cfx_september-2024 - 27

GEtting
It StartEd
TVS Takes Mobile Leap Through NCTC MVNO
By Sara Winegardner
NCTC and Reach offered TVS employees training ahead of the mobile launch.
It's never easy being the first, but paving
the way forward for others is easier when
you have friends by your side. That's how
TVS Cable felt when it made the decision
to be the first to launch mobile service
through the NCTC's partnership with
Reach. TVS Cable General Manager David
Thacker not only applauds Reach and
NCTC for their endless support leading up
to the launch, but also his staff for meeting
the new challenge with enthusiasm.
" We've always had a good staff that's
very knowledgeable on a diverse range
of things, so we felt comfortable with it.
I don't feel like it was a huge leap, and
we always had the co-op, " Thacker says.
" They're really doing the heavy lifting for
us. As a small operator, I was just glad that
we were one of the people that got the opportunity
to be first. "
In the eyes of NCTC CEO Lou Borrelli,
there was no better fit for the first launch
given Thacker's technical savvy, and he
believes Thacker is far too modest when
it comes to taking credit for the labor that
went into TVS Mobile's launch.
" There are things he took us through
and was diligent in with the testing and the
analysis because... when you're a smaller
operator and you are literally embedded in
the community where you see everybody
at the grocery store, church, the Walmart
or wherever, there is nowhere to hide, " Borrelli
said when TVS debuted the service in
February. " To be able to introduce something
like this, he was meticulous in making
sure that experience is the experience
that he would want to have, and that's really
the difference. "
CablefaxTopOps.com
TVS' launch also supports NCTC's stance
that any of its members, regardless of size,
can offer mobile through the MVNO. The
combination of the support from the NCTC
with the dedication of its staff has meant
TVS hasn't had to add new hires in order to
bring mobile to its product lineup. The provider
had approximately 30 full-time employees
at the time of the mobile launch.
" Everybody just kind of really picked up
the slack on it, " Thacker says. " A lot of our
technical department really picked up a lot
of the aspects. Our CSRs are provisioning
phones and whatnot, but our tech support
is truly doing a lot of the troubleshooting. "
NCTC and Reach provided training to
TVS Cable employees, and Thacker called
the coaching fantastic. He has no doubt
it will only continue to get better as time
goes on and as early adopters of the mobile
solution encounter different roadblocks
or ask unexpected questions.
" They're going to learn because we're
going to get into and find things that, well,
this needs to be in there, and the other
early adopters are going to do the same
thing. I think it's going to make it a whole
lot better for the people that are following
later on, " he says.
TVS doesn't reveal subscriber numbers,
but Thacker says the offering has been
very successful so far and everyone has
been pleased with the last several months.
TVS Mobile offers four plans with the two
most affordable tiers giving customers
1GB and 3GB of data for $24.95/month and
$29.95/month, respectively. It also has two
unlimited options priced at $49.95/month
and $59.95/month, and those are the most
popular among new customers.
Now that the product is off the ground,
TVS is thinking about the longer-term goals
it has for mobile. " We eventually want to be
able to do some more things with even our
in-home WiFi, tying in with the devices to
be able to have mobile backup from our
cellular service, " Thacker says. " We want to
try to have more synergies between those
products. We're looking at doing more WiFi
hotspots and some hotspot 2.0 stuff for our
customers... I'd rather them be traveling on
our network than anybody else's. "
TVS Cable is a wholly owned subsidiary of
Thacker-Grigsby Communications. ThackerGrigsby
Telephone Co. was started in 1919 and was
a
s
a
founded out of a basic need for telecommunications
services in Knott County, Kentucky.
NCTC launched a partnership with Vertex Wireless
earlier this year to give NCTC members access to a
large mobile device portfolio as well as supply chain
services, fulfillment, procurement and device testing.
NCTC selected AT&T as its exclusive wireless
carrier for the MVNO it launched with Reach.
September 2024
Top Ops 27
MOBILE MOMENTUM AWARD - MSO
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