1 00:00:00,140 --> 00:00:04,460 Intro: The following program is brought to you by the Tennessee Broadband Association. 2 00:00:04,880 --> 00:00:10,580 Lead Tennessee Radio, conversations with the leaders moving our state forward. 3 00:00:10,610 --> 00:00:18,170 We look at the issues shaping Tennessee's future: rural development, public policy, broadband, 4 00:00:18,200 --> 00:00:22,760 healthcare, and other topics impacting our communities. 5 00:00:23,540 --> 00:00:29,210 Carrie Huckeby: Hello, everyone. I'm Carrie Huckeby, the executive director of the Tennessee Broadband Association. 6 00:00:29,240 --> 00:00:35,120 My guest on this episode of Lead Tennessee Radio is no stranger to the broadband industry. 7 00:00:35,120 --> 00:00:40,180 That's Kaleigh Cox, director of marketing at DxTel. 8 00:00:40,180 --> 00:00:43,580 DxTel is a TNBA platinum member. 9 00:00:43,610 --> 00:00:51,500 They provide broadband marketing services to rural ISPs through their Harper Marketing Library, Harper 10 00:00:51,500 --> 00:00:59,150 Studios offering video, and actually our TNBA Conference opening video was produced by them this 11 00:00:59,150 --> 00:01:00,800 past year. We loved it. 12 00:01:00,830 --> 00:01:08,480 Cooper did a great job coming to Nashville, interviewing our legislators, our Speaker of the House, and also our key 13 00:01:08,480 --> 00:01:15,850 players. They also have a newly released e-sports gaming platform, and Fiber Homes. 14 00:01:15,850 --> 00:01:18,440 And fiber homes is what we are going to talk about. 15 00:01:18,440 --> 00:01:19,700 So welcome, Kaleigh. 16 00:01:20,410 --> 00:01:21,750 Kaleigh Cox: Thank you so much, Carrie. 17 00:01:21,760 --> 00:01:23,350 I'm really excited to be here. 18 00:01:23,470 --> 00:01:31,120 Carrie Huckeby: Well, I think we would all agree that the housing market is kind of a wild ride right now, and people are 19 00:01:31,120 --> 00:01:34,660 moving from state to state for all kinds of reasons. 20 00:01:34,660 --> 00:01:41,980 And Tennessee is one of the fastest growing states in the country for not only business, but also for individuals. 21 00:01:41,980 --> 00:01:44,800 And they need a place to call home. 22 00:01:44,800 --> 00:01:46,200 They need a place to live. 23 00:01:46,210 --> 00:01:54,190 So they have this checklist of things, or I imagine they do, that they are looking for, and I can't imagine 24 00:01:54,190 --> 00:01:56,680 that broadband isn't on that list. 25 00:01:56,680 --> 00:02:00,550 So first, it's find a realtor, and there's plenty of those around. 26 00:02:01,180 --> 00:02:09,040 So tell us about how Fiber Homes works – bringing together that realtor, the buyer and then how 27 00:02:09,040 --> 00:02:11,470 the ISP fits into that picture. 28 00:02:12,280 --> 00:02:13,840 Kaleigh Cox: Yeah. Great question. 29 00:02:13,840 --> 00:02:19,930 And as someone, I don't know if you know this about me, Carrie, but as someone who lived in Memphis, Tennessee for two years, I 30 00:02:19,930 --> 00:02:23,440 am not at all surprised that it's one of the fastest growing states in the country. 31 00:02:23,440 --> 00:02:24,650 I love Tennessee. 32 00:02:24,650 --> 00:02:27,670 I'm in South Carolina now, and that's where I'm from. 33 00:02:27,670 --> 00:02:29,860 But if I didn't live in South Carolina, I would live in Tennessee. 34 00:02:31,210 --> 00:02:38,650 But yeah, we are seeing broadband as the most important consideration for homebuyers. 35 00:02:38,650 --> 00:02:45,550 They are ranking that more, homebuyers are ranking that as an important consideration than are even ranking commute time or 36 00:02:45,550 --> 00:02:48,880 local amenities. So it's extremely important. 37 00:02:49,270 --> 00:02:53,820 And you're right, there's kind of three groups here that Fiber Homes is looking to connect. 38 00:02:53,830 --> 00:02:59,260 There's the home buyer, who wants that fast, reliable internet, and our industry knows that means fiber. 39 00:02:59,710 --> 00:03:07,630 And then there is the local ISP that really wants to let all of these new movers in their markets know they exist before that 40 00:03:07,630 --> 00:03:14,320 buyer locks in to a two year contract with a national provider, who has worse service and worse customer service, but they just 41 00:03:14,320 --> 00:03:15,790 didn't know their options. 42 00:03:16,300 --> 00:03:22,510 And then you've got the realtor, and the realtor wants to provide an excellent client experience. 43 00:03:22,510 --> 00:03:29,140 They want to be positioned as the local expert, and there's a lot happening right now in the real estate industry. 