1919-1994 A Continuing History and Record of Developments of Telephone Operations in the State of Georgia, the Georgia Telephone Association, and the Peach State Chapter of the Independent Telephone Pioneer Association By Carolyn J. Stewart Standard Telephone Company P.O. Box 400 1153 Industrial Boulevard Cornelia, Georgia 30531 Georgia Telephone Association 1900 Century Boulevard Suite 8 Atlanta, Georgia 30345 (404) 321-5368 Fax (404) 728-0374 Dear GTA Members and Friends: It is especially appropriate as the Georgia Telephone Association (GTA) celebrates its seventy-fifth anniversary to commemorate this historic event with an update oiArms Across Georgia. Arms Across Georgia, published in 1987, is a wonderful documentation of the evolution of telephony in Georgia, and its sequel will serve to continue this tradition. The value of understanding our history is in appreciating the foundation it provides for the future. Georgia is fortunate to be served by local exchange telephone companies which have a history and tra- dition of aspiring to the future. Therefore, in looking back on the evolution of telephony in Georgia, we would be remiss if we did not also acknowledge the challenges and opportunities of the future. Today, unlike any time in the past, telecommunications is experiencing change at a pace which might more accurately be characterized as revolutionary. It would be easy to become mesmerized by this activity, but, hopefully, in pausing to reflect on the past, we can better put the future in perspective. As the twenty-first century approaches, the telecommunications industry, inspired by technological advances and guided by unlimited vision and imagination, is playing an historic role in shaping the future. Arms Across Georgia and this sequel provide the critical focus which enables us to achieve our destiny. A special thanks is extended to Carolyn Stewart for her dedication and perseverance in making a reali- ty this invaluable historic documentation through Arms Across Georgia and this sequel. Sincerely, Robert W. Krueger President Georgia Telephone Association RWK/je Dedicated to the men and women who make up the 1994 membership of the Georgia Telephone Association as it enters its 75th anniversary year. The following persons traveled the distance from their respective companies to serve on the Historical Committee that met regularly in the Georgia Telephone Association (GTA) office in Atlanta. Each con- tributed in his or her own wonderful way to help store the memories. Talmadge Brazel Charlie Deloach Betty Gleaton Mary Eunice Jones John Long Ruth Thigpen Tommy Smith C. Hearn Janice O'Brien Karen Goes Beverlyn Bond I've often heard the expression "thank you is not enough," but now I know what it means. Thank you is simply not enough, but let me say it to those just listed and a few other people. .. .To the GTA Historical Committee and former Board of Directors who launched the project. .. .To John Silk and Jean Aiken at the GTA office. You were wonderful and everything we needed you to be. .. .To devoted Pioneer Talmadge Brazel for sharing volumes of information. .. .To the writers of the special feature articles. I know you didn't have time! .. .To the ITPA officers and members who gathered information which surrounds their organization, especially Doris Stephens, Mary Searson Hodges, Billy Wilhams and Larry Parham. .. .To Jim CaUaham, Tommy Smith, Ramona Blackwell, Colonel Bob Alford, the Atlanta Historical Society and John Rose, executive vice president, OPASTCO. .. .To my family and friends at Standard Telehone Company... also, words cannot express the admira- tion I have for my friend, Sally Welbom, with whom 1 work at Standard Telephone and whose skills as an organizer and detail person were much needed. Sally and Kay Shore were my partners on this project. And finally, to each of the individual companies in the state who bothered to collect photos, newspaper articles, et cetera, and many of whom wrote your own histories. The words have never been more inadequate, but, thank you! thank you! thank you! In 1966,1 waltzed down the aisle with a tall, thin fellow by the name of Milton Stewart, Jr., who would be not only my best friend but who would build a fine Christian home and be the father of the two most wonderful children in the world. I soon realized that I had married into a family deeply intertwined and embedded into the telephone family of Georgia. Following a brief honeymoon, we flew to Las Vegas, Nevada, for the USITA (now USTA) Convention. At the close of the meeting, we drove with Mom and Dad Stewart* from Las Vegas to Dallas, Texas; just the beginning of many special and wonderful telephone trips we shared with the family, including Milt's only sister, Kay, and her husband. Dean Swanson. From Dallas, we flew to Jacksonville, Florida, for my first Georgia Telephone Association Convention. In Jacksonville, the young telephone man and his new wife, along with a large group, board- ed the Ariadne for the first and only GTA convention aboard a ship. People still talk about that trip and the hurricane-force winds that rocked the large vessel as if it were a child's paper boat riding the rapids of the Grand Canyon. Motion sickness pills were at a premium, and the dining room grew progressively emptier each day and each night. But, what I remember is a wonderful trip and meeting the nicest people anyone could ever know. I remember Tommy and Ruth Smith and Don and Beverlyn Bond teasing us about being newly- weds...! remember Kay and Dean, Mansfield and Genelle Jennings, Art and Frances Barnes, Madison and Anne New, Mitch Drew and Cam and Sidney Lanier sitting around at night laughing and telling stories. I remember Charlie Joe and Jean Mathews, Glenn and Trudie Bryant, and Catheran and Ed Burney being full of genuine warmth. I remember Jimmy Gleaton, Bob and Gennie Alford, and Ben Wiggins having so much fun, and I remember Flarry and Jean White, Butch and Brenda Fisher and John and Sarah Sims always being cheerful and so many others...! remember a camaraderie and a togetherness. I remember warm and friendly faces to whom I could not for the life of me put a name but would later learn to know and admire and respect. I consider myself a pretty darn good judge of people, and I liked everyone I met. Thus, my introduction to the people of the Georgia Telephone Association. Although I did not then know it, it was there that I became part of the telephone family of Georgia. I had the joy and privilege of spending lots of time with Dad Stewart, who was not only one of the great telephone pioneers in America, but the most articulate and gifted speaker and writer one could ever be privileged to know. I immediately became intrigued with his frequent and lengthy tales of the tele- phone industry. I began to share his love for the history of telephony which eventually led me to this endeavor. The history of telephony has become a passion for me. It was such a joy and pleasure to work on this project; to work with John Silk, all the committee members and aU the companies. To remember all of those wonderful years stimulated this work. I am grateful to have the privilege to be a part of telling this inspiring story of telephony in Georgia. 'See ITPA Hall of Fame, Pioneer Profiles, H. M. Stewart, Sr. INTRODUCTION This written record of the telephone industry in Georgia is a follow-up to Arms Across Georgia published in 1987. The inherent purpose of this compilation is to recognize and bring to the fore- front the people and events that have engraved their place in our history and to acknowledge the visionaries guiding us into tomorrow. It is what we are doing today that historians will write about tomorrow. We hope to bridge the time and generation gap and capture both the curious and concerned rallying the present generation to "circle the wagons" for we are now into a new period of history. It almost seems there is a laser cutting this new path in which we are all swept along. By necessity, change brings with it value and potential. If the trend continues, the make-up of the Georgia Telephone Association and the industry will change. We may not like all of it. We want the comfort of familiarity; the bravest of us shirk at the unknown. The telecommunications industry has experienced a "big bang" effect that conventional wisdom says will see us re-inventing our industry. Industry leaders have expressed the opinion that we do not now know what our business will be in future years; what we do know is that it will not continue to exist as it is today. We have a legitimate concern for recording the history since it is not known how some companies will sur- vive this black hole effect. It is not yet known how (and if) the telephone, television, computers, satellites, and PCS, wiU wed; how transportation, home, business and entertainment wiU be intertwined; and how the cable and cellular competitive environment wUl redefine the market. To the largest metropolitan companies, the small rural companies, the owners, operators, linemen, office personnel, maintenance crews, technicians, engineers and installer-repairmen, our express purpose is to remind you that you are a part of a rapidly changing, but great, heritage that helped to mold this country and this state. Today, a potential billion people wiU pick up their telephones without giving a thought to what makes it possible. They expect it to be there on demand. That is as it should be. That is when we know we have done our jobs and done them well. It is not known exactly how many 911 or other emergency calls will be answered; how many lonely and immobile people will find companionship; how many business deals will be negotiated; and how many sweethearts will exchange "sweet nothings." We are a part of everyone's life and generations and nations will be drawn together because of the successes of our industry. The heritage is great. Many of us will weather the vmcertainties. Others will meet the december of their days in this business because it will be too much, too big and too costly to stay in there with the "big boys." For some, this busi- ness is a job; for some a career and a life; but for many it is family. The Georgia Telephone Association is a family of companies. Our early struggles, our common goals, our conventions and our arms linked in friendship have brought a kinship. It does not matter how we became a part of the telephone family of Georgia, it is exciting, it is the future and it is ours. CONTENTS ARMS ACROSS GEORGIA, BOOK II PART ONE Mans Urgent Need to Communicate..............1 PART TWO The Georgia Telephone Association.............16 PART THREE The Independent Telephone Pioneer Association.47 PART FOUR The Georgia Public Service Commission.........78 PART FIVE Georgia Telephone Company Profiles............86 PART SIX The Development of Significant Industry Issues.156 Here is the story of Alexander Graham Bell... ... Here is also the story of H. C. Bond, A. E. Sikes, J. S. Jennings, John Birchmore, Milton Stewart, Bill Tatum, Jimmy Gleaton, J. L. Kirk, H. W. Vaughan, W. M. New, Joe Dyson, Fred Hodges, Jasper Dorsey, W. B. Hardman, Warren Bailey... ... and it is also the story of Mary Eunice Jones, Lee Barton, Frank Linder, Cam Lanier, Ivey Beardslee, Janice O'Brien, Charlie Deloach, Scott Chesbro, Avery Strickland, Tommy Smith, Glenn Bryant, Charles Mulhs, Warren Bailey, Bob Krueger, Jack Bennett, Ben Bennett, Fred Hodges, Jim Evitt... ... and the list goes on and on. Time and space allow mentioning only a few of the hundreds of great Georgians whose lives and times we attempt to embrace in this narrative. This view of telephony in Georgia and of man's urgent need to communicate will portray the extraordinary and dramatic story of our industry and of the countless individuals, who pioneered and who continue to fashion the thirty-four operating tele- phone companies in Georgia. Here, it is impossible to tell all of the worthy stories of the companies and individuals who are casting their shadows across time. The develop- ment of an audible and practical instrument for conveying speech spreads across the decades into won- derful stories. Success and failure, happiness and despair were a eventually led to prosperity and the telephoning of America. The story has been told and romanticized so many times but is worthy of being repeated to complete this history. of the part that sequence A DRAMATIC BEGINNING It is believed that as early as 1874 some form of the invented sound came from vibrating membrane and inspired the determina- tion that kept the inventors working on an instrument for conveying speech. More than a few inven- tors were scrambling to pre- sent the first voice simulators. Names such as Elisha Gray, Daniel Drawbaugh, and A. E. Dalbear were prominent in the quest. Among pioneer contributors in the field, the most well-known was Alexander Graham BeU. Historians have given BeU credit for the invention. Bom March 3,1847, in Edinburgh, Scotland, he was twenty-nine years old when basic tele- phone patent no. 174,465 was granted to him on March 7, 1876. It was out of dreams that he, after many years of experimenting, developed the telephone. Bell's mother, an artist and a musician, began to lose her hearing when he was twelve years old, inspir- ing him to foUow in the foot- steps of his father and grandfather who were weU- known leaders and teachers in the field of treatment of stammering. It was this back- ground that led him to the possibUity of a mechanical voice machine. A handsome and win- some young man, he was popular as a lecturer on his theory of speech articulation and of a mechanism which would make a current of elec- tricity vary in intensity as the air varies in density when sound passes through. BeU was an outstanding and com- passionate man who con- tributed much to aid the hearing and elocution impaired in addition to his successes in the field of tele- phony. BeU moved from Edinburgh to Ontario, Canada, in 1872 and later he decided to make his perma- nent home in the United States where he gained his citizenship. No story about Alexander Graham BeU woiUd be complete without Watson, of the ever-so- famous, "Mr. Watson, come here, I need you." If BeU had realized that he was making history, he surely would have been prepared with a more impressive statement. This first soimd was contrived when BeU accidentally spilled acid on his equipment. Thomas A. Watson, who was a gifted apprentice in an electric shop, often told the story of meeting Mr. Bell. "One day I was hard at work on it (a speech machine), when a tall, slen- der, quick-motioned man with paleface, black side whiskers, and drooping mustache, big nose and high sloping forehead crowned with bushy, jet black hair, came rushing out of the office and over to my work bench. It was Alexander Graham Bell, whom I saw then for the first time. He was bringing to me a piece of mechanism which I had made for him under instruc- tions from the office. It had not been made as he had directed and he had broken down the rudimentary disci- pline of the shop in coming directly to me to get it altered." Bell and Watson became fast friends. Watson was hired as Bell's lab assistant and later received shares of telephone stock for his work on the invention. It was indeed Watson who plucked the first sound on the reed that induced current that trav- eled to Bell's ear and encoiu"- aged them during the months of experiments and study. Many years later Bell repeat- ed the words to Watson over long distance telephone in a far city in commemoration of that day. Professor Bell suffered a lengthy period of discourage- ment before the basic tele- phone device became a workable instrument; popu- lar, not only in America, but in other coimtries. After the patented tele- phone came into wider use, he began to envision a net- work of telephone lines run- ning underground all over big cities, much the same as gas and water are piped. This was the forerunner of the gigantic Bell Telephone System. This first telephone pio- neer was instrumental in developing international tele- phone calhng; the basic method of phonograph records on wax disc; air con- ditioning; an apparatus to locate metals such as bullets in the body and the technique for locating icebergs by detecting echoes. He founded the American Association to Promote the Teaching of Speech to the Deaf, perfected an electric probe which was the forerurmer of the X-ray machine and wrote a paper describing today's iron lung. In the interest of time and space, this impressive Hst can- not be completed, but because it is httle known, his great interest in aviation should not be excluded. He did much to further progress in aviation and wrote articles expressing his predictions about the future of flying long before the Wright brothers' flight. Thus, an intelligent, well-educated, creative gen- tleman led us into the field of telephony. A. G. Bell was cer- tainly a worthy and deserving candidate to become one of America's greatest heroes and the commonly acknowledged father of the telephone indus- try. In an appropriate and unprecedented tribute, Alexander Graham Bell was honored on August 4,1922, during the time of his funeral when telephones all over the world discontinued ringing for one minute in remem- brance of him. THE FIRST ACCOUNT OF THE USE OF A TELEPHONE The October 21,1876, issue of the New York Times reported the successful trans- mission of "audible speech by Telegraph," and reported the experiment made by Alexander Graham BeU and Thomas Watson. This was the first account of the use of a telephone. THE NEW YORK TIMES, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21, 1876 AUDIBLE SPEECH BY TELEGRAPH Prof A. Graham Bell's Discovery Successful and Interesting Experiments Between Boston and Cambridgeport. From the Boston Advertiser, Oct. 19. The following account of an experiment made on the evening of Oct. 9 by Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas A. Watson is interesting as being the record of the first conversation ever carried on by word of mouth over a tele- graph wire. Telephones were placed at either end of a telegraph line owned by the Walworth Manufacturing Company, extending from their office in Boston to their factory in Cambridgeport, a distance of about two miles. The company's battery, consisting of nine Daniels cells, was removed from the cir- cuit and another often carbon ele- ments substituted. Articulate conversation then took place through the wire. The sound, at first faint and indistinct, became suddenly quite loud and intelligi- ble. Mr. Bell in Boston and Mr. Watson in Cambridge then took notes of what was said and heard. Mr. Bell's account: Mr. Bell: What do you think was the matter with the instruments? Mr. Watson: There was nothing the matter with them. B. 1 think we were both speaking at the same time. W. Can you understand anything I say? B. Yes; I understand everything you say. W. The reason why you did not hear at first was because there was a relay in the circuit. B. You may be right but I found the magnet of my telephone touching the membrane. W. I cut this relay out, and then the sounds came perfectly. B. I hear every syllable. Try something in an ordinary conversational voice. W. Shall 1 connect their battery in the circuit? B. No; there is no necessity to connect their battery in the circuit, for the sounds come out quite loudly. W. I am now talking in quite a low tone of voice. B. The sounds are quite as loud as before, and twice as distinct. W. Cut out the battery and then talk. B. All right. 1 will cut out the battery now if you wiU keep hstening. (Here an interruption occurred and after a short time, Mr. Bell said:) B. I thought you were going to say something. W. Is the battery cut out? B. No, but I will do it now. (Battery having been cut out, Mr. BeU continued.) B. Do you hear anything now? (Battery replaced.) B. Did you hear anything? W. No, not a sound. B. Say something to me when I cut out the battery again. (Battery cut out.) W. .......... (Battery replaced.) B. I fancy 1 heard a trace of your voice. W. Shall I put on our battery to see if it increases the effect? B. ITl tell you what weTl do. We'll take off our battery and put on theirs, as before. (The company's battery having been placed in circuit faint and indistinct sounds were heard at the Boston end, and then came the intelligible sentence.) W. Is our battery off? B. Yes, our battery is off. What have you been doing? The sounds were quite soft at first but now they are quite loud. B. Shall I put on our battery again? W. (indistinctly heard.) That was very indistinct. Put on our battery. (Original battery replaced.) B. We may congratulate ourselves upon a great success. W. Both batteries are on now. (Another sentence heard indistinctly.) B. Repeat the last sentence. W. Both batteries are on now. B. I understood that before, but I thought you said something else. W. Remove their battery, please. B. All right; our battery is the only one on now. W. I have put battery cells on here. B. How many cells have you there? W. S-i-x-six. B. Please whisper something to me. W. (Sound of the whisper clearly audible, but the utterance unintelligible.) B. I could hear you whispering, but could not understand what you said. 4 w. B. B. W. B. B. W. B. W. B. W. B. W. B. W. B. W. B. W. B. W. Perhaps we have got the batteries opposed to one another. Had you not better reverse your battery and see what the matter is-or rather what the ejfect is? I will try the effect of reversing my battery. (Battery reversed.) Is this any better? That sentence was accompanied by that curious crackling sound. Yes, I hear it too. What time is it by your watch? (Battery again reversed.) What are you doing? I have not heard anything except...for quite a while. I asked you what time it was by your watch. Perhaps you hear me better now, because 1 have reversed the battery again. My battery is now cut out. Don't you think we better go home now? Yes, but why does your talking come out so much fainter now? (Mr. Bell here placed the magnet of the telephone nearer to the membrane.) Because I had moved the magnet further away from the membrane. That was very much more distinct. Will you try to understand a long sentence if I speak right on? I will. A few minutes ago I heard a fire-engine pass by the door. 1 don't know where the fire is, but the number of the box is 196. The time by my watch is five minutes past ten. Had I not better go into Boston. Yes; I think it is time to stop now. Shall I got to Exeter place? Yes, but look in here on your way in case I have not gone. Let us talk conversationally without noting. Conversation was then carried on for about half an hour with the utmost freedom, and the experiment closed. 