South
Carolina and Tennessee.
" Bridging the digital divide is what we do
every day. It's in our vision statement. We
take seriously the role we play in our communities,
and we know the products and
services we provide are lifelines for our customers, "
Elder says.
The communities WOW! serves are dotted
with family-owned businesses and as the
pandemic wore on and it became clear some
were on the brink. Employees came up with
a cross-departmental solution to help. Last
year the company rolled out Local Advantage,
a program through which mom-andpop
business customers could be featured
in a WOW!-produced commercial, at no additional
cost, that airs for 12 weeks on a variety
of networks in the client's market.
A WOW! team at the Alan Jackson benefit concert in co-sponsored in Newnan, Georgia, to
raise money following an EF-4 tornado.
" The program was designed to give
including Alabama, Florida, Georgia,
WOW!'s small business customers an edge
over their competitors during the pandemic
when so many were struggling to keep their
doors open, " says CTO Henry Hryckiewicz.
" WOW! has created more than 200 of these
local commercials, helping these businesses
reach and serve more customers. "
It's been good business for WOW!, too.
" The things we've done to help our customers
in financial need, and retain them,
have been really exceptional. We are having
some of the lowest churn we've ever had,
and that customer loyalty is key to us. Seeing
the hardships definitely reinforced that
part of our commitment. " Elder says. " Every
day we're making sure we are working with
small business, whether it's helping them
figure out how to get their business online
when they couldn't have customers in person
or our Fiber Flex product. "
Launched in February 2021, Fiber Flex
offers a lower-cost, high-speed data serFAST
FACTS
18
$13,500
in WOW!
scholarships were provided
to graduating high school
seniors in Newnan, Georgia,
to support continued
education
$100,000
is how much WOW! will
invest in fiber networks
in communities such as
Orange and Seminole
counties in Florida
WOW! Offers
Shelter in the Storm
By Cathy Applefeld Olson
vice for small and medium-sized businesses.
Sales of the service doubled from 2021 to
2022. It's just one of the ways WOW! is ensuring
Americans remain connected beyond
its participation in government-created programs
for discounted broadband service to
eligible households.
" WOW! created Fiber Flex out of recognition
that internet reliability and speed are a
necessity for operating a successful business
in today's technology-centric world, "
says Hryckiewicz. " It allows business customers
to meet their operational goals at a
considerably lower price. The cost of internet
access should never be a barrier to operating
a business, especially under the dire conditions
we've witnessed during the pandemic. "
WOW! is also powering ahead with its
greenfield strategy. Expansion plans call for
400,000 homes passed by 2027..
" Faster speeds, lower latency, enhanced
security and universal access are required
for almost everything we envision for our
futures-self-driving cars,
virtual reality,
commercial space travel, " Elder says. " It's
hard for us to even image all the ways future
innovations and faster broadband speeds
will power our futures. The challenge for our
industry is to continue to work toward digital
equality so everyone has access to and
can participate in that yet-to-be-envisioned
future. " 
August 2022
CablefaxTopOps.com
http://www.CablefaxTopOps.com
Cablefax The Magazine August 2022

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