From “Internet Made Simple” to “Better Broadband,” ZCorum has a rich tradition of progress. Today that progress is bringing new products to the broadband industry.

 

ZCorum’s beginnings lie in an Atlanta-based Bulletin Board System (BBS) that began operation in 1992. In 1995, when the internet became a reality for the world, the company began offering residential and commercial Internet services in the Atlanta, Georgia area under the name America.net, becoming one of the first commercial Internet Service Providers in the country.

Seeing an opportunity to provide a service that wasn’t available, ZCorum celebrated another first when they began offering wholesale Internet services to others who wanted to take advantage of the emerging Internet business. The company developed a unique business model that leveled out the costs for others who wanted to provide Internet service. ZCorum allowed providers to share the expensive and labor-intensive networking infrastructure, expertise and support services required to provide a competitive Internet service.

By paying a fixed amount for services as they added subscribers, these providers were able to offer the Internet to their customers without worrying about costs for additional equipment and technical staff, which helped them become profitable quickly. This success transitioned ZCorum from a retail ISP into a wholesale provider of managed services to hundreds of other Internet providers.

Building on that technology, ZCorum accepted a challenge put to them by their customers to develop a modem diagnostics tool for troubleshooting and mapping. ZCorum accepted the challenge and moved aggressively into the market with the development of TruVizion, their flagship broadband diagnostics software which solidified their competitive position in the marketplace. The subsequent companion mobile application for field technicians soon followed. TruVizion and TechVizion have since received numerous awards, including Fierce Cable’s Fierce 15 in 2010, a Cable Spotlight Product of the Year Award in 2012, and Broadband Technology Report’s Four Diamond Award in 2016. The product has since been upgraded to support diagnostics for DSL and fiber networks and also includes WiFi and VoIP troubleshooting features. Additionally, video operators can benefit from the addition of set-top box diagnostics and data.

Not resting on its laurels and ever mindful of the quicksilver changing of the broadband market, ZCorum continues to develop products that keep providers up to date and profitable. Innovation for broadband providers, including telephone and cable companies, municipalities, educational institutions and other independent service providers is the driving force that fuels the company’s continued growth.

In this 21^st century, as the video and internet worlds continue to transform, ZCorum again takes a leadership position with the introduction of an innovative bandwidth management tool, Bandwidth Commander. With the extraordinary rise in demand for bandwidth coupled with stagnant revenues, Bandwidth Commander enables providers to successfully manage ever increasing bandwidth needs, and migrate to the usage-based billing model that’s out of necessity becoming standard.

Hard on the heels of that successful product launch, ZCorum brought additional diagnostics tools to market. PreEqualization Analyzer is a DOCSIS Proactive Network Maintenance (PNM) tool that leverages the latest capabilities for locating issues in a cable plant before they impact subscribers. ZCorum didn’t stop there, launching two software-based spectrum analysis tools that slash costs and increase efficiency by lowering Capex, reducing truck rolls and shortening troubleshooting time. Upstream Analyzer gives cable operators remote access to upstream spectrum from any location, while the Remote Spectrum app allows an operator to view the downstream spectrum passing through a cable modem or set-top box from any location. With further proactive monitoring, downstream spectrum issues can be tackled before they become problematic with active polling and scanning of cable modem devices using SpectraVizion.

Continuing with this pace and answering the necessity to plan for IPv4 address depletion, ZCorum introduced a Carrier Grade NAT solution that provides a means to conserve network providers’ IPv4 addresses until a course of action can be implemented to make the transition to IPv6. Plus, with DDoS attacks growing exponentially, we added a solution to the product line-up to aid in the detection and mitigation of DDoS attacks.

No stone was left unturned as even video operators are now able to view key metrics and diagnostics for their network and subscribers through the use of SetTop VU. Operators can easily increase troubleshooting efficiency and tackle quality issues with the tool creating a more enjoyable video viewing experience for their subscribers.

For nearly two decades, ZCorum has continued to offer private-label Internet services and pioneering products to providers in the United States and internationally. In 2015, ZCorum celebrated 20 years of service, solidifying its position as the cornerstone of the managed broadband services business.