5 BUILDING THE BELL SYSTEM Development of tele- phone usage in the United States was undertaken by Bell's financial backers. They began by renting and lending telephones in pairs to individ- uals for local communication. The instruments were crude, with connection made by a circuit of a single iron wire. The resulting poor and uncer- tain transmission was possi- ble for only a few miles. Bell's basic telephone patent, granted in 1876, expired on February 4,1894. The intervening years were filled with developing, financ- ing and defending the inven- tion. Perhaps the most formidable threat Bell and his associates experienced came from the Western Union Telegraph Company which earlier rejected an opportuni- ty to purchase the original Bell patents. Already criss- crossing most of the continent with wires, mcluding line switching devices and exten- sions to large business estab- hshments. Western Union undertook to fabricate its own X;' transmitting and receiving apparatus. Such facilities allowed Western Union in 1879 to open the first three major commercial exchanges of sig- nificant size in the state of Georgia, all of which would later become the property of the Bell system. The courts had ruled the Western Union telephone device to be an infringement on Bell's patent. The suit ended in mutual commit- ment. Although over-simpli- fied here. Bell and his associates acquired all of Western Union's voice com- munication facilities and agreed to refrain from further development in telegraphy and Western Union agreed to stay out of the telephone busi- ness. Agreeable settlement of the Western Union Telegraph versus Bell Telephone case gave the Bell patent owners and promoters a badly need- ed economic boost, but other industry problems would continue to confront them. In 1882, the Bell interests acquired the stock in the Western Electric Manufacturing Company and reorganized it primarily as a telephone and telegraph equipment company, and the renowned American Telephone & Telegraph Company was formed. The American Telephone & Telegraph Company and the Bell system would advance to become two of the world's largest corporate entities. THE UNWAVERING INDEPENDENTS The Bell Company had envisioned one large compa- ny providing efficient tele- phone service to the exclusion of all other companies. Bell continued a strong battle against intrusion on the patent rights which protected them. The small companies that erupted in Georgia and all over the United States were a serious threat to this monopoly concept. Had they been able to acquire or cause the demise of all these infring- ing companies, as was attempted, the BeU system would have emerged as an even more magnificent monu- ment to its namesake. However, the lack of time and money caused the Bell Company to avoid develop- ment in dubiously profitable areas; therefore, attention was focused on major cities of the United States. During that period, untelephoned rural areas needed communications for a more comfortable and safe existence and for reUef from the monotony of life. They were begging for the magic of the telephone. Eagerness and the crusted habit of providing for themselves led pioneers to begin to set up their own con- nections in the natural birth- place of independent telephonyrural America. "Independents" was the name given to these non-Bell companies. J. L. Mathews moved to Statesboro, Georgia, as a tele- graph agent and operator for the Central of Georgia Railroad Company in the late 1890s in which capacity he had exposure to the new-fan- gled talking machine, of which many had heard, but few had seen. Using the knowledge he had gained, he and three associates built one of Georgia's earliest exchanges in Statesboro, Georgia. G. B. Mathews, J. L.'s brother, was involved in the business for a number of years and his son, Charhe Joe, later headed the company. Gharhejoehas been an outstanding leader in the state association, and his is a true telephone pioneer family. He was a founder of the Peach State Chapter of ITPA and is a member of the Hall of Fame. Robert C. Meaders, Jr. was approached by a Western Electric Company salesman whose intent was to entice Mr. Meaders to purchase tele- phone exchange equipment and set up operations in Dahlonega, Georgia. Mr. Meaders responded that he didn't think people would be bothered by using telephones. He succumbed to high pressure salesmanship and agreed that if they could get a hundred subscribers, he would invest in the exchange. By ten o'clock the next morn- ing, a hundred subscribers had committed. Three months later the exchange equipment had to be replaced with a larger switchboard. More common were operations such as the simple magneto telephones set up in the late 1800s between Ben and Lula Gleaton's home in Doles to the farm home of Lula's parents. Some accounts maligned the intent of the independents. 1 was told that one writer accused the inde- pendents of setting upon the Bell Company like a swarm of seventeen-year locust, that within a short period more than a hundred companies were started by a throng of promoters and stock jobbers in open defiance of the Bell patents. It was also told that the BeU Company received a hard blow by years of pending litiga- tion; that infringing com- panies sprang up like gourds in the night in an orgy of speculative com- petition. ENTERPRISING COMPETITION No formulas, maps or charts were available by which this highly complex and intricate telephone machine and its application could be charted. This cer- tainly left the gate open for opportunists in the field. Briefly, the babe that was to become the world's industrial giant had to spend its swad- dling years fighting off infringers on the right with one hand while charting a course through unknown and unfriendly waters with the other. Impeded by these and other deterrents, the Bell sys- tem was unable to keep pace with mushrooming demands for the new convenience. Consequently, by the time the initial Bell patents began to expire in the early 1890s, com- peting telephone manufactur- ing firms began to spring up across the continent. Within a few years, thousands of tele- phone systems, financed inde- pendently of the Bell system and using non-BeU manufac- tured apparatus, dotted the landscape. This is the process through which virtually all non-BeU telephone exchanges and systems, such as those just mentioned in Georgia, came into existence. Nmnerous stories of emotional reaction came out of this era of intense competi- tion. One such story relates that often a company erected a line of poles one day to find them on the ground the next morning, having been cut down by the rival company overnight. Another story imphes that Bell Companies dumped and burned on the town square non-Bell tele- phones which they had replaced. In the general course of expansion, the Bell organiza- tion began to try to penetrate the less-populated areas. Their effort was simply a mat- ter of purchasing the small companies and assuming the territory. A high tide of feel- ing against attempted monop- oly of the industry resulted in an organized resistance to the drift in that direction. Although the full scope and effect of competition was not felt in Georgia, there cer- tainly were incidents that incited some of the early inde- pendents. The independents can be credited with expediting and developing telephone service in the United States by filling in the gap of areas that 7 Bell could not have reached economically in the same time span. By 1900, there were 855,900 telephones in the BeU system, and there were over 700,000 telephones being operated by more than 5,000 independent telephone com- panies. The Bell Company's vig- orous campaign to "tele- phone" the United States caused a leap in the nation's overall progress. The ren- dezvous with competitive independents and indepen- dent manufacturing compa- nies helped to accelerate those advancements. STRUCTURE OF THE INDUSTRY In 1894, a new trend in telephone company owner- ship advanced, engraving fresh footprints in the inde- pendent industry. "Holding companies" was the name given to distinguish these major non-Bell telephone companies by the large tele- phone properties they amassed. As previously men- tioned, the industry had divided itself into two seg- ments: BeU companies and non-Bell companies (indepen- dents). With the new type of ownership, there then became a new language separating the non-BeU companies. In the vernacular of the industry there were now: AT&T's Bell companies; large indepen- dent holding companies; and small, closely-held indepen- dent companies, although all non-Bell companies were still called independents. In addi- tion, there were spread out across rural America many farmers-owned lines, and in later history telephone coop- eratives would appear on the scene. KINGSBURY COMMITMENT The bitter and costly contest which prevailed was said to have been further trig- gered by the BeU system's refusal to connect with equip- ment and apparatus not man- ufactured and supplied by it. In other words, an indepen- dent exchange using non-BeU equipment could not obtain long distance or other connec- tion with a Bell-owned or con- trolled exchange. Since BeU operations were largely confeed to big cities and the independents to smaller, outlying communi- ties, promoters were quick to seize the opportunity created by this impasse. BeU compa- nies responded by setting up competing facilities in inde- pendent towns and offering service at lower rates, and the fight was on. Before the patent expired, Atlanta had dual telephone service of this type. It eventually became evident that maintaining dual telephone systems within the same community was very poor business. In spite of competing rates, it imposed unnecessary cost and incon- venience. Most business and many residential establish- ments had to maintain service with both companies in order to obtain desired coverage. Both companies were losing potential toll revenue, and there were indications that BeU companies were being victimized by speculators who installed competing tele- phone systems, "milked" them for several years, and then sold them to the BeU Company for their real value plus a sizeable nuisance gra- tuity. These and other consid- erations led AT&T to the Kingsbury Commitment and the agreement to cormect with non-BeU manufactured equip- ment. The earliest stories of Comer-Danielsville Telephone Company (buUt by a Mr. Jarrell, later purchased by the W. C. Birchmore fami- ly and eventually acquired by Southern BeU Telephone & Telegraph Company) are that lines were built in 1897 in Madison County, Georgia, by stringing wire on poles which they made themselves. Old bottles were used as insula- tors. These first lines were strung to a store where a BeU toll line existed, but toll con- nection was refused the inde- pendent company until the Kingsbury letter of commit- ment. This agreement was fol- lowed by broad scale consoli- dations, mergers, and sales until the last competing sys- tem, the Keystone Company of Philadelphia, was absorbed by Pennsylvania Bell in the mid-1940s. The Kingsbury Commitment made its dra- matic appearance in 1913 when AT&T Vice President Nathan Kingsbury sent a let- ter to the Attorney General committing to dispose of its Western Union stock, change its policy on acquisitions of independent telephone com- panies, and interconnect its Bell system long distance lines with the independent companies under certain con- ditions. Still, some defiance of a monopolistic attitude contin- ued as independents claimed there were violations of the commitment; the most impor- tant being accusations that the Bell Company continued to acquire independent proper- ties, selecting the cream of the crop. In order to preserve the trust, the Hall Memorandum, a letter recommitting to the policies set down by Kingsbury, was issued in 1922 by E. K. Hall, vice president of AT&T. These agreements are acknowledged as major fac- tors in the prosperous evolu- tion of the independent industry, as with them the image of monopoly was laid to rest. In the years to follow, the BeU organization estab- lished an independent rela- tions program that has played a role in bridging the gap and building a band of unity and strength within the industry. MODIFIED FINAL JUDGMENT The Kingsbury Commitment, which had long been a fundamental and sig- nificant document for the industry, was minimized when the Department of Justice (DOJ) on November 20,1974, filed an anti-trust suit against AT&T. The suit wound up in the court of Judge Harold H. Greene who became widely known for his ruling on the case. Settlement was on August 24,1982, when both AT&T and the DOJ accepted the terms of Judge Greene's Modified Final Judgment (MFJ). In a brief, non-techni- cal explanation, the MFJ established the rules by which AT&T would divest itself of the Bell operations and ruled for their ownership of the Western Electric Manufacturing concerns and the Bell Lab Research and Development properties. The Bell Company divided into seven regional operating com- panies. Local Access and Transport Areas (LATAs) were created to define respon- sibility for properties. Each state was then divided into LATAs and the local exchange carrier (LEC) was to provide local and long dis- tance service within their LATA (intra-LATA) and AT&T would provide long distance service between LATAs (inter-LATA). This opened the previ- ously monopolized field of long distance to a wave of competition, thus the appear- ance of such widely success- ful efforts as has been made by MCI, Sprint and others. This will explain to many the reason the nation went through the complex process of equal access balloting and every customer selecting a long distance carrier of their choice. In a previous ruling, the Carterfone decision, by the FCC ordered that customer premise equipment, formerly available exclusively through the LEC, was also tluown into the open market and became widely available through wholesalers and retailers everywhere. Regulatory bodies con- tinue to be emissaries of regu- lation, deregulation, and reregulation that propagate a suspenseful future for the industry. A LOFTY HERITAGE It has been said that no man can proclaim himself the inventor of the automobile, and it may also be true of the telephone. The telephone, like the automobile, has reached its present state of proficiency through the visionary improvement of many contributors. Outstanding among the many others that have shaped and improved our industry, following the patent, are inventors Ahnon Brown Strowger and Thomas A. Edison. The Strowger switch radically changed telephone switching. It was an electric switch that allowed con- trolled automatic connecting. The final essential element for the first satisfactorily-working telephones was something called a viable-contact carbon transmitter, due in large mea- sure to Edison, in 1877. Any telephone pioneer will tell you that this carbon transmit- A REA representative with GTA members. 1 1 mi j ter can be credited with mak- ing the telephone practical. Not least among tele- phony landmarks is the estab- lishment of the Rural Electrification Administration (REA) loan program. It has had a primary role in the movement of rural telephony in America. RURAL ELECTRIFICATION ADMINISTRATION "Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, that it is hereby declared to be the policy of the Congress that adequate telephone service be made generally available in rural areas through the improvement and expansion of existing telephone facili- ties and the construction and operation of such additional facilities as are required to assure the availability of adequate telephone service to the widest practicable number of rural users of such service. In order to effectuate this policy, the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 is amended." The foregoing preamble to the REA loan bill amend- ment of 1950 appeared in a Georgia Telephone Association newsletter dated 1949. It was preceded by the following comments from the president of the GTA. "REA Loans...The Poage bill has now been reported out by the Committee on Agriculture and it is expect- ed the Rules Committee will give it the green light for consideration on the house floor at an early date. The essence of time makes it mandatory, therefore, that you make your position on this issue known to your representative NOW." History records that the Poage bUl, which would make REA funds available to tele- phone companies, was met with distrust by many rural telephone operations. It was not totally without justifica- tion that many companies were suspicious of the gov- ernment's intentions to gain control by "sticking their nose in the telephone business." A general negative atti- tude remained with a few in the industry, but the GTA bulletins that followed expounded the virtues of the program and pleaded with members to take advantage of available funds and almost scolded for the slow response for application. The Rural Electrification Administration program was founded in the 1930s as part of President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal to assist power companies in bringing power to rural America. The program was amended in 1950 by the Poage bill to extend the empowerment to make low interest, long term loans to independent telephone con- cerns. The REA loan program has played a vital role in the development of independent telephony. Many owners and operators of companies admit that they could not have sur- vived without this funding during the periods of finan- cial and economic struggles. This program can be declared a successful and integral part of the development of rural America. Just as the power com- pany loan program prevented the bUght of under-develop- ment in isolated areas, the telephone loan program was a band-aid for this industry. In addition, power company and telephone company coop- eratives were an important outgrowth of the availability of funding. Georgia's four telephone cooperatives were formed with REA funds. Florala Telephone Company of Florala, Alabama, (390 subscribers) received the first REA loan imder the Poage bill program. The loan was for $243,000. The money was to be used to retire a bank loan of $10,000, replace the existing magneto equipment with common bat- tery, install an automatic exchange and to extend new lines into rural areas to serve 1,000 new apphcants. Georgia's first REA loan, $249,000, went to DanielsviUe and Comer Telephone Company in 1950. The funds were designated for rehabili- tating service to 282 existing subscribers and to provide service to 686 more appli- cants. The REA program falls under the auspices of the U. S. Department of Agriculture. Recent presidential adminis- trations have apphed pres- sure to abbreviate the loan program. 10 Further pressure was applied when in 1993, the cable industry cried "competi- tion" and pressured the General Accounting Office to begin evaluating the REA program to determine if the rural borrowers were using REA funds to subsidize ven- tures into the satelhte and cable business. The conflict- ing position of the REA bor- rowers is that the program should continue to assist by allocating funds for the devel- opment and distribution of educational, medical, enter- tainment, and communica- tions efforts that will benefit mankind by keeping rural America abreast of the rest of the country. During a period of time when the small company will be hard-pressed to survive in the competitive arena, history could repeat itself as REA has an opportunity to continue to bolster small companies who might otherwise sink into the mire of competition and a troubling economy. As of January 1,1993, twenty-seven GTA member telephone companies are REA borrowers, representing total funds of $567,827,895, includ- ing cash-equity funds of $8,771,545. FORGING AHEAD The entrance of many great people and extraordi- nary events into the field of telephony regretfully cannot be included in these margins, but these roles have left us with a lofty heritage. In the years that have elapsed since the birth of Alexander Graham Bell's talk- ing machine, telephone com- panies working hand-in-hand have laced the continent with cables, optic fibers, microwaves, cellular towers and satellite circuits to build and develop a communica- tions system for the nation. Telephone communications have brought the people of the world and the industry closer together. Today we are all play- ing in a new ball game. This explosive, competitive arena will leave its footprint in the future of the industry. While it is menacing to those of us who deal with the complex issues and agendas, mankind is being ejected into the future, and the communica- tion industry is preparing for the twenty- first century. HALlMAlSOFTHElNDOSTRy Some Significant Milestones Relating to the Telephone Industry 1826 Reports of first primitive telegraph line 1835 Samuel F.B. Morse invented first practical telegraph 1844 First official telegraph message sent, "What hath God wrought?" 