44 00:03:29,140 --> 00:03:35,320 There's a lot of lawsuits around inflated commissions for agents, and then you've got rising interest rates when compared 45 00:03:35,320 --> 00:03:42,400 to recent years. And so we're expecting it to get harder for realtors to win clients to sell homes. 46 00:03:42,400 --> 00:03:45,550 And so they need a way to stand out and provide excellent service. 47 00:03:46,270 --> 00:03:51,850 And I'm mostly talking about the buyer's agent here who represents the home buyer, like you brought up. 48 00:03:51,850 --> 00:03:58,390 But it's also good to remember the listing agent, and it's their job to put the home on the market and help the seller. 49 00:03:58,660 --> 00:04:04,420 And something I want to mention there is Fiber Broadband Association recently shared the results of a study they did, and 50 00:04:04,420 --> 00:04:10,180 found that fiber now adds 4.9% on average to the value of a single family home. 51 00:04:10,180 --> 00:04:17,350 And so that's exciting because we've been using the 3.1% stat across our industry since 2015, and so we knew it had to be 52 00:04:17,350 --> 00:04:19,780 higher than that now. But it's nice to have some data there. 53 00:04:20,680 --> 00:04:27,310 But at Fiber Homes, we want to serve all of those needs at once and create a win-win-win for the home buyer, the ISP and the 54 00:04:27,310 --> 00:04:35,140 realtor. So we provide buyers with the most accurate address level information that is available in terms of broadband 55 00:04:35,140 --> 00:04:42,220 availability. We provide the ISP with multiple pathways to reach those new buyers early in the home buying 56 00:04:42,220 --> 00:04:45,970 process, including by partnering with local agents. 57 00:04:45,970 --> 00:04:52,480 And then we provide real estate agents with a bunch of free tools that help them provide that better customer experience, 58 00:04:52,480 --> 00:04:55,060 either as a buyer's agent or a seller's agent. 59 00:04:55,390 --> 00:05:02,320 Carrie Huckeby: Well, I can see that the realtor could really use this as an extra tool because it is so competitive. 60 00:05:02,320 --> 00:05:06,910 I mean, if you just watch social media, how many realtors are on there? 61 00:05:07,510 --> 00:05:11,410 You know, they're looking for listings, or they have listings. 62 00:05:11,410 --> 00:05:17,230 So I know an extra tool in their tool bag would be helpful, like Fiber Homes. 63 00:05:17,230 --> 00:05:24,040 But you sent me an email a couple of weeks ago with some really impressive stats on top of that 4.9%. 64 00:05:24,040 --> 00:05:25,210 That's good to know. 65 00:05:25,480 --> 00:05:28,300 Tell us about Realtracs. 66 00:05:28,300 --> 00:05:29,380 What is that? 67 00:05:29,380 --> 00:05:36,220 How are the realtors using it, and what does that really mean to some of the TNBA broadband companies? 68 00:05:37,050 --> 00:05:39,990 Kaleigh Cox: Yes! We are so excited about this, Carrie. 69 00:05:39,990 --> 00:05:41,610 So Realtracs is an MLS. 70 00:05:42,300 --> 00:05:45,750 And for those who may not know, that stands for Multiple Listing Service. 71 00:05:46,380 --> 00:05:51,660 That's the platform or the database where agents and homebuyers view homes on the market. 72 00:05:51,660 --> 00:05:59,370 So yes, sites like Zillow are very popular, but what those sites are essentially doing is scraping all of the local and regional 73 00:05:59,370 --> 00:06:04,770 MLS around the country, the true data source, and then compiling them into one user friendly site. 74 00:06:04,770 --> 00:06:10,500 So when you work with an actual realtor, they're going to be working from the source, the local MLS. 75 00:06:10,500 --> 00:06:13,200 And that's where they post listings. 76 00:06:13,200 --> 00:06:14,990 That's where they browse listings. 77 00:06:14,990 --> 00:06:16,920 That's how they share info with their clients. 78 00:06:16,920 --> 00:06:21,000 And there's about 600 MLS across the US. 79 00:06:21,030 --> 00:06:24,600 Realtracs is far and away the largest one in the state of Tennessee. 80 00:06:25,380 --> 00:06:28,860 It also reaches into Alabama, Georgia and Kentucky. 81 00:06:29,280 --> 00:06:30,290 I checked their website. 82 00:06:30,290 --> 00:06:35,460 According to that, they have over 20,000 users and more than 1,900 real estate offices. 83 00:06:35,580 --> 00:06:38,820 So that's a very large reach as far as MLS is go. 84 00:06:39,180 --> 00:06:43,020 We turned on an integration with them in September. 