Arvig

Perham, MN
Area Served: 9,813 square miles
Population: 3,087

Public Safety
The Perham Fire Department serves 164 square miles and five townships. Relying on broadband and LTE, each volunteer firefighter’s smartphone includes a mobile app that allows the firefighter to view reported fires, use GPS to find the fire’s location, and confirm the availability of each team member. The app also identifies the location of nearby fire hydrants.

Melrose, MN
Areas Served: 9,813 square miles
Population: nearly 4,100

Public Safety 
All police department vehicles are equipped with Wi-Fi and GPS, providing officers immediate access to data and improving overall community safety. Arvig’s broadband network also assists local ambulance services with a traffic-signal-prioritization system to manipulate traffic signals for emergency vehicles in transit.

Showcase Awards Winner: 2016, 2015

Walker, MN
Area Served: 2.47 square miles
Population: Approx. 1,000

Natural Resources
Broadband deployment in and along Leech Lake, a popular tourist attraction, has been essential to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resource’s ability to monitor fishing populations.  Instead of tracking fishing populations by paper and pen, the DNR uses military-grade electronic devices and a specifically designed database

Showcase Awards Winner: 2018

Arctic Slope Telephone Association Cooperative (ASTAC)

Anchorage, AK
Area Served: 90,000 square miles
Population: 11,031

Impact
ASTAC proudly serves the “top of the world,” and has taken the most northern part of Alaska from having one pay phone in 1981 to thousands of miles of fiber internet. It has found partners at every level to help bridge the digital divide in some of the hardest to reach parts of our country—from USDA and the Bureau of Land Management to native corporations and the cities of Atqasuk and Utqiagvik. In some cases, the Arctic Slope techs were out burying fiber in negative 30-degree weather to get the job done.

Showcase Awards Winner: 2022

Atlantic Telephone Membership Corporation (ATMC)

Shallotte, NC
Area Served: 9.4 square miles
Population: Approx. 4,400

Education
ATMC has installed fiber at every public school in Brunswick County, creating large capacity Internet access that has improved learning environments. Teachers are able to use different platforms for education including smart boards, distance education and iPads.

Showcase Awards Winner: 2017

Ben Lomand Connect

McMinnville, TN
Area Served: more than 3,200 square miles
Population: 115,000

Smart Grid
Ben Lomand Connect established a virtual local area network (VLAN) for an electric utility that provides power to over 8,000 customers. The VLAN is a two-way system that enables meter reading, power outage data and voltage alerts.

Showcase Awards Winner: 2016

Big Bend Telephone Co.

Alpine, TX
Area Served: 17,593 square miles
Population: 0.3 customers per square mile

Science
Big Bend collaborated with the University of Texas (UT) and Texas Lone Star Network to serve the McDonald Observatory, the most remote facility in the UT organization. The observatory is home to one of the world’s largest optical telescopes, and is operated jointly with domestic and international institutions. The telescope, served with 500 Mbps, is essential for searches for planets around other stars, other galaxies, black holes and other phenomena. 

Showcase Awards Winner: 2015

Bledsoe Telephone Cooperative Inc.

Pikeville, TN
Area Served:  804 square miles
Population:  Approx. 27,600

Economic Development
Bledsoe’s installation of a 20/20 Mbps facility to a company that supplies equipment internationally to automotive and mechanical engineering industries was instrumental in the company’s decision to locate a production facility in Dunlap, TN. The company has brought 250 jobs to the community.

Showcase Awards Winner: 2017

Blue Valley Tele-Communications Inc.

Home, KS
Population: 6,869 
 

Healthcare
Community Health Care Inc. - facilities spread across 10,000 square miles; features electronic health records (EHR) and a picture archive system (PACS) that enables remote diagnosis to expedite emergency medical treatment.

Showcase Awards Winner: 2013

Bruce Telephone Co.

Bruce, MS
Area Served:  294 square miles
Population:  Approx. 7,000

Emergency Services
As part of fiber upgrade, all aspects of trunks to the 911 PSAP were made redundant, including line cards, fiber, and termination equipment.

Showcase Awards Winner: 2017

Cass Communications (CASSCOMM)

Virginia, IL
Area Served: 6.71 Square Miles
Population: 9,992

Impact
CASSCOMM partnered with the Reimagine Mason City Foundation to start a youth association and student center.

Showcase Awards Winner: 2023

Cirrinity

Antigo, WI
Area Served: 650 square miles
Population: 15,000

Achievement
When the pandemic started, Cirrinity worked with tribal leaders on the Stockbridge-Munsee tribal lands and the Bureau of Indian Affairs to bury fiber and provide service to 15 tribal buildings and 725 tribal homes, improving telehealth, business, and education on the lands. Cirrinity also rolled out a managed Wi-Fi service to connect to customers remotely and helped several local businesses stand up their remote workforces. 

