City of Kentwood Prepares for Future Growth and Services with Next-Generation Communications System

The City of Kentwood, Michigan, faced the challenge of providing enhanced service capabilities on a small-city budget as more citizens moved into urban areas. To address this, Kentwood partnered with The Via Group and Ribbon Communications to deploy a next-generation communications system. Leveraging Microsoft's CityNext program, they chose a Microsoft Skype for Business solution integrated with Ribbon's Session Border Controllers (SBC). This solution connected the city's multiple sites, provided secure access to the public telephone network, and protected against potential threats. The result was a secure, mobile-first real-time communications system for every city department, including police, fire, parks and recreation, and city governance. Ribbon's SBCs ensured high voice quality and advanced services, even under emergency situations with high session volumes. This deployment has enabled Kentwood to offer more responsive local government services and maintain a reliable communications network.