85 00:06:43,050 --> 00:06:46,530 That integration was via CRS data. 86 00:06:46,530 --> 00:06:49,500 So CRS, I'm getting a little in the weeds here, but bear with me. 87 00:06:49,710 --> 00:06:50,020 Carrie Huckeby: That's okay. 88 00:06:50,040 --> 00:06:53,040 Kaleigh Cox: That stands for Courthouse Retrieval Systems. 89 00:06:53,040 --> 00:07:00,720 That company provides a lot of MLS, including Realtracs, all the data that they would pull from courthouses to create a 90 00:07:00,720 --> 00:07:05,340 general property report that agents pull any time their listing or showing a home. 91 00:07:05,340 --> 00:07:13,320 So using CRS, we build an integration so that all of those general property reports that agents pull every day now 92 00:07:13,320 --> 00:07:18,240 have a section on broadband availability that's based on Fiber Homes's data. 93 00:07:18,240 --> 00:07:26,190 So that means that if an ISP has certified that address in Fiber Homes, they show up at the top of the list as being a, or in many 94 00:07:26,190 --> 00:07:30,030 cases, the confirmed fiber provider at that home. 95 00:07:30,570 --> 00:07:38,100 And so some of those stats I shared with you, you know, we saw realtors pull 96 00:07:38,100 --> 00:07:45,810 367,633 broadband, or not just broadband, but property reports out 97 00:07:46,020 --> 00:07:48,540 of Realtracs in the month of October alone. 98 00:07:48,540 --> 00:07:54,600 And many of those reports featured a TNBA provider as the confirmed provider. 99 00:07:54,690 --> 00:08:02,580 And so I looked at that, 63,580 of the property reports that have been pulled from Realtrac since 100 00:08:02,580 --> 00:08:10,080 we turned this on in September have featured a TNBA member listed as the confirmed certified fiber provider. 101 00:08:10,080 --> 00:08:14,220 And that's just across seven TNBA brands that participate in Fiber Homes. 102 00:08:14,220 --> 00:08:17,070 So massive, massive exposure. 103 00:08:17,070 --> 00:08:21,780 Carrie Huckeby: Would you have ever imagined it would be that many when you started doing that? 104 00:08:21,930 --> 00:08:23,580 Kaleigh Cox: No, and we have. 105 00:08:23,580 --> 00:08:25,410 So I pulled this out of our dashboard. 106 00:08:25,410 --> 00:08:31,590 Every pro-partner gets a dashboard to view kind of how their data is being used, how much it's being used, local agents, 107 00:08:31,590 --> 00:08:39,450 things like that. And it like Realtracs alone like kind of dwarfed all past search 108 00:08:39,450 --> 00:08:42,810 history. I mean, it's just been incredible the reach of that platform. 109 00:08:43,380 --> 00:08:45,060 So it's a massive win for Tennessee. 110 00:08:45,090 --> 00:08:52,710 Carrie Huckeby: It is. And when I saw that number, I thought, it blew my mind that that many people are looking for homes and houses are 111 00:08:52,710 --> 00:08:54,000 looking for listings. 112 00:08:54,000 --> 00:08:56,850 It's just crazy, crazy number. 113 00:08:56,850 --> 00:09:04,470 So if I'm the realtor going into your website allows me to sign up for an account, I believe. 114 00:09:04,470 --> 00:09:12,390 So I can search addresses, and I can produce a broadband report for the client, for my client. 115 00:09:12,420 --> 00:09:14,370 Talk about those benefits. 116 00:09:14,760 --> 00:09:16,080 Kaleigh Cox: Yeah, absolutely. 117 00:09:16,080 --> 00:09:20,490 So the Realtracs reports was talking about, that's the general property report. 118 00:09:20,490 --> 00:09:24,180 Agents don't have to have Fiber Homes accounts or run separate reports. 119 00:09:24,930 --> 00:09:27,990 That data is now in the general property report. 120 00:09:27,990 --> 00:09:32,490 But any agent and any state can create a free account on Fiber Homes. 121 00:09:32,760 --> 00:09:38,370 And we've got some really cool value adds for them that, like we talked about before, can help them stand out from their 122 00:09:38,370 --> 00:09:45,480 competitors. So they can run, if they search an address either on the home page or they create their free account and get into 123 00:09:45,480 --> 00:09:52,590 what we call the Pro Portal, they can search and address and run a separate broadband property report that's branded for them as 124 00:09:52,590 --> 00:09:58,560 the agent, and it features more information than what's in the one section of the CRS data report. 125 00:09:58,560 --> 00:10:01,710 So they actually get details on speeds and prices. 126 00:10:01,710 --> 00:10:05,360 If the ISP has told us they offer a new mover promo, that shows up. 127 00:10:05,360 --> 00:10:11,430 There's a website, a phone number, so they can share those digitally or print them and hand them to their client. 