Being a leader in telecommunication and technology today means constantly furthering your education.
“Miss a month of developments,” said Darryl Smith, “and you’re a relic.”
Darryl speaks from experience, with a resume that outlines a long, successful, and evolutionary career in Indiana’s telecommunication and technology industry.
Starting as an installation technician with Western Electric, Darryl moved to Smithville Telephone, an Indiana-based ILEC in 1982 as a central office switch technician, and was quickly promoted to central office switch manager.
Sensing a tipping point as the industry evolved from the relays and wires of electromechanical switches to the transistors and bits of stored program control platforms, Darryl returned to school to study electronics and microprocessors.
Ivy Tech Vocational College studies led to his being named Smithville Telephone’s first Director of Technology. There he served as a vital part of Smithville’s executive management team for over a decade. In that role, he oversaw an exciting period of transformation in Smithville’s operation and in the telecommunications industry itself. The development and implementation of SS7 network and 800-number portability, the consolidation of central office switching, the establishment of a Class 4 tandem switch, and Smithville’s shift from a narrow-band to a broadband provider all were incorporated smoothly under Darryl’s watch.
And there was always more to learn. During the transition to broadband, Darryl earned CCNA and CCNP certifications from Cisco Network Systems. Instrumental in the development and implementation of a regional metro Ethernet offering spanning central Indiana, he was also on the forefront of the development of fiber transport to the home.
Darryl came to IFN in 2011 as manager of transport and switching and soon joined the operations management team. There, his team introduced switch-sharing platform Metaswitch and BroadSoft to IFN’s product line.
Now, as vice president of operations, Darryl works to expand IFN’s fiber transport operations and to implement workflow best practices in back-office operations. He has demonstrated time and again his commitment to building measurable customer satisfaction with a focus on delivering service and value to IFN’s customers.