1847 Bell born March 3 in Scotland 1854 Watson bom in Salem, Massachusetts 1858 Reports of first concept of telephone 1860 Philip Reis fabricated a primitive telephone 1861 First transcontinental telegraph lines 1866 Western Union owned 2,250 offices and 100,000 miles of telegraph lines 1869 Elisha Gray invented telephone to transmit music 1875 Bell and Watson heard first audible telephone soimds 1876 Bell filed for patent of telephone (Febmary 14) 1876 Elisha Gray filed for patent of telephone (Eebraary 14) 1876 Bell received a valid patent for telephone (#174,465) 1876 First one-way long distance telephone call in history 1877 Bell Telephone Company organized 1877 First switchboard exchange Boston, Massachusetts 1877 Western Union telephones in Atlanta 1878 First viable-contact carbon transmitter 1878 First telephone directory was published 1878 Workable telephones in Macon dmgstore 1878 First females hired by Bell Company (Boston) 1878 Bell sued a Western Union agent for patent infringement 1878 Nation's first commerical telephone exchange (New Haven, Connecticut) 1878 10,755 Bell Company telephones in service as Theodore Vail began work as general manager 1878 Nation's second telephone company, San Francisco, California 1879 Telephone service in Macon 10 stations - independent company 1879 Western Union opened first three telephone exchanges in Georgia - Atlanta, Augusta, Macon 1879 First BeU Company agent exchange in Atlanta (35 subscribers) 1879 First Bell Company agent exchange in Augusta 1879 Southern BeU Telephone & Telegraph 1,246 subscribers in 11 exchanges 1879 Railroad Commission of Georgia formed 1879 First automatic switching system patented 1880 47,000 total telephones in U. S. (30,000 Bell) 1880 Southern Bell's Atlanta telephone office and equipment devastated by fire 1880 First telephone booths (unsubstantiated reports of non-BeU paystations in Connecticut in 1878) 1880 Telephone service in Macon 34 stations - Southern Bell 1880 New Southern Bell exchanges in Augusta and Savannah 1880 American BeU Telephone Company formed (parent company of consoUdated BeU and Western Union properties until 1899) 1881 New Southern BeU exchanges in Atlanta I i 12 1881 Telephone service started between Boston - Providence, Rhode Island 1882 First experimentation with underground telephone cable 1882 Bell acquired stock in Western Electric Manufacturing Company 1883 Telephone service in Thomasville - independent company 1884 Telephone service started between Boston - New York 1885 American Telephone & Telegraph Company incorporated 1887 Variable resistance transmitter built 1889 Atlanta and Fairburn, Georgia, connected by long distance wire 1889 Almon B. Strowger developed dial telephone 1890 211,500 Bell telephones in service in U. S. 1891 The Strowger machine-switching system patented 1892 Nation's first dial exchange - Indiana 1892 Telephone service inaugurated between New York and Chicago 1893 Telephone service in Gainesville - independent company 1893 Bell patent on transmitter expired 1894 Bell patent on receiver expired 1894 Augusta, Carrollton, Gainesville, Georgia telephone service - independent companies 1894 Holding companies appeared 1894 Telephone service in Lagrangeindependent 1896 Valdosta Telephone & Electric Company - independent company 1896 Telephone service in Savannah, Macon, Carrollton - independent telephone service 1896 Telephone service in Valdosta, Waycross, Quitman, Tifton - independent 1897 6,000 independent telephone companies operating in the U. S. 1897 USTA formed in Chicago 1899 Southern Telephone & Telegraph Company - 50 toll points 1900 855,900 telephones in Bell System 1900 700,000 telephones in independent systems 1902 Southern Independent Telephone Association formed 1902 First long distance rmderground cable 1907 Railroad Commission of Georgia began regulating telephone companies 1908 Southern Independent Telephone Association, Bainbridge, Georgia 1909 First issue of Telephone Engineer (TE&M) pubhshed 1909 Southern Bell 80 exchanges - 28,369 subscribers 1911 Telephone Pioneers of America founded (Bell system employees) 1912 Telephone service inaugurated between Paris and Honolulu 1913 Kingsbury Commitment 1913 Bell's last official action with the company - first continental telephone call 1915 Transcontinental telephone service 1918 President Wilson declared government takeover of aU telephone companies 1919 First Georgia Telephone Association organized 1919 Government returns telephone operation to owners 1920 Farmers lines began to disappear 1920 Independent Telephone Pioneer Association formed (Independent telephone compam employees) 1922 Hall Memorandum 1922 Railroad Commission of Georgia name changed to Georgia Public Service Commissioi. 1922 39,773 independent telephone in Georgia 1922 Alexander Graham Bell died (August 2) 1922 Plant investment of $85 per station in Georgia 1922 First dial system in New York 1924 Transmission of pictures over telephone wires 1926 First out-of-state holding company investment in Georgia 1927 Public demonstration of television 1928 Southern Bell first joined GTA 1929 First president to have telephone on his desk was Herbert Hoover 1929 Stock market drop caused depression 1930 Five Georgia counties with no telephone service 1930 34,251 telephones in Georgia 1933 Governor Talmadge fired all Georgia Public Service Commissioners 1934 Federal Communications Commission established by President Roosevelt 1934 Thomas A. Watson died (owned 1,300 patents) 1936 First coaxial cable installed 1940 Georgia 7 telephones per 100 people (national average 16) 1940 Most Georgia telephone lines were now properly maintained 1940 Six Georgia counties with no telephone service 1940 219,694 telephones in Georgia 1941 240,000 telephones in Georgia 1942 First cross continent cable line 1943 Dual telephone service ended in U. S. - last city Philadelphia, Permsylvania 1946 Mobile telephone service in commercial use 1946 First car telephone reported in Atlanta 1947 370,000 telephones in Georgia 1947 First nationwide Bell telephone strike (lasted 44 days) 1948 180 independent exchanges in Georgia 1948 Georgia independent company organized a toll business 1948 Network television began using coaxial cable 1949 Congress extended REA loan program to rural telephone companies 1950 75 cents per hour minimum wage law enacted 1950 Georgia Legislature required all telephone companies to certify their territory 1950 Southern Bell inaugurated first toll free service in Georgia 1950 Danielsville and Comer Telephone Company first Georgia company to receive REA loan 1951 First transcontinental microwave system 1958 1,000,000 telephones in Georgia 1958 REA loans to Georgia companies totaled $21,950,000 1959 Bell introduced mechanized billing to independent companies 1959 Pineland Telephone Company installed mobile phone 1960 45,000,000 telephones in U. S. 1960 World's first electronic telephone central office 1960 6,000 rural telephone lines and independent systems in U. S. 1961 Wide area telephone service (WATS) went into effect 1961 114 independent companies in Georgia 1962 Use of "profane language over telephone" bill introduced 1964 OPASTCO formed October 6 1965 56 independent telephone companies in Georgia 1965 2,535 independent telephone companies 1967 Georgia Telephone Association full-time executive hired 1968 AT&T announced the adoption of the "911" system as a nationwide emergency number 1970 Peach State Chapter ITPA chartered 1974 Justice Department filed a civil antitrust suit against AT&T charging monopolization 1978 Supreme Court upheld decision that a microwave communications operator could com- pete with AT&T's long distance service 1982 Judge Greene signed the modified agreement between AT&T and the Justice Department 1983 AT&T consent decree 14 1984 FCC decision to use a lottery to assign cellular licenses 1984 FCC Cable Act banning provision of video programming by telephone companies in their franchised territory 1985 End user access charge fee takes effect 1986 GTE and United Telecom sign letter of intent to merge GTE Sprint and US Telecom into US Sprint 1986 Eirst price cap proposal made by FCC 1987 1,426 telephone companies in U.S. 1987 39 telephone companies operating in Georgia 1987 BOCs forbidden to enter manufacturing or long distance business but given some latitude as relates to information processing 1988 GTE forms joint venture with AT&T for switch manufacturing 1989 GTE completes sale of its part of US Sprint to United Telecom 1990 36 independent telephone companies in Georgia 1992 1,400 telephone companies in U. S. 1993 145,117,000 independent company subscribers in U. S. 1993 3,642,597 access lines in Georgia 1993 1,327 independent telephone companies in U. S. 1993 31 telephone companies in Georgia 1919-1994 Organized independent telephony had its inception in the state of Georgia in 1919 when a handful of small tele- phone company operators met to form a state organiza- tion with the belief that with unity would come strength to deal with common issues and problems. Other state, regional and national organizations of this type being set up aU across the country provided the inspiration and motiva- tion for their efforts. It is supposed that some of the participants in this organization had been involved in earher attempts by telephone company man- agements in Georgia, South Carolina, and Florida in 1902 and 1908 to form a Southern Association, both of which disappeared and about which httle is known. The Georgia Independent Telephone Association was the name given the first state organiza- tion, and the following offi- cers were duly appointed. Georgia Independent Telephone Association 1919 President - R. L. Stewart, Moultrie, Georgia Vice President - W. R. Bowen, Fitzgerald, Georgia Secretary-Treasurer - T. R. Nunnally, Monroe, Georgia R. L. Stewart was reported to be the driving force behind the move to organize. I have as yet been unable to discover the rea- sons this organization did not continue to function. It is sus- pected that the companies were so small that the strug- gling operations of the busi- ness allowed httle time for attending to the Association. Also, vast changes in owner- ship weakened the unity. There is reason to believe there were still many problems and misunder- standings within the industry as indicated by stories told to me by telephone pioneers. The need for organized effectiveness persisted. Records indicate that the Association name was changed to the Georgia Association of Independent Companies and was reacti- vated on February 13,1923, at the Hotel Ansley in Atlanta, Georgia. The following slate of officers was elected. Georgia Association of Independent Telephone Companies 1923 - Atlanta, Georgia President - William R. Bowen, Fitzgerald, Georgia 1st Vice President - W. R. Hunter, Quitman, Georgia Vice President - J. M. Denton, Douglas, Georgia Vice President - P. D. Fortune, Lafayette, Georgia Secretary-Treasurer - J. L. Mathews, Statesboro, Georgia General Counsel - J. Prince Webster, Atlanta, Georgia The directors elected at the same 1923 meeting were: W. R. Bowen, Fitzgerald J. N. Dent, Douglas A. A. Fincher, Canton P. D. Fortune, Lafayette W. D. Horton, McRae W. R. Hunter, Quitman W. A. Jennings, Hawkinsvhle J. Smith Lanier, West Point J. L. Mathews, Statesboro W. M. New, Washington As the annals of time settled the controversial issues, a harmonious blend of the Bell Company and Independents began to take shape. With restructuring, the Bell Company was invit- ed for the first time to join the Georgia Association. This 1923 organization did not escape the ups and downs of the early years of the indus- try, and once again the roots were not strong enough to withstand the menacing problems that besieged this organization. Acts of legisla- tion and regulation placed demands that were compli- cated by the economy and lack of the availability of proper equipment-most independent companies were operating with previously used equipment. Late in the 1920s, Georgia's population neared three million and the num- ber of small independent companies serving the state continued to increase. The industry was well ensconced and the companies again attempted to solidify at a meeting held in 1929 at the Ansley Hotel in Atlanta. The voting members again elected to include the Bell Company in the Assoc- iation and selected these offi- cers to serve. As a further action at the meeting, voting privi- leges were designated according to the number of connected telephones which the company had: 0 - 500 - One Vote Over 500 Telephones - Two Votes For much of this time the Bell Company and Independents enjoyed a mutually satisfying associa- tion, both learning from and helping each other. experiencing conflict with the Bell companies and dis- couraged state organizations from including them in their membership. In November, 1937, another meeting convened in which the actions taken at the February meeting were nullified, and the existing officers and directors were confirmed on the grounds that the vote had not been taken in conformity with the bylaws of the organization. GEORGIA TELEPHONE ASSOCIATION ORGANIZED FEBRUARY, NINETEEN TWENTY-THREE (NAME CHANGED JANUARY, NINETEEN TWENTY.NINE) ^ /J EllUay Telerhone in A/ie anj(K t. ... ' MB ^ik M OTA WK!^^mSkmi tssoam Si 1 21 Mac McWhorter, Georgia Public Service Commission. Danny Bryant (Coastal Utilities) and Charlie Joe Mathews (Statesboro Telephone Company) visit with GTA guest. A Jim Callaham, H. M. Stewart, Sr., Mrs. Callaham, Glenn W. Ellard. JOHN SILK, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT THE GTA OFFICE At 1900 Century Boulevard, Suite 8, Atlanta, Georgia, on most days, you can find John Silk behind a modest, but very nice, desk in an office which he is quick to boast was decorated by his competent staff composed of Jean Eakin, Ramona Blackwell, and Carol Laur. A Jean Eakin, administra- B W c"J;druSior" The office has a comfort- president. able conference room where much of the business of the Georgia Telephone Association is transacted. In the GTA office you will always find a bright and professional attitude, sea- soned by the epitome of mod- esty and hospitality, and this is the management style of John Silk, executive vice presi- dent of the GTA. Jean Eakin is the won- der-woman administrative assistant in the office. Ramona Blackwell heads up the GTA Credit Union, and Carol Laur is member ser- vices representative. John's leadership has energized the GTA organiza- tion and its membership, and he takes pride in the rmity and goodwill that exists with- in the organization. Here he gives an abbre- viated update of the activities of the organization since he came to the helm in 1987. GEORGIA TELEPHONE ASSOCIATION AN UPDATE 1987 -1994 By John Silk "The Georgia Telephone Association (GTA) was estab- lished seventy-five years ago to provide Georgia's local exchange carriers (LECs) a forum within which to address issues of mutual interest and concern. Never has this mission been more critical than in the past seven years which have witnessed some of the most significant changes ever to confront and challenge the telecommunica- tions industry. "The GTA's success during this period has been made possible and highhght- ed by the involvement and participation of its members. It is through this commitment that GTA has succeeded in assisting its members to meet these challenges and in serv- ing as a positive force during these evolutionary times. With no end in sight, it is criti- cal that GTA's evolution keeps pace with that of the industry and continues to per- form this invaluable role. "Some of the issues in which GTA has been actively involved include de-pooling, intra-LATA competition, dis- tance learning, county-wide calling, 800 portability, local transport restructure and many more new and exciting innovations. These innova- tions, made possible by tech- nological advancements, have forever altered the pre-exist- ing relationships. Oppor- tunities abound in this increasingly competitive environment with partners and competitors alike seeking to achieve the delicate balance necessary to ensure the best possible telecommunications services are available to the citizens of Georgia. "Internally, GTA has experienced many changes designed to improve its abiU- ty to meet these challenges. Horizons have expanded and new roles have been rmder- taken. Several new commit- tees have been established: 23 Distance Learning, Economic Development, and Operations. Existing commit- tees have seen their roles greatly expanded and re- focused. The most recent addition, the Executive Roundtable, has provided a unique opportunity for GTA members' top management to have an open forum within which they can tap each other as one of their most valuable resources. "GTA also continues to play a significant role in the regulatory and legislative are- nas. Like the industry, regu- latory and legislative bodies are being challenged to keep pace with technological advancements which have rendered more traditional forms of regulation obsolete. These are uncharted waters where questions are many and answers are few. Many options are being tried and the stakes are high. GTA's ability to serve as a spokesman for its members in this arena is especially impor- tant. "There have also been significant ownership realign- ments within GTA's member- ship during this period. Rochester Telephone Company has purchased Statesboro Telephone Company and Fairmount Telephone Company. TDS has purchased Blue Ridge Telephone Company and Camden Telephone Company. Charles Fail has purchased Chickamauga Telephone Company. Most recently, ALLTEL has pur- chased GTE's holdings which were previously merged with Contel. While too many to list, GTA's members have also expanded into other lines of business including cellular, cable and other competitive telecommunications fields indicative of the convergence of technologies. "GTA's offices have also experienced a physical facelift, having been expand- ed and completely renovated. During this period, GTA has computerized and seen its operations significantly enhanced through technologi- cal advancements." -JS GTA, like the industry it serves, is being challenged to successfully evolve with its members at a time when there are no constants and change is dominant in a truly dynam- ic environment. GTA's ability to continue to assist its mem- bers in meeting this challenge will depend on its members' commitment to active involvement. (1923 -1967) 1923-44 J. Prince Webster (Secretary, Treasurer, Attorney) Atlanta Attorney 1944- 45 A. M. "Arhe" New - President, Thomaston Telephone Company 1945- 46 R. S. "Bob" Griffin - Monroe 1946- 52 H. M. Stewart - President, Standard Telephone Company 1952-56 S. B. Green - ElHjay Telephone Company 1957-58 Henry Cabiness - Cabiness-Hoag Accounting and Engineering Firm 1959-66 E. R. "George" Britt - President, Metter Telephone Company 1967 Mansfield Jennings - President, Hawkinsville Telephone Company GTA EXECimVE SECRETARIES (1967 - Present) 1967-74 Bob Hayes - First Paid Full-time Executive, Atlanta Office EstabUshed - Atlanta Attorney 1974-87 Charles Lindsey - Atlanta, Georgia 1987-Present John Silk - Atlanta, Georgia 24 A Don Bond (Public Service Telephone Company). T Charlie Deloach (Georgia Telephone Corporation). A A panel discusses industry issues. A Sid Linton (GTE South) and Lila Corbin (Quincy Telephone Company, retired). A Kelly Bond (Public Service Telephone Company), George Carswell, (Wilkinson County Teiephone Company), and MiK Stewart (Standard Telephone Company). Bill Tatum (Trenton Telephone Company) pre- sides at a GTA meeting. Mansfield Jennings, Jr. (Hawkinsville Telephone). Paul Hart (USTA), standing. L-R: Chairman Bobby Baker IGPSC), John Selmon (Ringgold Telephone), Fred Hodges (Bulloch Telephone Cooperative), Bobby Jones (Waverly Hall Telephone), Mansfield Jennings, Jr. (Hawkinsville Telephone). Cass Robinson,former GISC member. T Glenn Bryant (Coastal Utilitiesl. Howard Hall (Plant Telephone Company, Retired). Fred Hodges (Planters Telephone Cooperative and Bulloch County Rural Telephone Cooperative) and George Carswell (Wilkinson Telephone Company). Ben Bennett (Pineland Telephone Cooperative) and Don PaiBn (Contel, Retired). Executive Roundtable . L-R: John Selmon (Ringgold Telephone), Fred Hodges (Bulloch Telephone Cooperative and PlantersTelephone Cooperative). A Durand Standard (Coastal Ultilities), George Carswell (Wilkinson County Telephone) and Tim Griffin are members of this GTA panel. A Ben Bennett (Pineland Telephone Cooperattve), Don Bond (1 Telephone Company) and Dean Swanson (Standard Telephone A Harry White (Northern Telecom, Retired)chats with Betty and Howard Hall (Plant Telephone, Rrtired). A Lila Corbin, Retired from Quincy Teiephone. A Freeman Leverett, GTA attorney, with Ben land Maxine) Milier, past president USTA and iTPA. A Executive Roundtable. L-R: Allan Bryant ICoastal Utilities), irby Johnson IDarien Teiephone), Maiy Lou Forsyth IDarien Telephone), Mike Gra^ linterstate Telephone), George Dyson IWilkes Telephone), William Hinesiey IBrantiey Teiephone). A Southern Beiis Georgia Industry Relations group, 1988. First Row: Jennifer Woifson, Pat Condra, Bev Brodie, Jan Martin. Second Row; Shirley Lowery, Pat Phillips, Tricia Wanner, Ellen Bridges, Fran Davis. Third Row: Rod Robertson, Rich Patsios, Bob Kelley, Bob Ragsdale. A Ben Bennett at podium; Woody Williamson |REA) at far right. Beverlyn Bond (Public Service Telephone Company). T Harry and Alice Mathews (Statesboro Telephone). Executive Roundtable. Jim Johnson (Standard Telephone) and Earl Phillips (Coastai Utiiities). Fred Hodges and George Dyson (Wiikes Telephone Company). A Ben Bennett (Pineland Telephone Cooperative). A George Carswel) and John Silk standing in front of podium. Ed Haymans (Coastal Utilities) with guest speaker at GTA convention. T Cam Lanier, III. A Panel at 1989 GTA Convention discusses independent caliing cards. A Jeny Hendnx (Southern Bell), Bob Krueger (Hawkinsville Teiephone) and Michael Mclnerney (Standard Telephone), discuss intra-LATA competition on this panel In Savannah. T Kelly Bond (Public Service Telephone Company). L-R: Durand Standard and Ed Dayman (Coastal Utilities) with Bruce Schoonover (Staurulakis, Inc.). A dinner cruise is enjoyed by John Harrison (Ellijay Telephone) and Doris Stephens (Standard Telephone, retired). A Mance Jennings (Hawkinsville Telephone Company) at GTA convention at Disney World. T Cam Lanier, Bill Scott and Doug Cox (Interstate Telephone Company). ABill Tatum and Ben Bennett. A Executive Roundtable. Janice OBrien (Glenwood Telephone), John Harrison (Qlijay Telephone) and Voncel Gregory (Blue Ridge Telephone). A Jim Blackburn (consultant) and Sid Linton (GTE South) A Don and Beveriyn Bond (Public Service Telephone Company). A John Silk (GTA executive vice president), Bobby Baker (GPSC). 