128 00:10:11,670 --> 00:10:14,340 But there's more than just the broadband property report. 129 00:10:14,670 --> 00:10:20,970 For example, if they are the agent listing the home, they can – and it's one of our Fiber Homes Pro partners has certified the 130 00:10:20,970 --> 00:10:28,440 address – they get access to a whole toolkit of free marketing materials to help them make the market aware that it's got fiber, 131 00:10:28,440 --> 00:10:32,190 so they can take advantage of that potential 4.9% boost in value, right? 132 00:10:32,190 --> 00:10:37,380 So they can download designs for door hangers or yard signs or rack cards. 133 00:10:37,650 --> 00:10:43,650 They can use that kind of thing for open houses, or they can even just download the certification badge or the QR code and put 134 00:10:43,650 --> 00:10:45,000 that in with photos of the home. 135 00:10:45,030 --> 00:10:48,870 A very easy way to leverage the certification as an agent. 136 00:10:49,320 --> 00:10:54,570 And then all of that is co-branded with the Fiber Homes Pro partner, the ISP that certified the address. 137 00:10:54,570 --> 00:10:57,510 So they get that kind of easy publicity as well. 138 00:10:58,020 --> 00:11:03,270 So lots of just extra little tools and resources that are free for agents in there. 139 00:11:03,270 --> 00:11:04,620 Carrie Huckeby: Yes, that's amazing. 140 00:11:04,630 --> 00:11:10,320 I can remember years ago, many years ago, when I worked in marketing and sales for a broadband provider. 141 00:11:10,350 --> 00:11:17,370 You know, we tried to figure out how to get those materials in people's hands that were moving into town. 142 00:11:17,370 --> 00:11:19,230 They were new to the area. 143 00:11:19,560 --> 00:11:27,150 We talked about putting them, putting them in local chambers, maybe get them to the water department or even the electric 144 00:11:27,150 --> 00:11:29,350 company at that time to hand them out. 145 00:11:29,350 --> 00:11:35,370 Because we were competing with bigger names, and sometimes they didn't know we existed. 146 00:11:35,370 --> 00:11:39,450 So Fiber Homes is doing exactly that, isn't it? 147 00:11:39,840 --> 00:11:47,640 Kaleigh Cox: Yes. And that's because DxTel, our company that, you know, owns Fiber Homes, we've worked with broadband providers for years 148 00:11:47,640 --> 00:11:51,680 now, and we heard so many of our clients, we work with the marketers. 149 00:11:51,680 --> 00:11:57,000 And we heard so many of our clients say something very much along the lines of what you just said. 150 00:11:57,000 --> 00:12:02,220 And they were all – many of them, not all of them – but many of them were kind of kicking the can because there was no obvious 151 00:12:02,220 --> 00:12:05,880 path forward. So that's yeah, exactly what Fiber Homes was built for. 152 00:12:06,390 --> 00:12:12,990 Because the truth is, you know, people in our industry, I know, hold a wide range of much more nuanced views on this topic. 153 00:12:12,990 --> 00:12:18,420 But the average home buyer really does just see internet as a utility, like water or electricity. 154 00:12:18,420 --> 00:12:23,340 And so, you know, they've always expected their real estate agent to tell them where to go for water and electricity. 155 00:12:23,340 --> 00:12:30,720 And they're now asking agents for where to go for internet and, you know, agents, up until Fiber Homes, really didn't have 156 00:12:30,720 --> 00:12:34,410 an easy way to answer that question or to answer it accurately. 157 00:12:34,410 --> 00:12:41,100 And so we're just trying to make that much easier for them to answer your questions with confidence and provide that experience 158 00:12:41,100 --> 00:12:47,610 so that ultimately the home buyer has accurate information without the ISP having to do the legwork you just described. 159 00:12:48,090 --> 00:12:54,780 Carrie Huckeby: Right. Because I can also remember years ago getting calls from a realtor that said, "Hey, someone's looking at this house. 160 00:12:54,780 --> 00:12:59,580 Do you serve this area?" You know, "Do you have internet there? 161 00:12:59,610 --> 00:13:06,780 Do you have service there?" So this certainly makes it easier for the ISP and the realtor. 162 00:13:06,780 --> 00:13:11,940 So you've probably got at least one good success story. 163 00:13:11,940 --> 00:13:18,750 I know you've got lots of them, but have you got a success story where all of these pieces came together for someone? 