Rural and regional providers play an essential role in expanding connectivity in communities across the country. As these providers move beyond traditional wireless offerings and invest in fiber, fixed wireless, and new digital services, success increasingly depends on more than network buildouts alone. Turning infrastructure progress into a sustainable business requires an operating model that ensures accurate billing, clear financial reporting, and a consistent customer experience from day one.
Viaero Wireless, a long-time IDI Billing Solutions client, offers a clear example of how the right BSS/OSS foundation helps regional providers scale operations alongside network growth without sacrificing clarity or customer experience.
Building a Fiber Business Unit Without Starting Over
For Viaero, establishing fiber as its own business unit was essential to gaining operational clarity, ensuring scalability, and achieving accurate visibility into financial performance.
As fiber demand accelerated, the limitations became clear. Sales activity depended heavily on a small group of experts who knew how to navigate the system. Financially, fiber revenue was blended into the broader wireless operation, limiting insight into true contribution and ROI.
“All of the revenue was flowing into one large ledger,” said Caitlin Price, Director of Billing Operations at Viaero Wireless. “We could see costs, but understanding fiber’s actual contribution meant manually pulling things apart. That made it difficult to evaluate performance or return on investment.”
Standing up a second instance of IDI’s billing platform was one option, but it introduced cost, complexity, and uncertainty at a time when fiber was still scaling.
Instead, Viaero worked with IDI to design a more efficient path: retain a single platform while creating clean operational separation for fiber as a distinct business unit.
One Platform. Clear Separation. A Unified Customer Experience
Within a single instance of IDI’s BSS/OSS, Viaero now manages fiber services independently while preserving the continuity of its broader customer experience.
- Fiber products are mapped to their own ledgers
- Revenue is recognized accurately
- Reporting cleanly distinguishes fiber and wireless performance
This structure gives leadership a much clearer view of how the fiber business is trending month over month — and the confidence to make informed investment decisions.
“Revenue visibility is one of the biggest immediate benefits,” Price said. “Being able to clearly say, ‘This is what fiber generated this month, and this is what wireless generated,’ gives us the insight we need to understand ROI and plan where to invest next.”
From a customer standpoint, Viaero prioritized continuity and simplicity. They already use IDI’s Customer Portal for wireless subscribers, and are extending that experience to fiber customers through a dedicated portal built on the same platform.
The result:
- Stronger brand consistency
- Clearer, service-specific messaging
- Expanded self-service options for payments, bills, and account management
At the same time, IDI’s unified platform lets Viaero serve customers who take both services with a single invoice, while maintaining strict operational separation behind the scenes.
Making Fiber Easier to Sell — and Easier to Scale
With a strong operational foundation in place, Viaero could tackle another challenge: simplifying how fiber is sold and supported.
Previously, only a handful of specialists could sell fiber effectively. The goal was to make fiber simple, consistent, and scalable so any sales channel could support it.
“We didn’t want fiber to be something only a small group of people knew how to sell,” Price said. “We wanted a process that was consistent and scalable, so any sales channel could support it.”
By aligning fiber sales flows with existing web sales processes, IDI enabled Viaero to:
- Reduce operational complexity
- Shorten training time
- Standardize how fiber orders move from sale to activation
- Support growth in new markets without increasing strain on teams.
“It allows us to scale more confidently,” Price added. “More people can support fiber, and we’re better positioned as new markets come online.”
Operational Readiness as a Competitive Advantage
For many rural and regional carriers, the competitive landscape is shaped by unique geographic, demographic, and economic factors. Infrastructure programs like the BEAD Program are accelerating network buildouts — but it’s the back-office operational foundation that determines how quickly and effectively those investments translate into revenue and customer experience.
To compete effectively, expanding fiber providers need:
- The flexibility to launch and adapt services quickly
- Accurate, real-time financial visibility
- A consistent, unified customer experience across all offerings
- Scalable processes that reduce reliance on specialists
Viaero’s approach demonstrates how a unified BSS/OSS can provide the operational runway needed to grow confidently, beyond the network itself.
For more than 30 years, IDI Billing Solutions has partnered with carriers to deliver billing and operational systems built specifically for the communications industry. Our platform brings together billing, product catalog management, workflow automation, customer care, and sales enablement to help providers launch new services faster, streamline operations, and maintain clarity as their businesses evolve.
As networks expand and service portfolios grow, having the right operational foundation becomes just as critical as the infrastructure itself.
Ready To Scale Your Operations As Quickly As Your Network Grows?
Call 800.208.6151 or connect with the IDI team to learn how modern BSS/OSS solutions can help you launch new services, improve operational efficiency, and support sustainable growth with confidence.