Our
Story Began in 1896
The concept for the company was spawned in 1896,
when a young entrepreneur, James Smith Lanier,
then 18 years old, became inspired by a telephone
display he saw at the Cotton Exposition at Piedmont
Park in Atlanta. Lanier placed an order for telephone
equipment and formed a new company named The West
Point Telephone and Electric Company, and it opened
for business in March of 1896 with 36 subscribers.
As the first half of the 20th century drew to
a close, The West Point Telephone Company changed
its name to Interstate Telephone Company. At the
time, there were 2,200 subscribers.
In 1960, the Lanier family bought Valley Telephone
Company from West Point Manufacturing Company.
Although subscribers of the Interstate/Valley
Telephone Company system lived in a rural area,
the company always provided technological amenities,
quite often surpassing those available in much
larger metropolitan areas. For example, J. Smith
Lanier was the first independent telephone operator
to connect his exchange to AT&T's network
for long distance calling. Later, Interstate/Valley
Telephone Company became the first company to
integrate voice messaging into its product offering.
In the early 1980's, the Lanier family embarked
on a new venture, which began a new era in entrepreneurship.
Fourth-generation family leader, Campbell B.
Lanier III, joined by family and college friend
William H. Scott III, led the formation of an
affiliate entity, Interstate Communications,
Inc., which competed with AT&T in the Long
Distance industry. This new company, through
a series of mergers and acquisitions (doing
business along the way as Touch & Save,
SouthernNet and Telecom*USA) became the nation's
fourth largest long distance carrier and ultimately
was sold to MCI in 1990. After the MCI acquisition,
Cam Lanier, Bill Scott and other managers formerly
associated with Telecom*USA set out to build
telecom companies under the ITC Holding Company
banner, most of which were headquartered in
West Point, Georgia.
Expanding Throughout
the Southeast
While the Laniers were busy building out ITC,
another entrepreneur was busy building a telecommunications
business in Alabama, Brindlee Mountain Telephone
Company. In 1982, Brindlee Mountain Telephone
Company founded Delta Communications, Inc. and
the companies that are now all known as DeltaCom,
Inc. and began providing long distance services
in Alabama. In 1996, Deltacom joined the ITC
Holding Company family and was merged in 1997
with Interstate Fiber Network, a carrier class
network facilities company founded by the Laniers
in 1991. The two companies created a powerful
combination, with IFN’s carrier-class
network complementing Deltacom’s services
to the business community. In October of 1997,
the company completed an initial public offering
of its stock, and in 2003, the company acquired
BTI Telecommunications in Raleigh, NC, further
expanding the company’s reach throughout
the Southeast.
Our Legacy of Providing
Outstanding Solutions Continues
Over the years, Deltacom expanded its offerings
to include phone systems and other Customer
Premise Equipment and continued to build out
its fiber optic network. In 1989, the company’s
statewide high-capacity fiber optic network
was completed, giving Deltacom facility access
to switched long distance and dedicated private
service lines. Since then, Deltacom has continued
to invest in its network and new products to
provide customer outstanding network reliability
and innovative products. In July 2007, Deltacom
completed a comprehensive refinancing intended
to further solidify its position as the premier
telecommunications and services provider in
the Southeast, with a comprehensive suite of
seamless, reliable, cost-effective communication
and technology solutions, coupled with flawless
execution and superior customer service.
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