Success Stories | Service Providers

Prairieburg Telephone Company modernizes their network with REDCOM SLICE 2100

Download PDF

Prairieburg Telephone Company in Iowa serves the community of rural Prairieburg, a town with a population of around 180 people. REDCOM — whose products are proudly designed, developed and supported in the United States — continues to serve rural areas such as this one because of the company’s appreciation for these communities throughout the country.

Prairieburg Telephone had been hosting a 20-year-old TDM switch but was in the market to update their switching infrastructure to a system that would allow for a SIP architecture. Don Reichenauer, Owner and General Manager of Prairieburg Telephone Company, was having a difficult time finding support from his board in purchasing a new switch. REDCOM wanted to help Mr. Reichenauer transition to more updated technology, so we went to Iowa to help facilitate the decision-making process.

In just three or four years, the SLICE 2100 will pay for itself when compared to paying for yearly support for another company’s switch.

Don Reichenauer - Owner & Manager, Prairieburg Telephone Company

After demonstrating to the board how a REDCOM switch would actually save the company money and time in the long run, Prairieburg Telephone decided to update their infrastructure with a REDCOM SLICE 2100. Service providers are always looking for ways to lower operating expenditures and increase margins, while offering new value-added services to their subscriber base. Deploying a modern flexible network enables Prairieburg Telephone to adapt to increasing end-user demands at a lower operating cost.

“REDCOM doesn’t require yearly support fees, and for a small company like ours the SLICE 2100 was an affordable solution that gave us everything we were looking for,” said Don Reichenauer. “In just three or four years, this switch will pay for itself when compared to paying for yearly support for another company’s switch.”

REDCOM SLICE 2100 is built on an industry-standard SIP-based architecture and offers features designed to help carriers migrate to cloud-based networks, improve efficiency, and offer new services to their customers. This softswitch solution is designed to help reduce reliance on obsolete systems, all while taking up much less space and using substantially less power.

We were at a 60 Amp load before shutting down our TDM, and now we are at a 30 Amp load using the SLICE 2100 — that’s a 50% power reduction.

Don Reichenauer - Owner & Manager, Prairieburg Telephone Company

REDCOM provided Prairieburg Telephone with the equipment they needed to transition to more updated technology, and the company’s customer service did everything necessary to make sure the customer was trained, organized, and up and running within just a few days. “The REDCOM team was very thorough, getting the information needed to make the transfer from our old DMS to the SLICE 2100,” said Don Reichenauer. “The install was as painless as possible. Bob Carey worked with our setup and basically rewired our entire system.”

In 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, Prairieburg Telephone turned to REDCOM with a special request. “The global pandemic prompted our Board of Directors to consider a conference line for the SLICE 2100,” said Don. “I checked with Bob, our go-to representative, and he had it installed in no time.”

Bob installed additional resources for the SLICE 2100 and adjusted the database to enable conferencing. Additionally, he created security features to allow a level of secure conferencing for the Prairieburg board. “Many members of our board are at-risk for COVID-19, and having this conferencing line has already been a great asset to our community,” said Don.

Talk to the Experts at REDCOM!

At REDCOM, we do business differently than most other vendors. Our small, dedicated team goes above and beyond expectations to deliver the right solution for each and every customer. Whether you need help with network modernization or legacy switch replacement, we are always here to help. Reach out to the REDCOM team at 585-924-6500, sales@redcom.com, or visit our website at www.redcom.com.