32 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 Unknown Nov. 22-23 Unknown Nov. 10-11 Nov. 15-16 Nov. 14-15 Nov. 9-10 Nov. 8-9 Oct. 27-28 Nov. 16-17 Nov. 12-13 Nov. 17-18 Nov. 15-17 Unknown Unknown Nov. 11-12 Nov. 9-10 Sept. 14-15 Sept. 13-14 Sept. 11-13 Nov. 4-5 Sept. 9-10 Sept. 7-9 Oct. 21-25 Oct. 9-11 Sept. 17-20 Sept. 9-12 Sept. 15-18 May 24-27 June 5-8 June 12-14 Apr. 20-23 June 13-15 June 14-16 June 11-13 June 10-12 June 15-17 June 17-19 June 16-18 June 15-17 June 13-15 June 23-25 June 18-20 June 21-24 June 19-21 June 24-28 July 8-10 June 15-18 June 20-23 June 19-22 June 18-21 June 24-27 June 22-25 Henry Grady Hotel, Atlanta General Oglethorpe, Wilmington Island, Savannah General Oglethorpe, Wilmington Island, Savannah Henry Grady Hotel, Atlanta Henry Grady Hotel, Atlanta Henry Grady Hotel, Atlanta Dempsey Hotel, Macon Dempsey Hotel, Macon Henry Grady Hotel, Atlanta Henry Grady Hotel, Atlanta Bon Air Hotel, Augusta DeSoto Hotel, Savannah Bon Air Hotel, Augusta General Oglethorpe, Savannah General Oglethorpe, Savannah Dinkier Plaza, Atlanta Biltmore Hotel, Atlanta Corsair Motel, Jekyll Island Corsair Motel, Jekyll Island Atlanta Biltmore Hotel, Atlanta Atlanta Americana Hotel, Atlanta Stuckey's Carriage Inn, Jekyll Island Atlanta Marriott, Atlanta SS Ariadne-Convention Cruise Regency Hyatt House, Atlanta Savannah Inn & Country Club, Savannah Marriott Motor Hotel, Atlanta DeSoto Hilton Hotel, Savaimah Marriott Motor Hotel, Atlanta Mills Hyatt House, Charleston, SC DeSoto HUton Hotel, Savannah Myrtle Beach Hilton, Myrtle Beach, SC Peachtree Plaza Hotel, Atlanta Holiday Irm, Jekyll Island DeSoto Hilton Hotel, Savannah Stouffers Pmelsle, Lake Lanier Holiday Inn, Jekyll Island Savannah Inn & Coimtry Club, Savannah Atlanta Marriott, Atlanta Walt Disney World, Lake Buena Vista, FL Stouffers Pinelsle Resort, Lake Lanier Islands Callaway Gardens, Pine Mountain Hyatt Regency Hotel, Savannah Holiday Inn, Jekyll Island, GA Holiday Inn, Chattanooga, TN Sandestin Hilton, Destin, FL Grove Park Inn and Country Club, AsheviUe, NC Hyatt Regency, Savannah, GA Walt Disney World Village, Lake Buena Vista, FL Hyatt Regency Hotel, Hilton Head Island, SC Omni Hotel, Charleston, SC Marco Island Resort and Golf Club, Marco Island, FL Hyatt Regency Hotel, Palmetto Dunes Plantation, Hilton Head Island, SC CEOKCIA TELEPHONE ASSOCtATION 67TH ANNUAL CONVENTION "Expanding Horizons" JUNE 24-28,1989 SANDESTIN BEACH HILTON DESTIN. RORIOA 1919 1923 1928-1932 1933-1944 1945- 1946 1946- 1947 1947- 1948 1948- 1949 1949- 1950 1950- 1951 1952- 1953 1953- 1954 1955-1956 1957-1958 1959- 1960 1960- 1961 1961- 1962 1962- 1963 1963- 1964 1965-1966 1967- 1968 1968- 1969 1969- 1970 1970- 1971 1971- 1973 1973- 1974 1974- 1975 1975- 1976 1976- 1977 1977- 1978 1978- 1979 1979- 1980 1980- 1981 1981- 1982 1982- 1983 1983- 1984 1984- 1985 1985- 1986 1986- 1987 1987- 1988 1988- 1989 1989- 1990 1990- 1991 1991- 1992 1992- 1993 1993- 1994 GTA PAST PRESIDENTS (1919-1994) R. L. Stewart, Moultrie, Georgia W. R. Bowen, Fitzgerald, Georgia W. R. Bowen, Fitzgerald, Georgia W. M. New, Thomaston Telephone Company J. E. Kirk, Douglas Telephone Company, Moultrie A. F. Fincher, Jr., Thomaston Telephone & Telegraph Company A. M. New, Thomaston Telephone Company A. C. Seward, Central Telephone Company/Southeastern Telephone Company W. C. Martin, Southeastern Telephone Company E. P. Burney, Walker County Telephone Company H. M. Stewart, Standard Telephone Company J. H. Wright, Whigham Telephone Company John Birchmore, Danielsville & Comer Telephone Company Downing Musgrove, Homerville Telephone Company Charlie Joe Mathews, Statesboro Telephone Company J. P. Gleaton, Plant Telephone Company Jim Evitt, Ringgold Telephone Company Glenn E. Bryant, Coastal Utilities, Inc. Cam B. Lanier, Jr., Interstate Telephone Company W. M. Jennings, Jr., Hawkinsville Telephone Company Madison New, Thomaston Telephone Company Joseph R. Dyson, Wilkes Telephone & Electric Company Dean C. Swanson, Standard Telephone Company Cam B. Lanier, Jr., Interstate Telephone Company Art W. Barnes, Chickamauga Telephone Company H. M. Stewart, Jr., Standard Telephone Company Don E. Bond, Public Service Telephone Company Fred L. Bailey, Plant Telephone Company Gene Blanton, General Telephone Company W. C. DeLoach, Georgia Telephone Corporation Daniel M. Bryant, Coastal Utilities, Inc. Thomas L. Johnson, Mid-Continent Telephone Company Jackie Tumlin, Brantley Telephone Company H. C. Hearn, Jr., (Dixie Telephone) Continential Telephone Company Frances V. Barnes, Chicamauga Telephone Company Fred W. Hodges, Bulloch County Rural Telephone Co-op Tommy C. Smith, Citizens Telephone Company Betty A. Gleaton, Plant Telephone Company George H. Carswell, III, Wilkinson County Telephone Company Mary Eunice Jones, Waverly Hall Telephone Company Sid Linton, GTE South Harry S. Mathews, Statesboro Telephone Company William R. Tatum, Trenton Telephone Company A. M. (Ben) Bennett, Pineland Telephone Cooperative Don Partin, GTE Systems of the South Bob Krueger, Hawkinsville Telephone Company 34 A President George Carswell passes the gavel to Mary Eunice Jones for 1987-88 term. A President Jones passes the gavel to Sid Linton for 1988-89 term. President Linton passes the gavel to Harry S. Mathews for 1989-90 term. President Mathews passes the gavel to William R. Tatum for 1990-91 term. President Bennett passes the gavel to Don Partin for 1992-93 term. A President Tatum passes the gavel to A. M. Ben Bennett for 1991-92 term. AN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE The Georgia Telephone Association has for some time been enhanced by a group of individuals who participate as representatives of the companies that provide the services, products and equip- ment that feed, and some- times lead, the industry. For many years these individuals were referred to as "suppliers." These well- known and visible friends attended functions and were so well-informed and so much a part of the group activities and old friendships, when 1 first began attending meetings, there was no way of telling which members owned and operated compa- nies and which were supph- ers. The names and faces of many old and dear friends come to mind at this writing. As the industry and the Association grew, the Asso- ciates followed the trend to organize and become more effective and efficient. John Silk made the following com- ments about the value of their membership in GTA. "The Georgia Telephone Association's Associate Members have played a vital role in the Association's ser- vice to its members. It is GTA's Associate Members which provide the telephone companies with an array of products and services to assist them in effectively and effi- ciently operating their compa- nies. "Since divestiture, the role of GTA's Associate Members has changed significantly. The problems and solutions to which they are looked for, by the telephone companies, have become much more complex. Whether it is technological advancements, more sophisti- cated accounting procedures, engineering consulting ser- vices, economic and policy analysis (and the list goes on), the stakes have been raised. Margins for error have been reduced, if not eliminated; and there are no answers with accompanying guarantees. "Associate Members' partic- ipation in the Association's activities is manifested in many ways. They are active on many committees includ- ing: the Education and Training Committee, the Operations Committee, the Convention Committee and serving in a supporting role on many others. Associate Members are also one of the primary sponsors of the Association's annual conven- tion, as well as other activi- ties. "The relationship between GTA's Associate Members and the telephone companies is complementary, supportive and vital. It is a role which. like the rest of the industry, is evolving. With the changes occurring, their list of clients and customers is changing and expanding and increas- ingly is likely to include com- peting interests. GTA, through the involvement and participation of its Associate Members, provides a forum to assist with their adaptation to today's evolving environ- ment." It has been determined that these Associate Members have earned their place in the history of Georgia telephony. 1993-1994 GTA ASSOCIATES BOARD OF DIRECTORS Chairman, Rick Rummel First Vice Chairman, John Schoeneck Second Vice Chairman, Paul Ibanez Secretary/Treasurer, Kevin Costello 1994 COMMinEE MEMBERS Dick AUen Jim Boyd Paul Butler Sam Campbell Kevin Costello Randy Dooling Klaus Eastridge Jerry Farrell Maxine Manning Leo Montgomery Rick Rummel John Schoeneck Manny Staurulakis Eddie Swing entertain at convention in Orlando; Maxine Manning (Communications Data Group), George Carsweii (Wiikinson County Teiephone) and Marion Sliarp (Camden Telephone Company). Butch and Brenda Fisher and Jackie Tumlin. A me Manning learn tor the 75th GTA convention Larry Parham (Standard Teiephone) on far right. A l-k: bd Burney (Walker County Telephone Company), Tommy Smith (Citizens Teiephone), John Sims (Engineering Associates), Ham Foster (Graybar Eiectric Company). Harry White (Northern Telecom, retired). Affiliate members Bob Bruce and Jim Pounds. -4 Don Bond (Public Service Telephone Company) and Mansfield Jennings (Hawkinsvilie Telephone Company). Mr. & Mrs. Vernon Ingram (Plant Telephone Company). Ruth and Tommy Smith (Citizens Telephone Company). Company). Art and Frances Barnes (Chickamauga Telephone Company). T Ruth and Tommy Smith (Citizens Teiephone Company). A Mary Eunice Jones (Waveriy Haii Teiephone Company). r* A GTA members gather for a deiicious buffet meai A The Mansfield Jennings family (Hawkinsville Telephone Company). A L-R; Dean and Kay Swanson (Standard Telephone Company), Ruth Smith (Citizens Telephone Company), and Don Upton (Contel of the ^uth). 40 Ramona Blackwell (GTA Credit Union) and Jean Eakin IGTA administrative assistant). Mr. and Mrs. Lee Barton (Hart Telephone Company). The Mathews family. A The Bonds (Public Service Telephone Company), Betty Gleaton and Karen Goes (Plant Telephone Company). A Mr. and Mrs. Rich Patsios (Southern Beil Industry Relations) and Bruce Schoonover (Staurulakis, Inc.) in the background. A Art Barnes (Chickamauga Telephone) and Maty Eunice Jones (Waverly Hall Telephone). A Betty Gleaton (Plant Telephone Company). A Voncel and Blond Gregory (Blue Ridge Telephone Company) and Charlie and Susan Mathews (Stateshoro Telephone Company). T Mr. and Mrs. John Long (Coastal Utilities). ^ L-R: Frances and Art Barnes (Chickamauga Teiephone), Mrs. Kimbrough, and Led L^better T At the GTA convention in Chattanooga are Vernon Ingram and Betty Gleaton (Plant Telephone) with Manny Staurulakis (Staurulakis, Inc.). A Lynn Guamella (Hart Telephone Company) appreciates the entertain- ment. A Martha and Bill Scott with Cam Lanier in the background (Interstate Telephone Company). Chatting at the Disney World convention are Marion Sharp (Camden Telephone) and Mr. and Mrs. Vernon Ingram (Plant Telephone). By: Ramona Blackwell, President CREDIT UNION: Anon- profit, MEMBER-OWNED, FINANCIAL INSTITUTION FORMED BY A GROUP OF PEOPLE WHO SHARE A COM- MON BOND FOR THE PURPOSE OF SAVING AND BORROWING. The GTA Credit Union was chartered August 28,1975, with the help of Ben Bennett, Danny Bryant and Charles Lindsey. With their guidance and determination, the Credit Union began operating January 5,1976, providing an inexpensive benefit for employees of member compa- nies of the Georgia Telephone Association. Member compa- nies also included associate and affiliate member compa- nies. Employee family mem- bers were also invited to join. The members of the first board of directors were Fred Bailey, Danny Bryant, Ben Bennett, Charles DeLoach, Art Barnes, Ed Burney, Don Bond, Madison New and Charles Lindsey. The Credit Union was well received by member com- panies and obtained steady growth throughout the first year. By the end of 1976, total membership was 507 and assets of $237,161 which is considered an accomplishment for a credit union starting out. Within six months of opera- tion, Contelco Credit Union, serving Continental Telephone Company, Gulf Division, was approached to consider a merger with GTACU. After a vote of both memberships, the merger took place effective January 31,1977, increasing membership to 829 and total assets of $331,465. This also broadened the membership outside Georgia and into Alabama and South Carolina. GTA Credit Union has always been located in the office of the Georgia Telephone Association, there- fore relying on the help of a designated Credit Union rep- resentative located at each tele- phone company. These "reps" are kept informed on Credit Union policy and procedures and are able to help employees with questions regarding the Credit Union. This arrange- ment helps shorten the dis- tance between the GTACU office and member. GTA Credit Union reached its first milestone of $1 million in assets August, 1980. It was apparent the Credit Union needed a full-time man- ager to oversee the daily oper- ations. Nancy Coltrane was hired in September, 1980, and served as manager until January, 1988. During this time, the Credit Union contin- ued increased growth and ser- vices for members, including mortgage loans. The 1990 merger between GTE and Contel Telephone Companies was first thought to be detrimental to the continued success of GTACU. But, with strong cap- ital/ reserves and the loyalty of the members to their Credit Union, this period supported the concept that GTACU was a service needed and used. The current board of directors consists of Mary Eunice Jones, Don Barnes, Lionel Austin, Frances Carson, Gordon Duff, Mary Fugate, Bob Krueger, Durand Standard and Dennis Vickers. John Silk serves as secretary/treasurer and Ramona Blackwell serves as president. All directors are AGTA Credit Union Board of Directors. L-R: Durand Standard (Coastai UtiiitiesI, Lionei Austin (Trenton Teiephone Company), Frances Carson (Eliijay Telephone Company). elected from the membership and serve as volunteers. They take their responsibility seri- ously and attend courses and seminars to better understand their roles in the Credit Union. Since 1988, they have participated in an annual planning session to establish goals for each year. This exer- cise has proven to be valuable over the years and new ser- vices and policies have result- ed. Today, GTA Credit Union has over $5 milhon in assets and is currently serving 2,200+ members. The mem- bership base has been modi- fied in recent years to include "sister companies" associated with member companies. Also, active recruitment of associate members of the Georgia Telephone Association has resulted in membership in nearly every state. In 1993, the South Carolina Telephone Association requested mem- bership for their interested telephone companies and the field-of-membership was updated to include them. The Credit Union is federally insured and in excellent standing with the Georgia GTA Credit Union Board of Directors. L-R: Don Barnes (ALLTEL), Ramona Biackweli (Credit Union president), Gordon Duff (Citizens Teiephone), Mary Eunice Jones (Waveriy Hail Telephone), Mary Fugate (Ringgold Telephone). Department of Banking and Finance which is its primary regulator. GTACU continues to offer a variety of savings options including regular sav- ings, Christmas and Vacation Club Accounts and IRAs. Loan options include signa- ture, auto and a wide range of ofher consumer and mortgage loans. A MasterCard credit card is also available. Student loans and a $1,000 scholarship are the latest additions to the services offered by fhe GTA Credit Union. RB The ITPA creed... ogos6eoaoaasog&6agoOf>gQ!>o<>gccftgaoooaQa:&) TillB*w 11^ ' rx R/iard. __..------------ .* ----- , SVMuik rate ACmEOR 1)80, 3U( *5S?A EiRta ... .No- o( Boards or Paaois. - |.*U..Ain^W f - CoppoWm*"'! -- Circuit ..... for December Pttily averageftitproximMc tlwh-AHKC t>ne>n#liA6'Alb ............ 