Showcase Awards Winner: 2022

Citizens Connected

New Auburn, WI
Area Served: 191 square miles
Population: 1,482

Natural Resources
Citizens Connected’s service area is home to many lakes, forests and recreational opportunities. An all-weather camera at Lower Long Lake uses a broadband connection to monitor boats in an effort to keep invasive weeds and wildlife out of the lake. Additionally, nearby campgrounds are Wi-Fi enabled.

Showcase Awards Winner: 2016 

Citizens Mutual Telephone Cooperative

Bloomfield, IA
Area Served: 440 square miles
Population: Approximately 9,000

Commerce
Citizens’ fiber build supports regional commerce, including steel fabrication, IT services, and publishing. The ability to receive and transmit large files gives local businesses serving these industries a competitive advantage and has encouraged their location in the Citizens service area.

Showcase Awards Winner: 2016 

Clear Lake Independent Telephone Co.

Clear Lake, IA
Area Served: 170 square miles
Population: 35,861 (across multiple service areas)

Public Safety
Local police departments utilize broadband to obtain crime data, video conference with counterparts, and conduct remote training. CL Tel provides an independent fiber link between law enforcement and the courthouse.

Showcase Awards Winner: 2017

ComSouth Telecommunications

Hawkinsville, GA
Area Served: more than 270 square miles
Population: 11,542

Smart Grid
Taylor Regional Healthcare System (TRHS) transmits medical records and images electronically from their facilities to its medical partners. A local telehealth initiative supported by ComSouth allows students and teachers to access medical care utilizing connected health carts in school nurse offices that provide connections to remote physicians.

Showcase Awards Winner: 2016

Consolidated Telecom

Dickinson, ND
Area Served: 7,646 square miles
Population: 13,504 (over several communities)

Telemedicine
A local pharmacist operates several branches in different towns. Synchronous video enables the pharmacist to speak with both patients and pharmacy technicians when filling prescriptions, saving time and increasing operational efficiencies.

Showcase Awards Winner: 2018

Consolidated Telecommunications Co.

Brainerd, MN
Area Served: 2,925 square miles
Population: 48,000

Education
Working with Independent School District 181 and four other community organizations, CTC constructed a 10G fiber ring around the Brainerd and Baxter communities connecting all area schools, government buildings, and the local hospital. This collaborative undertaking has improved educational opportunities, interconnectivity and efficiency of local law enforcement, and benefitted healthcare entities in the communities.

Showcase Awards Winner: 2014

Copper Valley Telecom

Valdez, AK
Area Served: 9,408 square miles
Population: 7,074.

Partnerships
The final 150 miles of the 800-mile Trans-Alaska Pipeline transects the Copper Valley service area and terminates at the Alyeska Oil Pipeline Terminal facility in Valdez; approximately 20 percent of the U.S. domestic oil production is shipped via this line. Daily operations are supported by voice and broadband capabilities, while wireless broadband enables communications between boat crews, weather stations, and the U.S. Coast Guard. High-speed Internet capabilities support simulated disaster events for critical response training.

Showcase Awards Winner: 2014

Hartelco

Hartington, NE
Area Served: 198 square miles
Population: 1,615

K-12 Education
Supports two school systems with full fiber connectivity. Community college offers college credit courses for high school students.

Showcase Awards Winner: 2017

Home Communications

Galva, KS
Area Served: 635 square miles
Population: 3,550

Achievement
During the pandemic, Home Communications partnered with local schools and families to bring service to students during remote work. It also ran a promotion for all first responders and medical personnel for three months of free service as a thank you for everything they did during the pandemic. Home operates a school little library, which shares books for free and has been a family business committed to bringing service to their neighbors for decades.

Showcase Awards Winner: 2022

Home Telecom Co. Inc.

Moncks Corner, SC
Area Served: 1,100 square miles
Population: 194,750

Libraries
With the technological help of Home Telecom, the Berkeley County Mobile Library meets the educational needs of small communities without access to a local library. The efficiency and lower cost of the mobile library allows Berkeley County to provide rural users with laptops and internet access, as well as 2,500 books, audiobooks, movies and music. Home Telecom provides Wi-Fi to most of the library’s 30 stops. The communities rely on the internet access provided in order to conduct both personal and professional business.

Showcase Awards Winner: 2016

HuronTel

Ripley, ON, Canada
Area Served: 310 square miles
Population: 5,500

Partnerships
The company serves manufacturing, health care, agricultural, and educational interests. HuronTel has grown four-fold from a staff of eight to 35; the average age of its staff is 34 is composed predominantly of young people who were reared and who now remain in their home communities.

Showcase Awards Winner: 2014

ITS Telecom Inc.