164 00:13:19,200 --> 00:13:21,450 Kaleigh Cox: Yes, and it's out of Tennessee. 165 00:13:21,450 --> 00:13:29,160 So Twin Lakes has been able to benefit from the Realtracs integration, but they've also 166 00:13:29,160 --> 00:13:34,810 had 28 agents create those free accounts for access to the extra tools. 167 00:13:34,810 --> 00:13:36,510 But I went into their dashboard. 168 00:13:36,510 --> 00:13:39,060 Like I said, any of our Pro partners can look at data like this. 169 00:13:39,060 --> 00:13:46,500 But I went into the Twin Lakes dashboard to see exactly what kind of traction they're getting beyond those 28 agent signups. 170 00:13:46,500 --> 00:13:54,360 In their service areas, in towns that they serve, 2,658 property reports have been pulled from 171 00:13:54,360 --> 00:13:56,040 Realtracs since September. 172 00:13:56,370 --> 00:14:01,620 We also have an integration on movoto.com, which is one of those, you know, public facing websites. 173 00:14:01,710 --> 00:14:08,100 22 times potential homebuyers on those sites have clicked out to see who the internet provider was out of the little widget there, 174 00:14:08,100 --> 00:14:10,080 and that showed them Twin Lakes. 175 00:14:10,290 --> 00:14:14,010 And then they also, Twin Lakes overlaps with another smaller MLS. 176 00:14:14,640 --> 00:14:18,330 You know, I mentioned Realtracs is the biggest, but there are 600 in the country. 177 00:14:18,630 --> 00:14:25,230 Twin lakes also overlaps with the Upper Cumberland Association of Realtors, which has its own MLS, which is also integrated with 178 00:14:25,230 --> 00:14:28,350 us. And they've seen another ten agents pull reports there. 179 00:14:28,350 --> 00:14:35,190 So, you know, I think Twin Lakes probably is doing some stuff in their market to leverage, you know, the tools we've given them to 180 00:14:35,190 --> 00:14:39,450 promote Fiber Homes to their agents because we've seen those agents creating accounts. 181 00:14:39,450 --> 00:14:45,840 But a lot of that exposure is happening without them having to do all that legwork again with, like, the chamber or the water 182 00:14:45,840 --> 00:14:46,410 company. 183 00:14:46,650 --> 00:14:48,570 Carrie Huckeby: And I think, too, and you're right. 184 00:14:48,570 --> 00:14:56,310 I believe Twin Lakes advertised a webinar or maybe a meeting for their realtors where they could come in and 185 00:14:56,310 --> 00:14:58,980 talk about and learn about Fiber Homes. 186 00:14:58,980 --> 00:15:02,730 So I'm sure it's education is a big part of that. 187 00:15:03,350 --> 00:15:04,430 Kaleigh Cox: Yeah, absolutely. 188 00:15:04,430 --> 00:15:06,920 And we try to make that really easy for the ISP. 189 00:15:06,950 --> 00:15:13,430 We know that, you know, most of the companies we serve are smaller, and they can't add this to everything else they're 190 00:15:13,430 --> 00:15:15,620 doing. And so there's two ways we do that. 191 00:15:15,620 --> 00:15:17,840 We run a quarterly webinar. 192 00:15:17,930 --> 00:15:20,360 So once a quarter, it's the same content each quarter. 193 00:15:20,360 --> 00:15:26,150 But we, you know, do a general webinar that any agent in the country could watch that talks about fiber, explains that 194 00:15:26,150 --> 00:15:30,350 compared to other technologies, and then introduces them to the free tools in Fiber Homes. 195 00:15:30,710 --> 00:15:34,640 And then we also, you know, we give the ISPs materials to promote that. 196 00:15:34,640 --> 00:15:40,370 So they can either say, they can just promote it online, and say here, you know, join this free live stream. 197 00:15:40,370 --> 00:15:46,190 Or they can host, you know, a lunch and learn or something like that in their office and play it, and then have face-to-face time 198 00:15:46,190 --> 00:15:52,070 as well. And we give them materials to promote it, and then to hand the agents, you know, in person. 199 00:15:52,220 --> 00:15:58,190 So some people leverage that quarterly webinar, and then other Pro partners will actually work with Jill, our partner success 200 00:15:58,190 --> 00:16:01,280 manager that's there for them to plan something custom in their market. 201 00:16:01,760 --> 00:16:06,380 And then the presentation is much more specific to that ISP in that area. 202 00:16:06,890 --> 00:16:10,370 We do it both ways for free for Fiber Homes Pro partners. 203 00:16:10,370 --> 00:16:13,940 So I'm sure Jill would be able to tell me exactly which one they did. 204 00:16:14,090 --> 00:16:16,370 But I'm sure Twin Lakes was taking advantage of one of those options. 