4W* ,0>eV cd?' nV ^ is vl"' ,vu' -1* If if' ef .V> lUU . d'' * '1- About the only thing that has not changed in the last seven years at Hart Telephone Company is its ser- vice area. Most of Hartwell and Hart County, Georgia, are still served by this remarkably progressive and resilient independent telco. Even the name. Hart Tele- phone Company, is a modifi- cation of the original Hart County Telephone Company; however, regardless of its name, this independent telco remains the cornerstone of Lintel, Inc. whose subsidiaries also include Hart Communi- cations and, more recently. Hart Cellular - the latter a result of a partnership entered into with BellSouth Mobility in August, 1991. In 1989, the old rotary handset logo was replaced by an exciting, high-tech design featuring Hght wave fiber emblazoned over a computer chip. The message: Lintel, Inc. and its subsidiary compa- nies are prepared to enter the new age of telecommunica- tions. Considering the accom- plishments and the direction of this family-owned commu- nications company, the new logo was most appropriate. LinteTs forty-four employees serve a growing area of northeast Georgia. Since 1987, there has been a five percent increase in sub- scribers, and the number of customers who receive their local service from Hart Telephone is now 7,500. Despite all the growth and changes, local residents still have the unique assurance of dealing with a hometown company begun ninety years ago by Hartwell native Fred P. Linder. In February, 1991, as a result of recapitalization of the company, Fred Linder's great-grandchildren, J. Lee Barton and L}mn B. Guamella, along with their mother, Betty A. Barton, became sole owners of Lintel, Inc., thus guarateeing the uninterrupted continuation of nearly a century's service to the local community. Once called "one of the most progressive indepen- dent telephone companies in the state of Georgia," Hart Telephone Company has remained on the cutting edge of telecommunications tech- nology. In 1984, a 6,000 line System Century digital cen- tral office was cut over in Hartwell and linked with a 1,080 line switch in Reed Creek, approximately seven irdles north of the city, via an optical fiber transmission sys- tem. Two years later, a sec- ond 1,080 line switch remote was built in the Mount OHvet section of Hart County. And recently. Hart Telephone Company installed a Siemens Stromberg-Carlson 17.3 Release with CLASS and SS7 functions. Additionally, four new RLS switches were strategically located for future deployment of enhanced and innovative services. A great deal of Hart Telephone Company's suc- cess, both immediate and futiue, is the result of an aggressive program of fiber A L-R; Lynn B. Guornello, J. Lee Barton, and Betty A. Barton. optic systems installation. Over 100 miles of fiber are now ready for utilization for broadband services such as the interconnection of all schools and peripheral enhanced services. The fiber network will also facilitate a dramatic addition to the E911 system presently in place. Within the last three years. Hart Telephone Company engineers have designed and implemented an E911 system, including the PSAP, using out-of-band sig- naling protocol. Now, Hart Telephone Company engi- neers are in the process of connecting the E911 network, via fiber, directly to its own in-house network. Conse- quently, any upgrade in the telco database is immediately upgraded in the E911 data- base. Deregulation, the pariah of LECs in the 1980s, has pro- vided other arenas for success for Lintel, Inc. and its sub- sidiaries. The traditional interconnect. Hart Communi- cations, Inc., remains a viable force in the marketplace. Hart Cellular, in partnership with Bell South Mobility, has tapped the very profitable cel- lular market, and the equal 117 I access conversion planned for September, 1994, holds out the prospect of setting up a re-sell company prior to bal- loting. In short. Lintel's response to deregulation and its inevitable competition has been to diversify and to expand service offerings. Lintel, Inc. is determined to become the first choice provider for all communica- tions products. It is, there- fore, aggressively pursuing acquisitions which would enhance its position as the pre-eminent communications company in the area. Significant rulings by the FCC have opened up new opportunities in the cable TV marketplace. Appropriately, Lintel, Inc. is actively pursu- ing cable TV properties and new cable-related business ventures through alliances and acquisitions. A clear sig- nal has been sent to any potential competitorLintel, Inc. is prepared to meet any challenge and is entirely dedi- cated to setting, not meeting, industry standards of excel- lence in the field of communi- cations. Nowhere is the enthusi- asm of this new era more obvious than in Lintel's com- mitment to customer satisfac- tion. Recognizing the importance of a customer-dri- ven company. Lintel's corpo- rate philosophy is to become more service oriented. In keeping with evolving philos- ophy, Lintel, Inc. has under- taken a number of programs including: marketing efforts to analyze the needs of cus- tomers, retraining personnel in an attempt to match the individual's personality to a particular job or task, estab- lishing an action team to uti- lize personnel resources for the resolution of internal and external concerns. Lintel, Inc. has even made it easier to do business with its subsidiary companies by merging its customer outlets into more convenient service centers. The last seven years have seen meteoric growth in the communications industry; those independents which clung to the belief that all an LEC has to provide is reliable dial tone are gone. Lintel, Inc., with its subsidiaries Hart Telephone, Hart Communi- cations, Inc. and Hart Cellular, is poised to take its place in the twenty-first cen- tury and to continue to draw from its rich past as it looks confidently to a very bright future. 118 Hawkinsville Telephone Company was formed in the early 1900s by what was origi- nally two companies, owned by members of the same fami- ly, constituting one of the older family-owned tele- phone companies in the United States. W. A. Jennings and his brother-in-law, J. T. King, were employed by the Western Union Telegraph Company as construction foreman and crew boss. Most likely it was in this capacity that they were first exposed to the new-fangled telephone. It was approximately 1909 when Jennings and King ventured into the telephone business by purchasing the Millegeville telephone exchange. Although old records show that there was telephone service in Milledge- ville as early as 1893, the com- pany they purchased was built in 1903 by Mr. W. H. Weaver and a Mr. Ricter. There was a third party in this venture. Judge John T. AUen. In 1913, these three part- ners purchased the Hawkins- ville exchange from a Mr. Blasengame and continued the operation of both exchanges for a year or more when the two brothers-in-law became sole owners through the purchase of Judge Allen's interests. (It is interesting to note that the minutes of a 1913 director's meeting record that Mr. Jennings was paid $2.50 per month for the use of his horse, buggy, and harness by the company.) A short time later, they divided the property, with the Jennings family taking over complete own- ership of the Hawkinsville property and the King family remaining sole owner of the Milledgeville property. Mr. Jennings, who played a formidable role in early organized independent telephony, died in 1938 leav- ing the business to several children. About 1947 two sons, W. M. and J. C., pur- chased the interests of the oth- ers. It was also in 1938 that a Kellogg common battery sys- tem was installed to replace the old ringdown drop. This vastly improved the quahty of telephone service. With a capacity of 800 lines, the switchboard would provide for an increased number of subscribers, for changes in local, rural or toll growth and for other changing conditions. The system was cut over with 260 lines equipped, ten toll lines and ten rural lines. Another milestone was reached in 1954 when Hawkinsville Telephone con- verted to dial service and installed a toll center housed in a new building designed to serve the company for the next forty years. In 1968, it became apparent the growth of the area was such that the compa- ny would be lucky to make twenty years in the building. Plans to expand were initiat- A W. Mansfield Jennings, Jr., president/CEO of Hawkinsville Telephone Compony. ed; however, it was 1972 before construction actually got underway on an office adequately designed to fit the company's needs. The cutover of a new electronic switching system was the first Class 4 office in use although the prototype for local switching was designed for Disney World in Orlando, Florida. The system provided direct distance dial- ing, pushbutton dialing, call forwarding and many other features. Ownership of Hawkinsville Telephone Company was passed on the third generation when W. Mansfield Jennings, Jr. pur- chased his father's interest in the company in 1971 and his uncle's interest in 1980. He has also participated actively in a number of GTA positions including serving two terms as president of the Assoc- iation. Now his son (and fourth generation), W. Mansfield Jermings, III, is preparing himself to carry on the tradition by his involve- ment in all phases of the busi- ness. This family operation has added much to GTA as the Jennings family has pro- vided outstanding leadership 119 and Hawkinsville Telephone Company is one of the oldest telephone companies in Georgia. In 1985, the company announced the installation of a new central office switching system to serve its 3,500 cus- tomers in Pulaski, Houston, Dodge, Bleckley and Dooly Counties. Cut into service February 23,1985, the Northern Telecom DMS 100/200 is the first part of a three-year plan that calls for integrating fiber optic trans- mission and digital switching. In the last five years, Hawkinsville Telephone has been very active in a number of areas, including the chal- lenges of growth, new tech- nology, and the changes in the industry of both today and tomorrow. The number of employ- ees has expanded to almost forty. This is only one of the ways that Hawkinsville Telephone Company has experienced major growth. The company still services parts of five counties but has also become a partner in three rural service areas for cellular service. One of the most exciting things to happen to Hawkins- ville Telephone Company recently is being selected as one of the original distance learning sites. We are cur- rently Georgia's only inde- pendent site. This distinction is highly representative of the industry moving forward into tomorrow. Hawkinsville Telephone Company is moving forward, not only through the advances in numbers and technology, but also in years. The company proudly cele- brated its eightieth anniver- sary in 1993. Interstate Telephone Company, one of the first independent companies, operates in both Georgia and Alabama. The historical back- ground of Interstate Tele- phone Company is extremely interesting. In 1895, J. Smith Lanier, eighteen years of age, attend- ed the Cotton States Exposition in Piedmont Park in Atlanta, Georgia. Mr. Lanier saw a small magneto type switchboard and three telephones connected thereto for the first time. Mr. Lanier became so interested in this exhibition of telephones that he remembered nothing else about the exposition. Mr. Lanier returned home and secured the assis- tance of two Robinson broth- ers, who were building the first electric light plant in West Point, to build the first telephone exchange. The exchange was built on the magneto, grounded line basis, and opened for service in the spring of 1896, with thirty-six subscribers. The exchange was located on the second floor of the Langley Mill building. Two years later in 1898, Southern Bell was construct- ing a toll facility from Charleston, South CaroHna, to Montgomery, Alabama, and because of geographical loca- tion, the toll facility came through West Point. The line foreman for the construction was W. T. Gentry who later became president of Southern Bell. Mr. Gentry made it pos- sible for Mr. Lanier to change over the switchboard instru- ments to Bell instruments and to purchase what was known at that time as an electric light board. The first Bell direct cormection in the United States to an independent's equipment was made to Interstate Telephone Com- pany. Thus, the company's tradition of excellent telecom- munications began unfolding early in its history. In 1904, the system was converted to common battery service, beheved to be the first in an office of that size. And for this service, Lanier was the first to use batteries devel- oped in Thomas A. Edison's laboratory. Growth and improve- ments continued at a steady pace over the years. Valley Telephone Company, owned by West Point Manufacturing, was purchased and added to the system in 1961. A $5 milhon expansion and improvement project began in 1976 included office remodeling, direct distance dialing, and installation of an electronic switch. Digital switching was inaugurated in the mid-80s. Interstate/Valley Tele- phone has successfully com- bined the strengths of the past with the technology of the future to give it a competitive edge in the marketplace. ITC Holding Company, parent company of Interstate /Valley Telephone Company, A Interslofe Telephone cuts over to digitol switching in 1985. InterQuest, InterCall and InterCell, has positioned the company to meet the needs of its customers and the chal- lenges of an ever-changing industry. InterCel, Inc., organized in 1989, owns and operates a cellular telephone system serving contiguous portions of four rural service areas in west Georgia and east Alabama. The serving area includes approximately 2,900 square miles with estimated population exceeding 259,000. Cellular coverage begins south of Atlanta for approxi- mately 100 miles on 1-85 to Auburn, Alabama, and approximately forty miles of 1-185 to north Columbus, Georgia. Early in 1994, InterCel completed a business combi- nation with Unicel, the wire- line cellular telephone service provider for the Bangor, Maine, MSA and two rural service areas in Maine. This serving area includes a popu- lation of approximately 525,000. ITC Holding Company and SCANA Corporation of Columbia, South Carolina, jointly constructed and oper- ate a 290 mile fiber optic net- work in west Georgia and east Alabama. Called Interstate FiberNet, it is an alternative for delivery of state-of-the-art telecommuni- cations to secondary markets, cities other than major metro areas, in the southeastern United States. The fiber net- work is constructed using SONET (synchronous optical network) technology to deliv- er high quality, digital tele- communications bandwidth to long distance telecommuni- cations providers in the southeast. It provides access to Atlanta, Newnan, LaGrange, West Point, and Columbus in Georgia and to Anniston, Gadsden, PeU City, Leeds, Birmingham and Opelika in Alabama. When Interstate/Valley Telephone was advised by AT&T that it would cancel its contract for operator services which the company had been providing, Interstate/Valley realized it had three options: continue to provide operator services without AT&T's rev- enue, close their operator ser- vices center or enter the market as a service provider to other telecommunications companies. After evaluating the operator services (OS) marketplace, the company made the decision to enter that arena. A new company, InterQuest, was formed to provide the new service. A A new company, InterQuest, wos formed to provide operotor services to long distance componles ttiroughout tire soutfreost. InterQuest began marketing their services to long distance companies serving the south- east, pay telephone compa- nies needing operators to handle long distance calls, cel- lular companies and even other local telephone compa- nies. InterQuest also provides directory assistance and operator assistance for long distance calls for Interstate/ Valley Telephone Company. A long distance calling card and prepaid (debit) calling card under the InterCard product name are available from InterQuest. InterCall, started in 1991, offers businesses and organizations nationwide a teleconferencing service for conference calls and provides the service in a fast and trou- ble-free manner. InterCall has direct sales personnel nation- wide who market the confer- ence calling services provided from its call center in West Point. Interstate/Valley Telephone's 1992 telephone directory memorialized Cam B. Lanier, Jr., who passed away June 22,1991. "Mr. Cam" or "Cam, Jr.," as he was affectionately known, was instrumental in the growth and development of ITC Holding Company and Interstate/Valley Telephone Company. He served on the Board of the United States Independent Telephone Association in 1971 and 1972. He had many other business interests, including Board of Directors of SouthemNet, Inc., a regional long distance company founded by him and his family. He was a past member of the West Point Rotary Club and a deacon in the Spring Road Christian Church of Lanett. His sur- vivors are wife, Sydney Gaines Lanier; sons, Campbell B. Lanier, III, D. Gaines Lanier, and Tom Lanier; one brother, J. Smith Lanier, II; two sisters, Mrs. Mary L. Champion and Mrs. Sally L. Davenport; and four grandchildren. As of December 31, 1993, Interstate/Valley Telephone served 14,900 access lines with one exchange in Georgia and four exchanges in Alabama (Fredonia, Huguley, Lanett, Valley and Shawmut). Interstate/Valley Telephone Company's strate- gy to become a leader in the industry led the company to 122 undertake a major expansion program in 1993. In January, 1994, the commercial office was moved from West Point, Georgia, to an 8,700 square feet building in Lanett, Alabama. The design of the new facility offers easy access to business office, drive-in windows and customer ser- vice areas. It also houses the company's marketing depart- ment. The space vacated in West Point will be used for the InterQuest operation. A new InterCaU operations cen- ter is currently under con- struction in the West Point Industrial Park. ITC Holding Company's executive offices wiU also relocate to this facih- ty in late 1994. For years, the Lanier family has been involved in Georgia Telephone Associa- tion activities, USTA and OPASTCO projects. Interstate/VaUey Telephone hosted OPASTCO's promo- tional van which traveled cross-country in 1992 to increase awareness of small independent telephone com- panies. Visitors were treated to a showcase of antique tele- phone sets, state-of-the-art equipment, industry litera- ture, photographs and video- tapes. In January, Interstate/ Valley Telephone sponsored a distance learning trial between two Alabama high schools in its service area. The trial has performed suc- cessfully. The company intends to expand this service in the counties it serves. Interstate / V alley Telephone's customer appre- ciation day denotes the com- pany's sincere desire to stay close to its customers and continue the tradition of supe- rior customer service. This attitude and tradition, cou- pled with the leadership of Cam B. Lanier, III, its chair- man; William H. Scott, III, its vice chairman and its presi- dent, insure the company's continued success. A Compbell Brown Lanier, Jr. (1925-1991), offectionofelv known ns "Mr. Com" or 'Com, Jr." wos instrumental in tiie growth and rievelopment of ITC Holtling Company ond the Interstote and Valley Telephone Companies. Outstanding pioneers, builders and leaders in the early development of Georgia telephony, the Lanier family properties today represent progress, innovation and a "quest" for the best that the future can offer Interstate/ Valley Telephone Company and its customers. necting the area to the outside world. Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Cook purchased the conapany in 1919, at which time there were almost fifty telephones with two exchanges; one in Nelson and one in Ball Ground. The Cooks both were bom and grew up in Fairmount, Georgia, and may have operated the Fairmount telephone company prior to its resell in 1920. Mr. and Mrs. Cook, who were hard-working, dedicat- ed telephone operators, evi- dently earned the admiration and respect of the community they served as reflected by the fact that on occasions when the company was devastated by weather and fire, volunteer friends and neighbors helped them rebuild. Mr. and Mrs. Cook began operating the business by opening the exchange at 7:00 a.m. and closing at 8:00 p.m. and later extended the hours from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. This schedule was in effect for a number of years. At the time of Mr. Cook's death in 1958, Mrs. Cook became president of the company and their son, James S. Cook, returned to Nelson to become manager. Today, their daughter, Polly Barrett, is a key figure in the opera- tion of the company. James S. Cook lost his life in an automobile accident in 1964 and since that time, Polly has leaned on Robert L. Turner, who has served as general manager from that time forward. The author visited Nelson-BaU Ground Tele- phone Company for the pur- pose of gathering information for this pubhcation. While on this visit, Robert expressed to me that he has thirty-seven years in the industry and is thinking seriously about the "r" word. PoUy did not want him to talk about retiring yet. The conversation also brought out the fact that nepotism could come to an abrupt halt, although Polly, Nelson- Ball Ground Telephone Company's first operation con- sisted of three telephones with lines strung between the dry goods store in Ball Ground, the depot in Tate, and a tele- phone booth in Nelson where the switchboard was located. This is impressive for the area, located deep in the mountains of north Georgia, considering that many remote areas across the country still did not have need for tele- phones. It is thought that the mining industry was the dri- ving force behind the early telephone service, as well as the long distance lines con- A Robert L. Turner, general monager, has 37 yeo5 in the inriustry. A Polly Barret reminisces obout the early days when her father, J. H. Cook, operated the compony. 124 who has no children, indicat- ed a nephew might be inter- ested sometime in the near future. Polly remembered, "I was ten years old when I learned to operate the switch- board (in our home) and later wished I hadn't. I had to 'watch it' when the operator went to supper or had to go somewhere. Sometimes it was really something. When anything interesting hap- pened in town, everyone would call the operator to find out the details. I worked a lot during the summertime. The board didn't stay very busy - maybe one call every five or ten minutes, and the other school kids would con- gregate in the room with me. Daddy would come in, see all of them, laugh and tell them to go home. One summer. Mother and Dad went to visit Dadd)/s older brother, and my sister, Sarah, and I came to operate the switchboard at night for a time. As I was in a deep sleep, the bell would go off at 3:30 - 4:00 a.m. every morning. I was afraid not to get up and answer, and each time it would be the same lit- tle lady. 