Indiantown, FL
Population: 5,500

Economic Development
High-density secure data center collocation facility - provides protection against South Florida hurricanes and computer server backup while remaining geographically proximate to business users. Indiantown Community Outreach - provides high-capacity service to support Susan B. Komen Breast Cancer Awareness Program for low-income residents. Area Call Center - enables home-based telework opportunities for bilingual residents.

Showcase Awards Winner: 2013

Lakeland Communications Group, LLC

Milltown, WI
Area Served: 237 square miles
Population: Approximately 12,000

Health Care
Lakeland enables telemedicine for a hospital with six locations across two states. All campuses are connected and can review charts, X-rays and other records at any location. Specialists and Radiologists relying on these telemedicine capabilities are able to ensure off-hours review of critical imaging reports, and can offer crucial care decisions in a moment’s notice.

Showcase Awards Winner: 2015

Liberty Communications

West Liberty, IA
Area Served: 187 square miles
Population: 6,000

Commerce
Liberty’s service area is home to more than 200 businesses and hundreds of small farmers. Robust broadband access has proven critical to the success of these businesses by enabling cameras and sensors that can be monitored by broadband-enabled devices, as well as web-based portals to enable local and global sales.

Showcase Awards Winner: 2016

Park Regional Telephone / Otter Tail Telecom

Underwood, MN
Population: 14,144

Education
Fergus Falls Public Schools - utilizes a high-capacity connection between the various school buildings located throughout the city of Fergus Falls. This broadband connection enables staff to access and share files seamlessly across the network, and supports iQ Academy Minnesota, an accredited public school program offering Minnesota students in grades K-12 an innovative, high-quality alternative to the traditional learning experience.

Showcase Awards Winner: 2013

Panhandle Telephone Cooperative, Inc. (PTCI)

Guymon, OK
Area Served: 9,430 square miles
Population: 45,780

Impact
PTCI worked with the Oklahoma Scholastic Esports League to host an esports scrimmage, which led to PTCI's inaugural Gigaverse esports tournament. 

Social Services
Supports not-for-profit, community-based charitable organization that assists clients with mental health therapy and foster child placement. PTCI network capabilities enable rapid transfer of data across great distances to speed the settlement of children in new homes.

Showcase Awards Winner: 2023, 2017

Paul Bunyan Communications

Bemidji, MN
Area served: 5,000 square miles
Population: Estimated at 70,000.

Rural Entrepreneurship
Paul Bunyan service supports the Mayflower Building, which offers incubation space for tech and engineering companies and which features work stations and connected facilities for teleconferencing.  Paul Bunyan also supports the Itasca Technology Exchange that connects early-stage and expanding technology companies with high-speed, high-bandwidth network connectivity, data center services, office facilities, capital investment, and business services to help grow technology business.

Showcase Awards Winner: 2015

Peoples Rural Telephone Cooperative

McKee, KY
Area Served: 542 square miles
Population: 18,460

Education
Facing the state’s highest unemployment rates and acute poverty, area students utilize the county’s Owsley Schools Snow Bound Project, a pilot program aimed at reducing the impact of winter weather on education by enabling access to the Kentucky Virtual High School for high school courses and other on-line learning opportunities. PRTC also partners with Jackson County Schools and the public library to provide free community technology and broadband training.

Showcase Awards Winner: 2014

Pineland Telephone Cooperative Inc.

Metter, GA
Area Served: 1,200 square miles 
Population: 40,605

Showcase Awards Winner: 2016

Polar Communications Mutual Aid Corp.

Park River, ND
Area Served: More than 3,939 square miles
Population: 10,966

Education
Polar supports local K-12 education with annual grants that enable the acquisition of advanced electronics and educational software. At the collegiate level, Polar worked with Mayville State University to create the first “laptop university” in the United States. Polar fiber supports a WiFi network that enables the 1,000 students connect campus-wide.

Showcase Awards Winner:  2015

Premier Communications

Sioux Center, IA
Area Served: 96 square miles
Population: 9,000

Economic Development
A major window manufacturer looked for broadband connectivity and selected Premier-served area over more 50 other locations to build a new 260,000 square foot plant employing more than 200 people. This factory maintains data transfer systems with distributors and retail sales nationwide as well as corporate headquarters 250 miles away.

Showcase Awards Winner: 2014

Quadro Communications Co-operative, Inc.

Kirkton, ON, Canada
Area Served: 800 square miles
Population: 10,000

Health Care
Works with other local telecom firms in a formal organization to provide anchor institutions with secure data connections, including medical records to a group of hospitals spread over four counties.

Showcase Awards Winner: 2017

Rainbow Telecommunications Association

Everest, KS
Area Served: Approximately 2,700 square miles
Population: 17,223

Manufacturing
Manufacturing firms utilize Rainbow Communications’ broadband to implement and integrate systems governing order entry, tracking, shipping, warehouse and inventory management, bar coding and other Internet-enabled manufacturing equipment.  Local agriculture, furniture and pet food manufacturing firms utilize Rainbow’s Fiber Active-Ethernet service covering nearly 20 locations, employ approximately 1,000, and support more than 450 connected industrial devices.