205 00:16:16,910 --> 00:16:18,950 Carrie Huckeby: Good. Great to know that it's out there. 206 00:16:18,960 --> 00:16:26,900 So it is such a great tool, and we've touched on maybe some of the challenges educating the realtors and getting the 207 00:16:26,900 --> 00:16:28,280 word out there. 208 00:16:28,310 --> 00:16:36,110 Are there any other challenges that you found as far as getting it out there, or ISPs signing 209 00:16:36,110 --> 00:16:38,090 up or anything else? 210 00:16:38,390 --> 00:16:46,130 Kaleigh Cox: Yeah. So, you know, I think with broadband providers, most of the companies, the vast majority of companies that do a demo with us, 211 00:16:46,130 --> 00:16:52,610 either do the full package of Fiber Homes Pro, or they'll do a slimmed down version we offer where they can simply certify their 212 00:16:52,610 --> 00:16:57,920 addresses. And so just making sure they show up without, you know, any of the bells and whistles. 213 00:16:57,920 --> 00:17:05,810 And so the vast majority, once they've heard about Fiber Homes, which can go over in a half hour at most, they want to do one of 214 00:17:05,810 --> 00:17:07,130 those two options. 215 00:17:07,190 --> 00:17:13,730 The challenge is, I think getting them on the call to talk about it in the first place, because like I said, most of our clients 216 00:17:13,730 --> 00:17:15,970 and the companies we work with are smaller. 217 00:17:15,980 --> 00:17:20,840 They don't have people on house to own this as a full time thing. 218 00:17:21,260 --> 00:17:27,110 And so they worry that if they sign up for Fiber Homes, they're going to be putting a bunch of extra to dos on a team that that 219 00:17:27,110 --> 00:17:28,760 already has too much to do. 220 00:17:28,760 --> 00:17:36,110 And so, you know, I'd love to let them know if they're listening and that has prevented them or anything like that, that we have 221 00:17:36,110 --> 00:17:41,630 way more tools available for ISPs to leverage than any one ISP is using. 222 00:17:41,630 --> 00:17:48,200 I mean, our goal is to provide you with every option your team could possibly want in building relationships with agents and 223 00:17:48,200 --> 00:17:50,150 boosting brand awareness with homebuyers. 224 00:17:50,150 --> 00:17:53,600 But no one ISP is using all of them. 225 00:17:53,600 --> 00:17:56,180 It's really meant to meet your team where you are. 226 00:17:56,180 --> 00:18:02,660 And especially if we can work with you to get into the local MLS, like we did with Realtracs, I mean, it just kind of takes off on 227 00:18:02,660 --> 00:18:10,460 its own from there. But, you know, in the days or months leading up to an MLS integration, we still have lots of options. 228 00:18:10,640 --> 00:18:16,310 But I never want an ISP to feel like if they can't do everything, they shouldn't do anything. 229 00:18:16,790 --> 00:18:18,830 And so we try to make that easy. 230 00:18:18,830 --> 00:18:26,150 And you at TNBA, Carrie, have done a great job of helping us, you know, get the word out about this to your providers, which we 231 00:18:26,150 --> 00:18:33,530 really appreciate. And when you see a bunch of providers close to each other signing up like we did in Tennessee, that's when we 232 00:18:33,530 --> 00:18:38,790 have the power to go to a big MLS like Realtracs and say, "Hey, our data. 233 00:18:38,790 --> 00:18:39,800 You want this data. 234 00:18:39,830 --> 00:18:45,970 You know, our data has been certified by all of these providers." So it's kind of a group effort here in the industry, 235 00:18:45,970 --> 00:18:48,020 and I really appreciate you helping us get the word out. 236 00:18:48,050 --> 00:18:55,880 Carrie Huckeby: Well, you're welcome because I'm thrilled to see our providers uploading their certified addresses, 237 00:18:55,880 --> 00:19:03,110 but also going with the Pro package as well, because, you know, our providers serve about 238 00:19:03,110 --> 00:19:04,850 35% of the state. 239 00:19:04,850 --> 00:19:09,980 And, you know, it's about raising awareness of where we serve, and the work that we're doing. 240 00:19:09,980 --> 00:19:17,210 And to me, the Fiber Homes just really brings that home, brings all those pieces together and said, you know, to let everybody 241 00:19:17,210 --> 00:19:20,370 know what's happening in the rural environment. 242 00:19:20,370 --> 00:19:27,410 That you can get these gig/gig connections and ten gig connections here in the unexpected areas, probably. 243 00:19:27,800 --> 00:19:29,540 Kaleigh Cox: Yes. Yeah, absolutely. 