'Hello, what ya doing? I'm just sitting around waiting for daylight.' She was lonely. "Mother and Dad had the first automobile in Fairmount. One Sunday morning the phone rang, and it was the depot calling to say the car had just arrived by train from Detroit. "Daddy was so civic- minded and he loved his church (Ball Ground Baptist Church). He was ordained as a deacon at twenty-one years old. Many times someone at church would teU him a sad story, and he would empty his billfold to them. When the church needed work, he'd send the telephone crew over to work." Robert chimed in, "Many's a time I saw that. Of course, that was before the Commission was in the pic- ture." Polly continued, "Mother will be ninety-nine years old in April, if she lives. She has been in the telephone business since she was nine- teen, and of course, the busi- ness was in her home part of that time. She was coming to the office every day until she was ninety-seven At ninety- (Nelson-Boll Ground's vice president ond general mnnoger) and Polly Barrett. six, I took her to the eye doc- tor one day and when she came out she said, 'Well, I'm enabled the company to pro- going to go buy a car tomor- vide enhanced 911 service row; he says I'm better.'" information on our Cherokee County subscribers. I noticed an attractive telephone directory on the An FMT-150 fiber optics credenza in her office and system was installed in asked for a copy. Polly told December, 1990. Fiber optics us they were proud of it and cable and central office equip- that when her Mother was ment, which is not lightning well, she had always chosen sensitive, give customers the directory covers. more reliable service with greater capabilities. All The present offices are Nelson-Ball Ground's toll and located in facilities built with FAS are operated on fiber REA loan funds. The original optics cable and equipment. Vidar digital equipment in Currently, the company is Nelson and Marble Hill is still working with connecting providing touchtone and cus- companies to build a fiber tom calling. It was obvious ring to eliminate most down- these folks compare favorably time in long distance service, with companies of their size. Three new buildings to By 1987, Nelson-Ball house remote subscriber Ground Telephone Com- switches in the Bethany, Mica pan/s commercial and plant and Bent Tree communities operations were almost 100 were completed in 1987. To percent computerized. An date, the company has con- IBM System 36 was installed structed buildings and added in 1987 to speed up billing RSS's in the Cove Road, Ball capabilities and outside plant Ground, Yellow Creek, work. Highway 372 and Handy Corner areas. These RSS's are A Telmapping system more economical to install installed in 1987 is updated than building outside cable daily with all outside plant plant to provide the one-party and customer changes. This service Nelson-Ball Ground land base system, in conjunc- Telephone is committed to tion with the System 36, has providing. 125 One of Nelson-Boll Gound's longtime employees, Chorlotte Ghorley. During 1989, the com- pany entered into partnership agreements with several con- necting companies to provide cellular telephone service in the areas known as Rural Service Area No. 1 (RSA No. 1) and Rural Service Area No. 2 (RSA No. 2). vided to the FAA in Hampton, Georgia, via Oglethorpe Mountain. In 1993, Nelson-Ball Ground Telephone installed an enhanced processor. This upgrade to central office hardware and software was required to allow its cus- tomers to select the long dis- tance carriers of their choice as of February, 1993. Ameri- can Digital Switching is cur- rently working to develop the eighth line group, which will ultimately give Nelson-Ball Ground Telephone the capa- bihty of serving 10,752 lines and 1,392 trunks. Major additions to com- mercial and plant buildings in Nelson were made in 1992 to provide space for the com- pany to increase its staff to its present total of twenty-one employees. The additional staff was necessary to handle the demands of serving cus- tomers totaling 4,523 at year- end 1993. With the installation of a digital access carrier (DAG) in 1992, Nelson-Ball Ground Telephone Company contin- ued to take necessary steps to modernize services provided to its customers. D4's have been installed to provide high speed data circuits to remote locations. Lottery circuits are provided to several rural cus- tomers. In conjimction with connecting companies, air traffic control circuits are pro- 126 PEMBROKE 19 TELEPHONE COMPANY. INC Pembroke Telephone Company was started in 1905 as Pembroke Telephone and Water Works by U. S. Williams. WrUiams was mayor of Pembroke and owner of the city water works. The water works was eventually sold to the city of Pembroke; however, Williams continued to operate the tele- phone company for a number of years. C. R. Sikes of Glennville purchased the company in 1940 and renamed it Sikes Telephone Company. Sikes was an early telephone builder in this sec- tion of Georgia and is beheved to have had a part in the creation of the Glennville Telephone exchange. Paul and Ivey Beardslee purchased the company on March 31,1946, at which time the magneto system served 112 stations off grounded lines. Then on November 29, 1951, Paul was electrocuted while taking down open lines that he had replaced with cable. The tragedy occurred when a wire went wild two blocks away and hit a power transformer. Ivey Beardslee contin- ued to operate the company with the help and support of her father, U. J. Bacon, and her brother, Gerald C. Bacon. A Stromberg Carlson loan in 1954 made it possible to purchase and install Stromberg Carlson equip- ment. The company convert- ed to dial in March, 1955, with over 300 stations m service. Pembroke Telephone Company was the first inde- pendent telephone company in Georgia to provide direct distance dialing (DDD) to its subscribers. A modern new office and centralized auto- matic message accormting equipment to provide DDD was possible with REA loan funds. The new dial service was converted on October 22, 1961. Nine hundred stations were served through new outside plant that was 80 per- cent buried cable. In July, 1974, Pembroke established a second exchange in Ellabell. Digital switching equip- ment was installed and con- verted by 1984. Keeping pace with industry development and technology, a 500 feet com- munications tower was built to accommodate paging. Pembroke's paging service covers a wide area, which is beneficial to other customers, as well as customers outside the service territory. The next challenge, which was met with success and enthusiasm, was cellular telecommunications. Two subsidiaries were formed Pembroke Cellular Company and Pembroke Cellular Company IIto bring this new technology to southeast Georgia. Once again the com- pany was a leader in the A Ivey Beordslee, President end industry as they pioneered a system from Vidalia to Savannah and from Savannah to the Florida line. It was originally one of the largest coverage areas in the south- east, having a coverage area that included the Savannah MSA and Georgia RSA Nos. 8,11 and 12. Today this southeast Georgia company has approx- imately 3,000 access lines out of two exchanges and has eighteen employees. Ivey Beardslee remains at the helm of the company she has so ably led to many successes. She is president and chairman. Robert M. Letcher is vice president and general manager. Pembroke Telephone Company continues to bring leading edge technology, ser- vice and quality to their cus- tomers. 127 a telephone company in Georgia, and the first approved for a telephone cooperative. During its first year of operation, Pineland Telephone purchased the Metter exchange. Ownership of the Metter Telephone Company passed from W. M. New, to W. S. Long, to Mrs. W. S. Long, to Kenneth R. Trapnell, to U. S. Jones and finally to Southeastern Company. The Southeastern Company operated the com- pany from 1928 until it sold the exchange to Pineland Telephone. E. R. Britt was involved in the creation of the coopera- tive and was named its first manager. He served as secre- tary and treasurer of the Georgia Telephone Association at one time. From that time forward, the cooperative would be in the vanguard of GTA affairs pro- viding able and dedicated leadership in many of its activities. Earl D. Kidd was Pineland's sec- ond manager dur- ing the period 1966 to 1974. He also took an active part in telephone pio- neer activities. Pinelond Telephone Cooperative's office in 1981. A. M. (Ben) Bennett, Pineland's general manager since 1974, held various manage- Pineland Telephone Cooperative was organized on September 8,1951, by a group of interested people from Emanuel and Candler Counties. The purpose of the co-op was to merge several small exchanges which had been struggling over the years to serve their communities. An insufficient revenue base prevented proper mainte- nance and expansion of the system. After a number of meet- ings, the board of directors approved the purchase of telephone exchanges at Midville, Adrian, Twin City and Stillmore. Memberships were obtained and equity cer- tificates sold to begin opera- tion of the cooperative. Money to purchase the four exchanges and begin con- struction of new facilities was made available by a $625,000 loan from the Rural Electri- fication Administration in March, 1952. This was the fourth REA loan approved for ment positions with Southern Bell Telephone Company and Walker County Telephone Company before joining Pineland. He was president of the Georgia Telephone Association during 1991- 1992. He was on the board of directors of the National Telephone Cooperative Association (NTCA)* from 1982-1991 serving two terms as president in 1989 and 1990. Pineland has stayed abreast of service demands, carried on a steady construc- tion program and kept pace with changing technology. A 480 foot tower was construct- ed in 1967 to fadhtate mobile telephone and paging sys- tems. As of March, 1982, every subscriber of the cooperative was being served with one- party telephone service with rates set in 1975. By the end of 1983, there were more than 13,000 tele- phones in ten exchanges serv- ing the rural communities of AHne, Pulaski, Meeks, Norristown, Scott, Covena, Nunez, Stillmore, Wesley, Garfield and Coleman Lake. The ten exchanges are: Metter, Adrian, Bartow, Cobbtown, Davisboro, Kite, Lexsy, Midville, Oak Park and Twin City. Mary Searson Hodges, office manager for Pineland almost from its beginning, retired in 1986. She played an active role in the Peach State Chapter Pioneers and served as the Dixieland Club presi- dent for several years. Pineland placed new technology fiber optic cables in its toll network from sever- al exchanges in 1988 and EAS fiber optic cable between its 128 own Metter and Twin City exchanges in 1989. All ten exchanges had been cut over to modern digi- tal electronic switchers by 1989. This same year Pineland sent help to South Carolina to aid in rebuilding damage done by Hurricane Hugo. Pineland entered the cel- lular business as a partner in three RSAs in 1990. The firm also constructed a much needed new office building in Metter, its headquarters city. By 1989, the cooperative had outgrown its office facili- ties constructed in 1954 when they had 1,400 subscribers and eleven employees work- ing in that location. Pineland now had 8,700 subscribers with twenty-four employees based in the main office. Plans called for adding 3,900 square feet of space, installing a drive-up window, and improving the overall appear- ance of the building. The attractive and stately struc- ture was completed in 1990. In an effort to help improve the quality of hfe in its service area, Pineland, in 1992, offered eight full schol- arships at local technical schools to students living in the Pineland Telephone Co- op service area or the Swainsboro area. The move was met with great favor by the schools and co-op mem- bers. During 1993, Pineland went equal access, apphed for an additional REA construc- tion loan, began construction on a new maintenance and store room building and con- tinued to look to and plan for the future. *The NTCA membership includes independent telephone companies and related businesses from all over the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the Association is noted throughout the industry for its excellent representation of the independent telephone industry before Congress, the REA, FCC and other government agencies with which the industry must deal. NTCA members have access to retirement programs, group health insurance and sav- ing plans, industry relations, edu- cation, training seminars, legal and technical assistance and vari- ous publications for up-to-date news and information. 129 PLANT TELEPHONE COMPANY Plant Telephone Company has tried over the years to maintain a neighbor- ly relationship with its cus- tomer base, while taking the company to a level of exper- tise that could not have been imagined by the early pio- neers of telephony. 100 percent private line and digital service. Plant main- tains seven central offices, two remote facilities, 1,645 miles of cable (95 percent buried cable) and employs fifty-six people with an aver- age age of forty-three years and an average tenure of 16.4 years. capacity in Willacoochee. At this time. Plant also began mstalling permanent genera- tors in all its exchanges. WUlacoochee and Lenox were the first offices to have the generators installed in 1986 with the Pinehurst gen- erator the following year. In May, 1987, the com- pany established the James P. Gleaton scholarship at Abraham Baldwin College to help fund the education of the children of the Plant Telephone employees. Today, Plant Telephone Company serves over 8,000 customers in seven exchange areas. All customers enjoy T Jimmy Gleoton was one of several businessmen to establish Southern Telephone Supply Company. L-R: Harold Bishop, Jim Kirk, Art Barnes, Glenn Bryant, Jimmy Gleaton, Hoi Salem, and Ned Chopin.Standord, Dovid Clark, John Sikes, ond Carl Speed. In 1986, the company was proceeding with its pro- ject to upgrade all seven cen- tral offices and installed a DMS-10 with a 706 line On June 16,1987, the Lenox exchange received an 800-line DMS-10, and Plant synchronized all central offices to the Southern Bell master clock. T William Lewis, James Rhyne, W. M. Timbednke, Eliza Gleaton (J. P. Gleaton's mother) ot Warwick Centrol office. James P. "Jimmy" Gleaton worked for Southern Bell ond also maintained Plant Telephone's facilities. A Group of Plont Telephone employees in 1961. L-R: Henry Hollis, F. B. McCrary, Shorty Henry, Willie Gay, Shelton Smith, J. W. Smith, T. L. 130 While the central office personnel worked toward the conclusion of the switch upgrade, the construction department was instalhng fiber in the Soperton exchange to meet Bell. The fiber cutover date was December 2,1986. The com- pany purchased a fusion spHcer, and Carlton Marchant did the first fiber splice on September 1,1987, on the Omega/Lenox fiber. The Omega/Lenox fiber was put into service on October 13, 1987. This fiber includes all HAS, toll and special circuits. These circuits have also been put on Bell fiber from Tifton to Albany, making the path from Omega to Lenox to Tifton to Albany a complete fiber path. The Axson remote office, a DMS-10 equipped with 320 lines, was installed on April 28,1988. On August 15,1988, the Pinehurst DMS- 10 was placed in service with 500-line capabiHty. This com- pleted the upgrade of the company's four-party system to all one-party. The upgrade process took ten years and cost over $6 mrUion. A major element of the one-party upgrade was the installation of NTI DMS-10 digital offices in all seven exchanges and REM digital remote offices in the Soperton and Pearson exchanges. While the outside pro- jects were nearing conclusion. Plant Telephone began automating many informa- tion processing tasks. In 1986, all service order activity was computerized. On January 5,1989, Georgia Power Company exercised the option to pur- chase the electric distribution system at Warwick, Georgia. This property had been leased to Georgia Power for the past twenty-five years. Upon com- pletion of this transaction. Plant officially changed its name from Plant Telephone and Power Company, Inc. to Plant Telephone Company, Inc. In May, 1989, the engi- neering department installed an engineering computer net- work (ECN). The network consisted of two SUN386i work stations, two SUN SPARC work stations and plotters. The ECN uses the Unix platform in conjunction with Autocad to support all mapping and drafting fimc- tions. In addition, the outside plant continuing property records (CPRs) have been added to the system allowing the implementation of vintage year accounting. On October 15,1988, Plant Telephone ordered an IBM AS/400 B35 computer to replace a line of Unisys com- puters m use since 1976. Over 400 COBOL programs were converted, including applica- tions for billing and collec- tions, customer history, directory information, tolls, deposits, cable records, line records, trouble records, inventory, sales, service orders, continuing property records, central office traffic analysis and others. The sys- tem was installed in late December, 1988, and conver- sion took place immediately after the May 21,1989, state- ments were completed. The first statements processed by the new computer were for the June 21,1989, billing cycle. Plant's staff did much of the planning and conversion. In the fall of 1989, the central office department added billing media conver- sion (BMC) to all the central offices for recording all sent paid toll traffic. By the end of January, 1990, all seven exchanges were converted. In addition, the central office department upgraded all seven central offices to 403.13 generics. In January, 1990, Plant installed LAMA and began billing its own 1+ and "800" calls. The company also agreed to billing and collec- tion contracts with U. S. Intelco Networks, Inc. for MCI and Sprint. This called for Plant to record and send originating "900" traffic to MCI and to receive, bill and collect for sent collect and "900" messages for both MCI and Sprint. This system was implemented in late 1990 and early 1991. In September, 1990, the company modified billing and collection programs to allow for bilhng and collec- tion of enhanced 911 services. Later that year the company converted paystations in all seven exchanges from semi- post pay to prepay, installed the first digital rural carrier in the Omega exchange and began converting its special systems circuits to digital data capabiUties. In July, 1991, many changes were brought to Plant and the industry statewide. The first change was the implementation of county-wide calling (CWC). This, in effect, is toll free call- ing for calls originated and terminated within the same county. The design of the toll network (multiple telephone companies with lines within a county and lines from one exchange serving more than one county) made implemen- tation complex and took the cooperation of all telephone companies across the state. Plant was one of the leaders in the success of the plan and helped the Georgia Public Service Commission and the Georgia Telephone Associa- tion develop methods and techniques to implement the plan. Twice a month, each company sends a record of each line and a code for its tax county to Southern Bell, who maintains a statewide data- base. Bell sends this data to each company twice a month. This data is used in rating programs to determine coun- ty wide calling. The implementation of the seven cents surcharge for dual party relay service also began at this time. (The dual party relay service provides telephone communications between deaf and hearing/ speech impaired customers who use telecommunications devices for the deaf (TDD) and all customers who use telephones. The system is funded by collection of a sur- charge from all telephone cus- tomers in Georgia.) In August, Plant agreed for U. S. Intelco to maintain its line information records for validation of collect and third number calls. During 1991, the compa- ny's engineering and con- struction departments continued deployment of optical cable and electronics in the toll network. By the end of the year, five of seven exchanges were providing foil service over fiber. The Pearson-Axson-Waycross portion was completed by the end of 1991, and the Willacoochee portion was completed in 1992, allowing the company to remove the majority of its toll from the microwave system. New recorded announcement machines were installed in the Soperton and Warwick exchanges to provide number identification to installer technicians and recorded announcements to customers when dialing num- bers that have been changed. In December, 1991, the original AS/400 computer was upgraded from a Model B35 with 24 million bytes of main memory and 1.8 billion bytes of disk storage to a Model D35 with 40 million bytes of memory and 3.2 bil- lion bytes of storage. This upgrade, allowing 65 percent faster processing of informa- tion, was necessitated by the increased volume of toll records and the expansion of the industry's standard-sized toll record from 310 charac- ters to 350 characters. Another significant part of this conversion was replacing aU terminals with personal computers. The personal computers allowed the use of word processing and spread- sheet applications company- wide and enabled central office and outside plant departments to communicate with the central office equip- ment via special software apphcations. The accounting department installed a Novell network to allow shared resources within the depart- ment while maintaining autonomy from the main- frame. At the end of 1992, Plant began its first significant work on the headquarters building since its renovation in 1982. The customer service office was remodeled to include another customer service win- dow and incorporate space previously used for retail phone sales. In order to position itself for the future. Plant Tele- phone Company is assisting local school administrators in the installation of parent- teacher help lines and partici- pating in the planning of distance learning projects. With independent telephone companies' dependence on the growth and health of rural America, these interactive dis- tance learning projects