Showcase Awards Winner: 2015

Red River Communications

Richland County, ND
Area Served: 1,500 square miles
Population: 8,000 (across three states)

Aging in Place
Developed telemedicine link with local pharmacist that enables pharmacy in neighboring community to remain open upon the retirement of that community's pharmacist. This facilitates aging in place by enabling elderly residents to remain close to an operating local pharmacy.

Showcase Awards Winner: 2017

RiverStreet Networks

Wilkesboro, NC
Area Served: 575 square miles
Population: 6,608

Impact
RiverStreet built an all-fiber network in King and Queen County, Virginia, which helped connect members of the Rappahannock Tribe..

Showcase Awards Winner: 2023

Shawnee Communications

West Jefferson, NC
Area Served: 715 square miles
Population: 7,058

Collaboration
Shawnee worked with its local hospital in Hardin County to enable telehealth services, making it possible for rural residents to avoid driving two hours just to have certain scans conducted. It has also partnered with Golconda Pharmacy, which has a private room so that patients can have consultations with virtual pharmacists. Shawnee also has partnerships with Gallatin County High School and the Dixon Springs Agricultural Center and installed fiber broadband in the areas surrounding the Shawnee National Forrest.

Showcase Awards Winner: 2022

SkyLine Membership Corp.

West Jefferson, NC
Area Served: 840 square miles
Population: 55,607

Entrepreneurship
Working with the Center for Entrepreneurship, the Watauga Economic Development Commission and the local chamber of commerce, Skyline created and supports through its broadband network an entrepreneurial hub to cultivate economic development as well as a regional summit and youth entrepreneurship camp.

Showcase Awards Winner: 2016

Solarus

Wisconsin Rapids, WI
Area Served: 365 square miles
Population: 18,000

Partnerships
Solarus pre-sold fiber upgrades to 40 percent of businesses, working with local Chamber of Commerce to create “Chamber Bucks” that Solarus purchases and presents to new customers in the amount of their local subscription rates. Those tickets, in turn, are spent in the community, coupling broadband expansion with “buy local” support and growth for local businesses.

Showcase Awards Winners: 2014

South Slope Cooperative Communications

North Liberty, IA
Area Served: 518 square miles with nearly
Population: 20,000 business and residential locations.

Judicial System
South Slope provides broadband and multiple communications systems to a medical and classification center that houses 900 incarcerated individuals. The facility also houses a state-of-the-art medical division. South Slope met the judicial system’s demands for quick response times, innovative services, and safety and background qualifications.

Showcase Awards Winners: 2015

STE Communications

Steelville, MO
Area Served: 838 square miles with nearly
Population: 590

Impact
STE partnered with a local contractor to build a network in Norwood, Missouri, more than 100 miles from its central office.

Showcase Awards Winners: 2023

Waitsfield and Champlain Valley Telecom

Waitsfield, VT
Area Served: 669 square miles
Population: 28,858

Public Safety
After Hurricane Irene hit Vermont in September 2012, the State of Vermont relocated 100 employees to a vacant space in fully-connected Mad River Valley Business Park. When the state employees returned to their home offices, WCVT and local offices attracted 130 employees of a 1,200 member dairy cooperative to the site; those workers, in turn, support the local economy of shops, restaurants, and other community institutions.

Showcase Awards Winner: 2014

Webster-Calhoun Cooperative Telephone Association

Gowrie, IA
Area Served: 715 square miles
Population: 8,023

Banking and Financial Services
Enables five-star rated local bank with five locations to compete with larger banks and offer expanded service, including real-time access by customers to account information.

Showcase Awards Winner: 2017

West Carolina Tel

Abbeville, SC
Area Served: 862 square miles
Population: 39,070

Higer Education
Enables students at a small private college to engage coursework in programming, advanced mathematics, engineering, research and design. These programs prepare students to enter a tech-centric job market.

Showcase Awards Winner: 2017

West Central Telephone Association

Sebeka, MN
Population: 8,671

Health Care
Tri-County Hospital - connected broadband-enabled consultations with physicians at remote clinics enables specialist care in the community, and thereby remediates the need to travel.

Showcase Awards Winner: 2013

West Wisconsin Telcom Cooperative

Downsville, WI
Area Served: 545 square miles
Population: 26,200

Commerce and Economic Development
Extended fiber providing synchronous 75 Mbps, with the ability to increase to 1 Gbps, to support a new retail outlet that created 40 new jobs; provides fiber to enable public Wi-Fi, 24/7 security monitoring and communications system in a community-owned store that supports 30 local jobs.

Showcase Awards Winner: 2016