244 00:19:29,540 --> 00:19:37,130 Carrie Huckeby: So I guess one of the other challenges, too, as you mentioned, is the MLS, is getting to the right people to 245 00:19:37,130 --> 00:19:39,680 coordinate and integration, right? 246 00:19:39,980 --> 00:19:45,530 Kaleigh Cox: Yeah. And if anyone is interested in this, I have a two-pager I can email them that kind of explains this. 247 00:19:45,530 --> 00:19:47,480 So my email is kcox@dxtel.net. 248 00:19:47,990 --> 00:19:55,790 But at a high level, the way we have 249 00:19:55,790 --> 00:20:00,350 approached this is going up a level. 250 00:20:00,350 --> 00:20:02,360 So there's 600 MLSs right. 251 00:20:02,360 --> 00:20:09,290 But above that, there's only a handful of companies that build the tech stacks these MLSs use. 252 00:20:09,290 --> 00:20:14,930 The platforms in which they put that data and deliver it to the agents and to local home buyers. 253 00:20:14,930 --> 00:20:21,200 And so, every time we've had an MLS interested in the last couple of years we've been doing this, we have built the 254 00:20:21,200 --> 00:20:28,490 integration at that tech stack level, which then immediately makes it available to every other MLS that uses that tech stack. 255 00:20:28,490 --> 00:20:35,750 So of the 600 MLSs, at least two-thirds, and I think we've built another since I pulled that stack. 256 00:20:35,750 --> 00:20:40,490 But at least two-thirds could turn on a free integration today. 257 00:20:40,520 --> 00:20:44,470 Like they already are using one of these companies we've integrated with. 258 00:20:44,480 --> 00:20:51,220 So we've been able to kind of scale very quickly going that way instead of building one off integrations. 259 00:20:51,220 --> 00:20:58,700 And regardless of what platform they use or what details or features they want in the integration, we do that 260 00:20:58,700 --> 00:21:00,200 completely free for the MLS. 261 00:21:00,200 --> 00:21:04,700 So the challenge is just letting them know we're not trying to sell them anything. 262 00:21:04,880 --> 00:21:11,600 And then, you know, still, even with the free option, a lot of MLSs have to wait for the board to gather, and then they present 263 00:21:11,600 --> 00:21:13,550 it to the board, and the board has to approve it. 264 00:21:13,550 --> 00:21:15,470 And that may only happen once a quarter. 265 00:21:15,470 --> 00:21:22,700 And so even though we offer something that's completely free, you know, fills a need they undeniably have, it surprises us 266 00:21:22,700 --> 00:21:25,580 sometimes how long it takes to get traction. 267 00:21:25,820 --> 00:21:29,690 And that's why we kind of do this in partnership as much as we can with an ISP. 268 00:21:29,720 --> 00:21:31,760 If they're part of Fiber Homes Pro. 269 00:21:31,760 --> 00:21:38,540 And Jill will get on with them and say, "Hey, do you guys already know anyone at the association you know, that could ask the MLS 270 00:21:38,540 --> 00:21:39,830 or ask the board for this? 271 00:21:39,860 --> 00:21:47,180 It obviously means a lot more to them coming from the realtors they are existing to serve, than it does coming from us, an 272 00:21:47,180 --> 00:21:53,870 outside company." So yeah, lots of considerations there, but I'm really proud of the progress we've made so far. 273 00:21:53,870 --> 00:21:55,220 Carrie Huckeby: Yes, I think so. 274 00:21:55,220 --> 00:21:57,520 It's a great tool. 275 00:21:57,520 --> 00:22:04,010 To wrap us up, Kaleigh, tell us about the partnership between Fiber Homes and Livability. 276 00:22:04,010 --> 00:22:07,400 I think that was something that happened, was that last year or this year? 277 00:22:07,970 --> 00:22:09,020 Kaleigh Cox: Oh, time flies. 278 00:22:09,050 --> 00:22:12,260 I think we started that early this year. 279 00:22:12,260 --> 00:22:17,930 But the other day I told someone, yeah, I met with them earlier this year, and I looked up and the meeting had been August of 280 00:22:17,930 --> 00:22:22,430 2022. So I am not the most reliable person on when things happen. 281 00:22:22,730 --> 00:22:24,860 But yeah, we were really excited about that. 282 00:22:24,860 --> 00:22:30,910 Livability.com is a platform that does marketing for small to mid-sized cities. 283 00:22:30,910 --> 00:22:35,720 And so, not the big urban centers, but a lot of the cities kind of outside of those. 284 00:22:35,720 --> 00:22:41,150 And their website does those lists that often go viral, like Best Places to Live in America and things like that. 285 00:22:41,540 --> 00:22:48,890 But they help relocation researchers identify places that they might want to visit or move to or work in that maybe they haven't 286 00:22:48,890 --> 00:22:50,000 heard of before. 