and an overall emphasis on educa- tion win enhance the opportimities for economic development in nnal areas and thus improve the eco- nomic quahty of life in rural Georgia. The incorporators of Planters Telephone Coopera- tive held their first meeting at the Jenkins Coimty Court- house on July 6,1950. By March of the follow- ing year (1951), the directors had obtained the necessary financing and completed pur- chase of the Effingham Telephone Company and had filed for an REA loan apphca- tion. Already off to a running start with purchase of the Effingham Company, which included two exchanges at Guyton and Pineora, the REA loan would provide the funds to launch the new cooperative into a truly successful begin- ning. At the annual meeting of members on August 14, 1952, it was announced that the REA construction loan monies, soon to be available, would be used to construct 100 miles of telephone line and to install the necessary switching equipment. This would virtually build a new system to cover Screven County and to expand to Effingham Coimty. Most of the planned facilities were put into service during 1955 and in July, 1956, a total of 699 subscribers were in service in Screven and Effingham Counties with a waiting hst for service of almost 200 subscribers. The 1960s saw steady growth and improvements in the system. Underground cable was installed and new switching equipment was put into service in new central office buildings. In 1962, a new headquarters building was completed in Newington and a warehouse was added several years later. At the end of 1966, Planter Telephone Cooperative served 2,001 sub- scribers. A major step was taken to provide all one-party ser- vice and the last exchange was upgraded in late 1976. At the end of 1976, the company was serving 3,613 subscribers and by late 1986, that number had grown to 4,985 access lines. The next step was all digital switching throughout the system. Don Godbee was an early manager. Fred Hodges has been manager of the cooperative since 1978. It is interesting that at the same time he also is general manag- er of the Bulloch County Rural Telephone Cooperative, Inc. A newspaper article dated March, 1978, stated that a unique contract was negoti- ated between the two co-ops for shared management. The Planters Co-op had been besieged by various problems including resignation of top personnel. This has proved to be a beneficial move for both companies. Hodges' management skills are enhanced by his concern for the area his com- pany serves and for its sub- scribers and employees. The following statement expresses it well. "Economic growth is the key for our rural communities to flourish in the next century. Screven and Effingham County need to keep the busi- nesses they have and attract new ones, so our young peo- ple will not have to leave the area in search of good jobs. "As one of the key play- ers in our service area. Planters Telephone will do its part by providing access to all the Information Age has to offer. Our communities can't afford to be left behind in this arena. To prepare for the challenges ahead, during the past decade we've made sub- stantial investments in the lat- est switching technology; our telecommunications infra- structure is constantly being upgraded. We have begun installation of fiber optic cable. Our plan is to connect all of our exchanges with this most up-to date transmission 133 system. Today, you as our valued customer enjoy service equal or superior to your urban counterparts. "Thus, if a company demands state-of-the-art telecommunications for its database service, it need not look elsewhere. We have the facilities to handle the demands of business in the 1990s and beyond. We fully understand that in a service economy, the success of many ventures depends more on the quick and efficient trans- fer of information over telecommunication highways than on railroads and inter- states. "Planters Telephone stands for more than just the bottom line. As your neigh- bors and friends, we have a stake in this area and its future. We believe in this area and pledge to act as a catalyst for future progress." The officers of the com- pany are George Mosley, president; Wilton Grooms, vice president; T. W. Lee, sec- retary/ treasurer; and direc- tors, Wilton Grooms, John C. Lacienski, T. W. Lee, Ray Mobley, George Mosley and Melvin Newton. A Plonters Telephone Cooperative moved into new office in 1991. EMPLOYEES WITH 25 PLUS YEARS At the beginning of 1993, the company served 5,878 subscribers with thirty- five employees through its five exchanges. Headquarters facilities are located in Newington, Georgia. Name Years Brenda S. Scott Thomas L. Pitts Emerson McKinney Edward R. Graham Thomas K. (Pete) Graham of Service 34 29 28 29 27 I Progressive Rural Telephone Co-op was orga- nized and incorporated in 1953 in Rentz, Georgia, where the main office remains today. It was set up of six small exchanges, four of which were extended service areas with each other. The following officers were elected to serve the com- pany: President C. J. Burch, Vice President L. K. Keen, Treasurer W. B. English, and Secretary J. B. Fordham, Jr. Leland Wells was the first manager of this cooperative; he began employment in August of 1956. In the early 1970s, one- party service was installed and all subscribers were pro- vided private line service while many other companies still had many multi-party lines. By the mid-1970s, extended area service was installed between all exchanges and to their Bell Company toll center at Dublin to give the company the third-largest free-calling service in Georgia at the time. In 1985, all exchanges were upgraded to digital with fiber optic to the toll center. 2.3. The company has just completed upgrading aU exchanges to provide CLASS features with SS7 capabilities. By the first of 1993, the company was serving 3,869 customers out of six exchanges with eighteen employees. Charles E. Mullis is general manager. Progressive Rural takes pride in their service and their system which they feel to be one of the very best in the state and in the nation. Their motto is "large enough to serve you, small enough to know you." Fifteen incorporators from Dudley, Chester, Rentz, Montrose, CadweU, Danville and Jeffersonville, with the help of the REA, pur- chased the exchanges in four small communities in rural middle Georgia and set about building a tele- phone co-op to serve the people of that area. They began by recruiting members and the first operation began in 1956 on open wire lines with ten-party service. Following a severe and destructive ice storm in 1963, the co-op installed buried cable to serve all subscribers but stiU had eight-party hues. Few companies can boast of having underground cable this early and certainly not all underground. The six exchanges cover an area of 500 square miles with a subscriber density of A SouHiern Bell tepresentetives visit Progressive Rural Co^rp otter the corrpany converted to digital switching in the late '80s. L-R: Rich Potsios, Southern Bell' industry relations: Ed Mullis, Progressive's general manager; and Carl E. Swearingen, Southern Bell's president-Georgin division. , o X AT X 1 ' a J ! T T~i .;x.. xizriz 135 Public Service Tele- phone Company is one of the oldest, privately owned tele- phone companies in the United States. Operated by four generations of the Bond family, it is also one of the most interesting telephone company scenarios in the state. Hiram Columbus Bond and Bessie Marie Moore were the first generation of the fam- ily to enter the field of tele- phony. They purchased the Roberta Telephone Company and later added the surround- ing towns of Reynolds, Butler, CuUoden and Lizella. It was not until 1954 that the opera- tions were all incorporated under the name of Public Service Telephone Company with home offices in Reynolds, Taylor County, Georgia. The earliest records and dates of the establishment of the telephone exchanges of the Bond family properties in Georgia are not available. However, the existence of the Reynolds exchange has been established as early as 1911. Roberta and Lizella were operating in 1923 and CuUoden in 1928. The Butler exchange was operating in 1929. These exchanges could have and probably did exist prior to these dates. Hiram Columbus Bond, Jr. was bom in 1906, and in 1932, he married Mintie Theus. They had two chU- dren, Don and Barbara. During the 1930s, Hiram spent much of his time chang- ing the "groimded" circuits to "metalUc" to eliminate the noise generated by the new electric co-op lines made pos- sible by the advent of the REA program. During the war years, with Uttle funds available for help, they worked in the office and out in the field dur- ing the dayUght hours and worked the switchboard after dark. H. C. spent the 1950s obtaining REA financing and completely rebuUt the system. He replaced the "magneto" equipment with "dial" equip- ment, extended service into the mral areas, and rebuilt the toll faculties. H. C. spent his adult life in the telephone business and passed his love of the compa- ny on to his chUdren who now represent the third and fourth generation of Public Service Telephone Company. During his lifetime he was a member of the Georgia Telephone Association, USTA, and various commuiu- ty, civic and reUgious organi- zations and was very active in the First Baptist Church of Reynolds where he served as a Simday school teacher, Sunday school director, dea- con and superintendent. Donald E. Bond and wife, Beverl)m, represent the third generation at the hehn of the company. FoUowing graduation from Georgia Tech, Don returned to lead the company from the primi- tive status of its times into the new world of technology, exceeding any expectations his father or grandfather could have conceived. PubUc Service Tele- phone Company today serves 1,050 square mUes of territory between Macon and Colum- bus, Georgia, and the fourth generation of the H. C. Bond famUy, sons of Don and Beverlyn, KeUy and Jim, are actively engaged in the opera- tions of the company. Don and Beverlyn Bond are well-known figures at the state and national level. Both have been active in the Georgia Telephone Associa- tion activities and Don holds a position on a number of national boards. He is past president of the Organization for the Protection and Advancement of Small Telephone Companies (OPASTCO). He is presently serving on the Board of Directors of the United States Telephone Association having been elected in 1991. He serves on the Board of Direc- tors of the National Exchange Carriers Association (NECA) and also serves on the Board of Directors of the Indepen- dent NECA Services. Public Service Tele- phone Company is one of the leading independent tele- phone companies in the nation and the Bonds are one of the most highly regarded pioneer famihes. Flint Cable TV, a wholly owned subsidiary, was estab- lished in 1981 to serve the cable TV needs in Butler, Re5molds and Roberta. Systems were built for each of In 1978, Utelwico, Inc., which served Talbotton and Geneva, was purchased and added fo Public Service. The facilities and persormel were later merged. This represent- ed a significant increase in both service and customer base for the company. 137 i these areas. The system in Buena Vista was purchased in 1985. All of Public Service's central offices were replaced by digital ones beginning with Lizella in October, 1987, with completion of conver- sion in September, 1988. Public Service Cellular, Inc., another wholly owned sub- sidiary, was established to serve the cellular telephone needs in Muscogee and Chattahoochee counties in Georgia and Russell County in Alabama. The first cell was operational in late September. De-scramblers and pro- gramming for satelhte users were added to the offering in early 1988. Cell Site 2 of Pubhc Service Cellular in North Columbus became operational in early fall of 1988. Public Service Tele- phone Company promotes the involvement of its person- nel in industry leadership and activities. Four of Public Service's employees have served as mayors of their respective towns. Two have led local or area development authorities. In addition, employee training is emphasized with a maximum of advancement offered. Historically, wherev- er possible, promotion within the company has been prac- ticed. This, along with excel- lent company benefits, has led to an outstanding record of employee loyalty with many staying with Public Service thirty years and longer. Public Service is proud of its employees. A most modem com- puter department affords Pubhc Service's customers of local exchange telephone facilities, cable TV and cellu- lar telephone the very best possible customer service. Public Service's offices and outside plant positions are staffed with the top per- sonnel. They provide excel- lent service to their customers and bring to them the most modem technological advances. The philosophy of the Bond family is that it is the personnel who keep every- thing working. Pubhc Service lives up to its name only if its people do their jobs. People are the key and Pubhc Service Telephone Company has some of the very best. 138 Quincy Telephone Company was founded in 1898 by A. T. Hearin and R. K. Shaw of Quincy, Horida. Preferring to devote their time to other business ventures, they soon sold the system to the Mitchell Nebraska Drew family of Madison, Florida, for the sum of one hrmdred dollars. The early years of the twentieth century presented unique and formidable chal- lenges for all small telephone companies; however, the Drew family managed to expand it operation and pro- vide efficient telephone ser- vice to its subscribers. Quincy Telephone acquired its Georgia holdings in 1960 when they purchased the Attapulgus exchange from Mary V. Quattlebaum of Donaldsville (Decatur County), Georgia. Represen- tatives of the company had met with the Georgia Public Service Commission four years earlier to discuss the possibility of purchasing this exchange and subsequently decided it would not be a profitable purchase in the foreseeable future. Mitchell N. Drew, 111, was president of the company at the time it was sold to Winter Park Telephone Company in 1970. FFe remained with the company until 1979 when he retired to pursue other business inter- ests, and the company merged with the United Telephone System-Florida Group. In January, 1983, the Quincy Telephone portion of United's Florida Operation was sold to Telephone & Data Systems, Inc. (TDS) headed by Leroy T. Carlson and his son, Ted. TDS has corporate headquarters in Chicago, Illinois, and operational head- quarters in Madison, Wisconsin. Donald R. Brown, a for- mer Quincy Telephone Company employee and senior vice president of TDS, was instrumental in the acqui- sition. FFe became the new president of Quincy Tele- phone, and Lila Corbin was named vice president and general manager. In 1984, Brown was elected chairman and Lila Corbin became president and chief opera- tions officer. Growth was constant during the '80s requiring extensive construction of cen- tral office and outside plant. With the advent of digital switching, the commercial and marketing departments launched intensive efforts to sell the new custom calling features. After forty years of operation, the company closed its toll center in 1988. By mid-1993 the compa- ny was serving 11,500 cus- tomers in Quincy, Gretna, and Greensboro, Florida, and Attapulgus, Georgia. Central office equipment was 100 per- cent digital and fiber had been installed to handle extended calling to Tallahassee from the Florida exchanges. Lila Corbin became the first female to be elected president of the Florida Telephone Association serv- ing with distinc- tion in 1989-90. She retired from Quincy Tele- phone in January, 1992. Ula Corbin, president end COO until her retirement in 1992. At the time of Mrs. Corbin's retirement, Daniel V. Gregory was transferred from operational headquarters in Madison, Wisconsin, to become general manager. In March, 1992, Gregory was elected vice president and appointed to Quincy's board of directors. FFe also serves on the board of directors of the Florida Telephone Association. ITie company continues its tradition of involvement m the industry at all levels local to nationaland in civic, educational and business affairs in its service area. Quincy Telephone Company's thirty-seven employees protect and pro- mote a heritage of dedication to community service that spans almost a century since 1898. Quincy Telephone Company is proud to be serv- ing customers in Attapulgus, Georgia, and pleased to be an active participant of the Georgia Telephone Association. 139 Ringgold Telephone Company celebrated its eight- ieth anniversary in 1992. Its founder, Jim Evitt, Sr., was prominent in the history of Georgia telephony. Not only was he a pioneer builder of this early telephone company, he also played a leadership role in the state association. The lore that surrounds the Ringgold Telephone Company is that when Evitt embarked on a venture to set up a telephone system, the locals ridiculed him with their logic that the town was so small they could just "holler" to each other. Not to be deterred by this critique, Evitt built the Ringgold Telephone Company in 1912 with con- nections between eight tele- phones. His first office was in the back of a vacant store building. The first telephone cable was installed in 1929 to serve approximately 125 cus- tomers. He also busied himself as the proprietor of the local drug store and acted as Clerk of Superior Court in Catoosa County for twenty-six years. The telephone office was later relocated over the drug store. Upon the death of Jim Evitt, Sr. in 1948, Jim, Jr., who had interned imder his father, assumed leadership of the company. By this time, the company consisted of 250 telephones. By 1950, Ringgold Telephone had become one of the first independent tele- phone companies in Georgia to switch from manual service to dial telephones. Expansion and increase of plant facfii- ty became the re-defined agenda. In 1959, the new home for fhe compa- ny became 306 East Nashville Street. This building is now known as the Evitt Building. Toll-free service between Ringgold, Georgia, and Chattanooga, Tennessee, was established in 1962 and direct long distance began in 1965. A new exchange was estabhshed in 1966. Alice Evitt Bandy, granddaughter of the founder, became president of the company in 1973 after the untimely death of her father. James Evitt, Jr. died as the result of an automobile acci- dent. The warehouse and plant department found a modem, new home erected in 1974. A major expansion pro- gram in the mid-1970s result- ed in a move toward one- party service, new electronic- switching equipment and 200 miles of new outside plant. In 1980, the business office relocated to its present facilityan attractive, new building at 123 West Nashville Street. This facihty also offers the added conve- nience of drive-through cus- tomer service. A Alice Evitt Bandy, president of Ringgold Telephone, cuts over stoteof-ttieort digital switch. Deregulation came to the telephone industry in 1982 threatening the careful bal- ance of shared revenues between long distance com- panies and the local exchange, which prior to deregulation subsidized the cost of basic local service. Approximately thirty-seven cents out of every dollar of long distance rev- enue flowed towards this sub- sidy. Tremendous growth in Catoosa County, coupled with rapid tedmological changes, forced the company into another major service improvement plan. Spending $3,368,400, the program of work included installation of a modem state-of-the-art digi- tal switch in both the 935 and 937 exchanges and deploy- ment of optical fibers connect- ing with South Central BeU and AT&T for long distance service. A new building was constructed on Three Notch Road to house the new digital switch for the 937 exchange. Ringgold Telephone Com- pany marked another signifi- cant milestone on December 12,1988, when Alice Evitt Bandy, company president, placed the first call over the new digital switch in the 937 office fo Ringgold Mayor Joe Barger in the 935 office. The old 937 switch was officially retired, and customers no 140 longer were required to dial an "8" before placing a call to Chattanooga. The '80s era brought more than technological changes for Ringgold Tele- phone Company as familiar faces retired from the compa- ny. These people had been synonymous with Ringgold Telephone Company for years; Mary Lynn Clark, the late Annie Lou McDaniel, Jamie T. Clark and Evelyn Robertson. Mrs. Jamie T. Clark had been with the com- pany since 1948 when the total customer base was 250. Alice Evitt Bandy, in the family tradition, has assumed a strong and positive leader- ship role with the company and the community. The bevy of newspaper articles the company submitted as subject and research material for this publication was impressive, to say the least. The company's and the employees' civic responsibili- ty and good corporate citizen- ship have been rewarded with recognitions, honors and awards that are an obvious reflection of the community's gratitude for good service and generous contributions. Pub- lic Relations Director Eaye Ward's vibrant personality and enthusiasm inspire many of the activities that present the company's positive image. John Selmon, executive vice president of the