Pierce Telephone has just recently completed a conversion of their BluStream TV service to the MG-TV IPTV platform from Innovative Systems.
Pierce receives their video feed from neighboring Three River Communications in Lynch Nebraska and when they made the switch to Innovative Systems the management team at Pierce could not have been happier. According to CO Supervisor Jeff Kesting, Pierce has been a long time customer with the Innovative Billing and APMax voice solutions, and he had heard good things about the video solution from many of their Nebraska peers. Pierce has not been disappointed thus far, as they have received positive comments on the new features like the Weather App, cDVR, and Restart TV, all part of the InnoStream Platform.
Why has Pierce stayed committed to video?
The primary reason for offering video is to serve a need for their customers who want a local video service bundled in with their other communications services that are offered at Pierce. This commitment is actually following a trend of other NTCA member companies as was reported in their most recent 2021 study.
“Of those that currently offer CATV or IPTV service, 79.0% say they will likely continue to do so for the foreseeable future; more specifically, 43.8% say they are very likely to continue and 35.2% say they are somewhat likely. Only 10.9% say they are not very likely to continue offering CATV or IPTV service, and 8.6% report that they already have plans to discontinue this service.”
NTCA Broadband Availability Report
Kesting advises anyone thinking about exiting video to talk to their customers first, and see if there might be some opportunities to cost-share with neighboring telecoms. For Pierce it is all about providing a reliable broadband pipe to deliver services like video, that their consumers desire from a local provider.
