Introduction
EPlus Broadband runs one of the largest utility-owned fiber networks in the country. Turning an order into live service for tens of thousands of subscribers, and keeping every user account accurate as plans change, is not work a provider can do by hand for long. ETI Software gave EPlus automated user provisioning from launch, so a new order becomes an active service without manual rekeying. Activation got faster, billing got more accurate, and the operation kept its footing as the subscriber base grew.
Background
EPlus Broadband is the fiber division of Jackson Energy Authority (JEA) in Jackson, Tennessee, delivering cable TV, internet, and telephone service across the community. JEA is one of the few public utilities in the United States providing electric, gas, propane, water, wastewater, and broadband under one organization, serving more than 40,000 residents in western Tennessee. The broadband effort began in 2004, when community leaders recognized what high-speed connectivity would mean for the local economy. Over the next decade, JEA built that ambition into one of the most advanced fiber networks in the nation.
The way EPlus picked partners shaped the way it built. “Our philosophy at JEA is to minimize multiple vendors and work with those we trust and who have outstanding track records,” said Ben Lovins, Sr. VP, Telecommunications Division, EPlus Broadband, JEA. “ETI’s performance is solid as a rock.” ETI was in place from the first day of service.
Challenge
The first thing EPlus had to solve was provisioning itself. Activating and billing broadband meant pushing every order, and the user data behind it, through several disconnected systems by hand. That is the swivel-chair approach, where staff rekey the same details from one screen to the next. Manual provisioning is slow, and every rekey invites human error that surfaces later as a wrong bill or a failed activation.
Growth made a manageable problem urgent. Within five years, EPlus reached a triple-play take rate of 25 percent. More subscribers meant more new user accounts, more service changes, and a volume of orders that manual processes could not keep up with. The legacy telephone billing system in place at the time could not support the automatic user provisioning the operation now needed across voice, video, and data.
Solutions
ETI integrated to JEA’s existing billing system and put flow-through provisioning in place, so an order moved straight to activation with no manual intervention. The user data was entered once and shared across systems instead of rekeyed, which is what made activation faster and billing more reliable.
As volume climbed, EPlus replaced its legacy telephone billing with ETI’s end-to-end triple-play B/OSS. The platform runs the full order lifecycle, order entry, rating, activation, and billing, across telephone, video, and data. Each new user account is created and provisioned automatically, with the services a subscriber receives matched against the authorizations and access rights each technology vendor requires. That gave EPlus secure access management across its catalog, tying user account provisioning directly to billing so the user record and the active service never drifted apart.
ETI also added a utility-billing integration, letting EPlus present a single statement for both utility and telecom service. “By keeping the utility and telecom systems under ‘one pane of glass,’ we eliminate CSR dual entry, which in turn reduces errors and increases productivity,” Lovins added.
Provisioning carried through to the support desk. With device management pre-integrated to the billing and operational systems, a CSR could pull up a subscriber’s equipment by name and service location and act on it. “Empowering CSRs to access devices by subscriber name and service locations shortens service calls and expedites resolution of common situations such as forgotten passwords or RG re-boots,” Lovins explained. “This translates into less escalation, fewer truck rolls, reduced expenses, not to mention a better customer experience.”
The automated provisioning that carried EPlus is what ETI now delivers through Intelegrate Automate, its provisioning and service activation platform. Built on more than 30 years of telecom OSS practice, it connects billing and control systems through a single integration layer and handles new activations, service changes, and user deprovisioning without manual touchpoints, across fiber, copper, coax, or satellite. It is the same approach, applied as a repeatable model rather than a one-off build.
Results
The work showed up in the numbers and in the day-to-day:
- A triple-play take rate of 25 percent within five years, supported by automated provisioning instead of manual entry.
- A single bill across utility and telecom service, which cut dual entry, reduced errors, and raised CSR productivity.
- Faster activation and shorter service calls, with fewer escalations and truck rolls, lowering the cost to serve.
The partnership held and grew. In 2024, EPlus reached 100 percent FCC broadband-label compliance using ETI’s Broadband Label Genie, with plan data managed and updated automatically rather than rebuilt by hand. “The solution works well and gives us the flexibility to easily manage the labels across all our customer contact opportunities,” said Mike Baughn, Sr. Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Jackson Energy Authority.
That repeat trust traces back to the provisioning work that started it. “ETI Software has been a trusted partner for many years, providing automated provisioning and billing support for our utility and broadband services,” said Lovins, who summed up the relationship plainly: “ETI has once again shown that they have the experience and commitment to provide solutions that support our goal of delivering exceptional telecommunications services our customers desire, coupled with best-in-class customer service. Additionally, the platform continues to be valuable in our drive to constantly improve operational efficiencies, an additional critical factor in our ability to remain competitive in this ever-changing industry.”
See how ETI helps telcos, broadband providers, municipalities, utility co-ops, open access providers, and WISPs automate provisioning and connect their systems at etisoftware.com.