287 00:22:50,420 --> 00:22:58,190 And Livability has been around for quite some time, but they had never had data to feature internet 288 00:22:58,190 --> 00:23:01,430 availability as part of that conversation or those rankings. 289 00:23:01,430 --> 00:23:05,620 And they really wanted to change that, and so that's why they partnered with us. 290 00:23:05,620 --> 00:23:09,110 And they rolled out what they're calling the Connected Community Program. 291 00:23:10,070 --> 00:23:17,570 And so providers that have certified addresses in Fiber Homes can then kind of certify their community, their city, on 292 00:23:17,570 --> 00:23:20,180 Livability, as a Connected Community. 293 00:23:20,180 --> 00:23:22,520 And that means we do a feature story on them. 294 00:23:22,520 --> 00:23:27,800 And then there's a, you know, a Connected Community badge that goes on the city's page on Livability. 295 00:23:28,340 --> 00:23:35,270 And this has been particularly popular with our municipal providers that view broadband as very closely tied to their other 296 00:23:35,270 --> 00:23:38,480 goals of economic development and attracting residents. 297 00:23:38,480 --> 00:23:43,700 But we've even seen cooperatives and independent companies use it because then they can bring this cool value add to their 298 00:23:43,700 --> 00:23:49,670 communities. And then also get some publicity themselves with these top of funnel leads that might move to their service area 299 00:23:49,670 --> 00:23:54,200 soon, because we obviously do a section about, you know, in our feature stories about fiber. 300 00:23:54,200 --> 00:23:57,140 That's kind of the story we're telling and who that provider is. 301 00:23:57,140 --> 00:24:05,030 So if any of your listeners want to go to livability.com/ connected-communities, 302 00:24:05,030 --> 00:24:06,860 you can see the stories we're telling there. 303 00:24:06,860 --> 00:24:10,910 And that includes features on Bristol, Martin and Cookeville in Tennessee. 304 00:24:12,080 --> 00:24:13,100 Carrie Huckeby: I did check it out. 305 00:24:13,100 --> 00:24:18,710 It is a great website, and I must say, I'm one of those people that fall for that. 306 00:24:18,710 --> 00:24:21,890 Best places to live, best communities to be in. 307 00:24:21,920 --> 00:24:27,080 You know, I like to read because I want to see if I'm, you know, if my community is on the list. 308 00:24:27,080 --> 00:24:29,600 Kaleigh Cox: Yeah, it's a matter of community pride. 309 00:24:29,600 --> 00:24:29,830 Carrie Huckeby: It is. 310 00:24:29,870 --> 00:24:30,860 Kaleigh Cox: Absolutely. 311 00:24:30,860 --> 00:24:37,370 Carrie Huckeby: It is. Well, Kaleigh, I really appreciate your time today talking about Fiber Homes. 312 00:24:37,400 --> 00:24:45,080 I'm excited that our broadband providers here in Tennessee are taking advantage of it, and their brand is 313 00:24:45,080 --> 00:24:47,990 showing up, and they're leveraging their networks there. 314 00:24:47,990 --> 00:24:51,410 Is there anything else you'd like to add before we close? 315 00:24:52,720 --> 00:24:55,600 Kaleigh Cox: I guess just letting people know how they can find me. 316 00:24:55,640 --> 00:25:02,140 I mean, if they go to FiberHomes.com, and they click say, you're an ISP, you click "ISPs" and you click to book a demo that will 317 00:25:02,140 --> 00:25:07,390 go to my calendar. So if you want to just schedule a call with me, that's an easy way to do it from the Fiber Homes's site. 318 00:25:08,050 --> 00:25:10,720 I'm very active on LinkedIn, so you can find me there. 319 00:25:10,990 --> 00:25:14,320 Kaleigh Cox, K-A-L-E-I-G-H. 320 00:25:14,320 --> 00:25:17,860 Or as I've shared my email earlier, kcox@dxtel.net. 321 00:25:17,860 --> 00:25:24,010 I'm always happy to answer questions, book a call, or whatever else might be helpful for our industry. 322 00:25:24,370 --> 00:25:31,930 Carrie Huckeby: All right. Well, please reach out to Kaleigh and ask her about Fiber Homes, if you're not participating, great service. 323 00:25:31,960 --> 00:25:34,330 I know our realtors here would love it. 324 00:25:34,690 --> 00:25:38,110 So my guest has been Kaleigh Cox, director of marketing with DxTel. 325 00:25:39,070 --> 00:25:46,270 You've been listening to Lead Tennessee Radio, produced by the Tennessee Broadband Association, cooperative and independent 326 00:25:46,270 --> 00:25:51,580 companies connecting our state's rural communities and beyond with world class broadband.