The Challenge

“With all the talk of the MassBroadband 123 initiative bringing high-speed broadband to the rural communities of western Massachusetts, we’ve been dreaming of moving our town communications into the 21st century. Can you imagine? High-speed Internet! A new phone system with voicemail and actually transferring calls between town departments. Of course, our budget is severely limited. We would need to present a short timeframe for payback to get something like that approved at our town meeting.”

The Solution

Until recently, smaller municipalities in western Massachusetts lacked access to high-speed Internet and alternative voice services. Fortunately, the Massachusetts Broadband Institute (MBI) 123 initiative has constructed a fiber-optic network across western Massachusetts. By working in conjunction with MBI, Crocker provides Internet Access and voice services that enable communities to leverage the fiber’s unparalleled speed, capacity, and reliability.

Determining a town’s ideal telecommunications solution involves doing a lot of homework: reviewing Internet and telephone bills; assessing “must-haves” and “wish lists”; and discussing options in clear, non-technical terms. In analyzing phone usage, we find individual-usage-based programs and more costly flat-rate programs. Sometimes a town has an older PBX or no PBX at all—just wall-jacked analog phones. We also come across older Centrex and VoIP services.

To connect multiple buildings within a town—e.g. the town hall, library, police station, fire station, and senior center—many communities choose Crocker Metro Ethernet Service. Once in place, calls may be transferred between buildings, and telephone and internet usage can be pooled to get better rates.

To leverage the broadband network for voice, we can provide feature-rich Crocker Hosted Phone Systems—our Hosted PBX Service—or we enhance an existing premise-based phone system using Crocker VoIP Dial Tones as part of our Voice Services. Such solutions frequently have a 2-year payback period, with ongoing cost savings and improved productivity thereafter.

Delivering unsurpassed Internet and voice services that connect small worlds to the world at large—it’s how we’re wired.

Industry

State & Municipal Government