Cross Telephone

David Wright, the CTO and GM of Cross Telephone, a century-old independent telephone company in Southeastern Oklahoma, describes the company's transformation over the past decade from a traditional telephony provider to a broadband-centric company. This evolution includes offering IPTV, traditional telephony, and high-speed internet services. A key factor in this transformation has been their partnership with Ribbon Communications and the implementation of the NPT IP transport product. This product has enabled Cross Telephone to transition from an ATM network to a more robust packet transport network, delivering non-blocked capacities of approximately 500 Mbps for around 15,000 subscribers. The NPT and Apollo products have also facilitated rapid service deployment in new and underserved areas, replacing older DWDM solutions. The consolidation of several legacy network elements into a single platform has resulted in substantial operational efficiencies, including reduced power consumption, lower maintenance costs, and the elimination of multiple vendor agreements. Looking ahead, Cross Telephone aims to leverage the NPT product to provide high-capacity transport services across their exchanges and into emerging markets, ensuring equal bandwidth capacity for all consumers.