company since 1983, has almost forty- five years experience in the industry. John's career began as a groundsman on a con- struction crew, then manager of two telephone companies in Kansas and Missouri. Prior to coming to Ringgold, he was with the National Telephone Cooperative Association in Washington, D. C. for five years. His years of knowledge and experience in the many facets of the industry have been a strong force in the growth and devel- opment of Ringgold Telephone Company. Under his leadership, the company has grown from 5,500 cus- tomers in 1987 to 9,746 in December, 1993. In addition to many civic achievements, John is active in the Georgia Telephone Association. In 1981, in preparation for post-divestiture opportu- nities and in order to expand its marketing area, Ringgold Telephone Company formed a subsidiary called RTC Communications. RTC was formed for the sole purpose of providing business key sys- tems, PBXs, voice mail, auto attendant and related equip- ment and services to busi- nesses within a sixty mile radius of the serving area. In 1988, RTC entered into an agreement with AT&T to sell their equipment to businesses with eighty lines and under. In 1991, after three years of unprecedented success in marketing the AT&T product Une, RTC moved its offices to Chatta- nooga, Tennessee, in order to be more centrally located and to provide more exposure to 80 percent of its business cus- tomer base. RTC is now one of the largest authorized deal- ers for AT&T in the United States. In August of 1993, RTC was authorized by AT&T to sell its Definity PBX. This was due in large to the remarkable success with AT&T key sys- tem sales. In 1993, RTC also became an ARS for South Central Bell network services. Now, for the first time since divestiture, RTC could offer A first call is mode over new digital switch. the customer one-stop shop- ping for local lines, customer premise equipment and net- work and long distance ser- vices. This is unique in the telephone industry. RTC has four account executives to market prod- ucts, three technicians to install and service products, plus general management and administrative staff. RTC has continued to set precedents for the indus- try and create opportunities which will enable them to bet- ter serve their customers. A NTCA Legislotive Congressional reception is oltended by John Silk, GTA; Faye Word, Ringgold Telephone; ond Congressman George "Buddy" Dorrfen. SODTffilBElL Many outstanding, well prepared and documented preservation efforts have been made on behalf of the Bell Company, its founders and builders. "Arms Across Georgia" briefly reviewed this great story. What follows is a capsulized synopsis of the historical events that have taken place since that pubhca- tion and the break-up of the original Bell System. The court ordered break-up of AT&T on January 1,1984, touched off a water- shed of change in the telecom- munications industry, and an explosion of technology fur- ther spurred the transforma- tion of Southern Bell from a monopoly telephone compa- ny into a multimedia com- petitor. In 1988, Southern Bell had the nation's first commer- cial offering of ISDN (inte- grated services digital networks) in Atlanta. These telecommunication networks bring advanced intelligence to customers by providing simultaneous voice, data and video transmissions over the same line. In 1989, Southern Bell was the first regional local exchange company to convert to 100 percent electronic switching. The company's 467 switching offices are all- electronic which allows Southern Bell's customers to do everything from automati- cally forwarding calls to con- ducting three-way conference calls. These all-electronic offices are key to providing Information Age services to customers giving them more options and control over their telephone service and priva- cy. On January 1,1992, BellSouth Telecommuni- cations, Inc., was formed, but continues to do business as Southern BeU in North Carohna, South Carohna, Georgia and Florida and as South Central BeU in Kentucky, Termessee, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. Together these companies serve over 19.2 million access lines over one of the most modern telecom- munications networks in the world. Today in Georgia, Southern Bell's residential and business telephone Unes transmit data, voice and video images through a wide range of electronic, digital, fiber and compressed video technolo- gies. Since its estabhshment a decade ago, BeUSouth has positioned itself as a clear leader in creating and build- ing leading-edge technology platforms fo support a wide array of products and services that meet the varied needs of the company's customers. F. Duane Ackerman is the current president and CEO of BellSoufh Telecom- munications, Inc., while Carl E. Swearingen is the state president over Southern BeU's Georgia operations. i i ST. JOSEPH TELEPHONE & TELEGRAPH COMPANY Tefecommunications It can be said that St. Joseph Telephone & Tele- graph Company is a Florida telephone company, but we don't say that in Georgia. We proudly claim them since their service territory includes one exchange in Georgia. The company was estab- lished in 1924 in Port St. Joe, Florida, with one facility serv- ing sixteen subscribers. That same year, the company built an exchange in Chattahoo- chee, Georgia, which serves subscribers in both states. One long distance toll circuit was constructed to Port St. Joe with toll calls placed from Port St. Joe and Chattahoochee routed through Bainbridge, Georgia, exchange over lines owned by Southern Bell Telephone & Telegraph Company. In 1942, St. Joseph began operating its own toll center in Apalachicola for long dis- tance service and became part of the national inter-toll dial network. In 1954, the toU cen- ter was moved to Port St. Joe. New digital equipment was installed and cut over in 1983 in Port St. Joe and in 1984 in Blountstown. The company today has fourteen exchanges: Apala- chicola, Blountstown, Carrabella, Chattahoochee, Wewahitchka, Altha, Bristol, Tyndall Air Force Base, The Beaches, Eastpoint, FFosford, Alligator Point and Wakulla Springs. All the exchanges except Chattahoochee are in Horida. AH exchanges are now served by digital central office switches, including the tan- dem switch in Port St. Joe, with total digital connectivity. St. Joseph Telephone Company in 1993 had 23,876 access lines, 198 employees, and operating revenues of near $18.5 milhon. It is the fifty-fourth largest telephone company in the United States. The Chattahoochee, Georgia, exchange has 152 access lines. John H. Vaughan is general manager of this for- ward-looking telephone oper- ation which continues to serve as a partner bringing to its patrons the most reliable, new world telecommunica- tions technology. anniversary and the installa- tion of its 50,000th customer. Standard Telephone Company traces its begin- nings to the early days of the twentieth century when Marler C. York of Clarkesville purchased two telephone instruments, a coil of wire, and some insulators. One of the telephones was installed in his residence and the other in his store. Wires were strung on poles and trees to connect the two telephones, and voice communication began. Soon York's neighbors were asking permission to attach telephones to his line. As interest in telephone communications grew, York and eight businessmen estab- lished a company to provide service to the community. In September, 1904, a corporate charter was officially granted and a small switchboard was purchased and installed in the rear of York's store. Tele- phone lines were connected to this new "central," and Standard Telephone was in business with twenty-eight telephones in service. In 1905, the company purchased a 100-line magneto switchboard from Sumter Telephone Manufacturing Company and activated a local telephone system in nearby Cornelia. A line con- necting the switchboards in Clarkesville and Cornelia pro- vided the first extended area service between exchanges in the state of Georgia. By the end of the 1930s, this system served 419 customers in Habersham County. York's rates for telephone service were fifty cents for farm tele- phones, $2 for residents, and $2.50 for business lines. A Standard's 90lh anniversary logo. A Milton and Helen Sfewnrt, "Mr. and Mrs. Sfandord Telephone Compony." The compony and its employees suppoft community octi'vihes ond efforts. As York approached retirement age, his telephone A Celebrating the company's 80th anniversary in 1984 are Mr. and Mrs. Milton Stewort with founder M. C. M's doughter, Myrtice Rhyne, ond grandson, Walter Rhyne. "Everytime you make a call, our reputation is on the line." In the mountains of northeast Georgia, tliis well- known and often-heard phrase means a commitment to providing quality service and satisfying customers. Standard Telephone Compan)^s dedication to serving its customers and communities will enable it to stand the test of a large, var- ied and competitive service area. The company which has always been community ori- ented is a partner in improv- ing the quality of life in northeast Georgia. H. M. Stewart, Sr. was the inspira- tion for those who work to maintain that reputation today. In 1994, Standard Telephone Company cele- brates two important mile- stones; its ninetieth This switchboard wos in Clnrkesville when Stewart purchased the company in i 939. Lillie Lewis wos the operator. plant was in need of complete replacement. Having no one to take over the business, he decided to put the telephone company up for sale. Meanwhile, Milton Stewart, Sr., a native of Alabama, who had begun his telephone career in 1916 as a telephone operator for Southern BeU was pursuing his dream to own and operate a small tele- phone company. Learning that Standard Telephone Company was for sale, he and York came to terms on the purchase and Stewart assumed ownership in 1939. When commercial financing was virtually non- existent, Stewart's first objec- tive was the complete rehabilitation and enlarge- ment of the outside plant. The effects of the Depression caused improvements to be done on a piece-meal basis out of cash flow, savings from his salary and a short-term loan from a local bank. By early 1943, most of Clarkesville's outside plant was new and capable of ren- dering top quality service. About this time the war effort had caused a shortage of material and manpower which brought construction of commercial telephone plant to a standstill for five years. By 1945, Stewart began moving toward enlarging Standard Telephone's base of opera- tion by purchas- ing the Dahlonega Telephone Company from R. C. Meaders. Meanwhile, he was mentally staking out the surrounding counties of Dawson, Towns, Union and White believing that 2,500 to 3,000 telephones would support a minimal operations base. Next he established a local telephone exchange in Hiawassee which had been without service since a small system operat- ing there had been closed and abandoned. Towards the end of 1945, Stewart added the Cleveland exchange, pur- chased from Ellis C. Turner, bringing the total in five exchanges to 883 telephones. the 1950s, Stewart added Demorest, Helen, Dawson- ville, and Young Harris to his system. By the close of that decade. Standard had over 5.000 telephones, and all nine outlying central offices had been converted to dial opera- tion. The activation of local telephone service in Batesville, Tallulah Falls, and Suches rounded out the exchanges to thirteen, and by the mid-1960s, the company was providing service to 10.000 customers in one of the most scenic and promising geographical areas in Georgia. A The Phone Cor, built io 1981, travels to fairs, festivals and parades throughout northeast Georgia. The bright orange, fiberglass telephone shell mounted on a Volkswagen dunehuggy chassis ottrocts attention wherever it goes. A Employees ore tested for o commerciol drivers license. In 1946, the company issued the first telephone directory circulated north of Atlanta that contained "yel- low pages." In 1949, Blairsville was introduced to local telephone service, and by the end of that year, 145 telephones were operating. In In 1969, Standard Telephone became the second telephone company in the United States to install and furnish time, temperature and weather forecasting service around the clock. Direct dis- tance dialing was inaugurated throughout Standard's territo- ry in 1971, the same year the 145 The Blairsville exchange employees ate personally committed to providing high quolily telephone service and excellent customer service. A Dean and Koy Swanson, Milt and Corolyn Stewart nt dedicolion of the H. M. Steworf, St. Room nt the Union County Chomber of Commerce building. company installed its 20,000th customer. In 1977, the com- munity of Big Canoe was added, and the company cele- brated its 30,000th customer. In 1978, the company opened a toll center in Cornelia, to handle long distance calls using their own telephone operators. Recognizing the need to adequately plan for succes- sion within the corporate structure, Jim Johnson came to Standard Telephone Company in March, 1987. In June, 1991, Johnson became the first person outside the Stewart family to become president of Standard Telephone Company. On June 9,1988, H. M. Stewart, Sr., chairman emeri- tus, passed away at the age of ninety-one. Mr. Stewart was an admired, dignified and distinguished gentleman, whose reputation as a tele- phone man and church man are a lasting tribute. In 1984, he wrote a his- tory of Standard Telephone Company entitled "A Vivid and Compelling Dream." It is the wonderful story of a true telephone pioneer's dream to own and operate his own tele- phone company. A highlight for Standard Telephone Company came in 1993 when the company was called on to provide tele- phone service for the President of the United States. Standard's men and women will long remember the pride they felt in their ability to meet the challenge. The story unfolds like this: President George Bush was stopping in Cornelia, home of the Big Red Apple, on a whistle stop tour of Georgia during his re-election campaign. On October 15, an advance team of the Secret Service and White House Com- munications Staff met with city officials and other towns people to set things in motion for the visit. Representatives from Standard Telephone Company were briefed on communications require- ments and the company's men and women got busy. Telephone lines were readily available in the Cornelia central office served by a DMS-200. Automation streamlined 146 A big doy for tfie city of Cornelin; o big job for Sfondnrd Telephone employees. the task of creating orders and assigning facilities for eighty lines. The construc- tion crew set a temporary pole near the Cornelia Depot, the communica- tions hub for the Secret Service and media. Connections were made in the frame room and tech- nicians installed inside wiring, connected jacks, and tested phone lines. Standard Telephone's men and women were also involved in other aspects of the prepara- tionanswering calls at City Hall about the President's visit, setting up bleachers and a stage near the raihoad tracks, deck- ing the town with red, white and blue banners, and, in general, sprucing up the town. On October 20, banners were hung, entertainment was fine-tuned, posters were ready for the crowd, designated areas were roped off, the Secret Service was in place and the final testing of tele- phone facilities was com- plete. It was a typical fall day in the mountains of northeast Georgiaclear, cool weather and trees splashed with orange, red and brown color. Children enjoying a school holiday for this special event, specta- tors and Bush sup- porters started gathering early for the train's arrival expected around 4:00 p.m. When the "Spirit of America" rolled by the Big Red Apple and stopped beside the Depot, excitement was at a fever pitch as President Bush stepped out on the train platform, waving and doing the tomahawk chop (a sign popularized by Atlanta Braves baseball fans). Media people traveling with the President hurried off the train to take their places on the press stand to document this historic event. Telephone techni- cians extended a 25 pair cable to the train for instantaneous communi- cations while it was stopped. Standard Telephone would later be commended by the CBS advance team for having all communication facili- ties operational in such a short amount of time. Banners waved and the crowd cheered as the President spoke about family values, character, a balanced budget and, looking at young people assembled beside the tracks, called them the hope of the nation. His last words were, "I can't tell you what this has done for my spirits. God bless you all." While telecommunica- tions is in transition. Standard Telephone's infrastructure of digital switching and fiber optic inter-office facilities is prepared to address its cus- tomers' needs as the company moves into the next century. 147 A Standard's total quality concept involves employees in team efforts to continuously improve customer sen/ice. .;pfw . ' -S )\f fc- fln 4j.' JiW- aff<' i-hnn h-,., . n . Am Monthly and quarterly company publications, a speakers bureau, the H. M. Stewart, Sr. Pioneer Club (merged recently with the Bruce Williams Future Pioneer Club), a Quarter Century Club, in-house train- ing programs, a focus on total quality for internal and exter- nal customers, an extensive wellness program, and a credit union are some of the mechanisms used by Standard Telephone to meet the needs of its employees and its customers. An ongo- ing program of planning and building is a part of the com- pany's philosophy. In addition to extensive construction and advanced technology, the company now has 911 and E911 service completed in some counties, several cable TV franchises and cellular partnership oper- ations. Standard Telephone serves its communities by offering advanced communi- cation and by donating time and resources, providing jobs, and taking an active leadership role to help the region prosper. The compa- ny's 297 employees feel a deep sense of gratitude for the privilege of being a com- munity partner and a strong feeling of responsibility to help make hfe better in the north Georgia mountains. It took teamwork fot Stondord's men and women to wentlier ttie gteat blizzatd of '93 when high winds, sleet, snow nnd bitter cold weather swept throgh the nteo. Technicians were oicTifted by nelT copter to the top of Btossfown Bold, the highest peok in Geoigin, to start emergency generators and reestoblisb long distance sen/ice foe Towns nnd Union Counhes. 148 STATESBORO ^ TELEPHONE COMPANY Statesboro, in southeast Georgia, may not have been one of the most Hkely places for one of the earhest tele- phone companies in the United States, but thanks to J. L. Mathews, it was. Mathews moved to Statesboro as an agent and telegraph operator for the Central of Georgia Railroad in the late 1890s, stUl very early in the development stage of the telephone industry. While the patent was granted in 1876, and expired in 1893, many people still thought of the telephone as something they might never have. With knowledge and exposure to Western Union's telephone operations, Mathews had an interest in estabhshing a telephone com- pany. He built the first tele- phone exchange in Statesboro with the help and support of James A. Brannen, John W. OUiff, and William S. Preetorius. The exact dates the company was started is unknown, but when petition for charter was filed on February 6,1901, it was already operating and had thirty-five customers and ser- vice was being extended into Bulloch County. James A. Brannen was the first presi- dent of the company and Wilham S. Preetorius was the first manager. Mathews con- tinued in his job with the rail- road company. By the end of the first year, the company had many miles of lines which ran along the towns and stations of the Central of Georgia Railroad. The exchange in Statesboro had about fifty subscribers. The towns of Register, Parrish, Pulaski, Metter, CUto, Dover, Stilson, Brooklet, Woodbum, Bhtchton, Sylvania and Cuyler were connected by 1902. In order to cormect Savannah, copper wire was strung to that city in 1903. In 1904, these officers and directors of the States- boro Telephone Company were elected: J. A. Brannen, president; J. L. Mathews, sec- retary; J. A. Brannen, director; J. W. Olliff, director and W. S. Preetorius, director. By this time, the company had about 100 subscribers. The compa- ny continued to prosper and expand, requiring corporate restructuring, new office facil- ities, and new and better equipment. C. B. Mathews, brother of J. L., became involved in the company as a stockholder in 1909 and was later named assistant manager. Upon the death of J. A. Brannen, founder and president, C. B. became president of the com- pany. Charlie Joe, C. B.'s son, had grown up in the tele- phone family environment and spent summers working at the company. He graduat- ed from Georgia Tech in Atlanta in 1940 and returned to Statesboro to work at the telephone company. Charlie Joe Mathews, former owner-operator of Statesboro Telephone Company, an outstnnrling Geargia telephone pioneer. Following C. B. Mathews' death in 1946, Charhe Joe was elected to the board of directors and became general manager. The area continued to experience growing pains, but the demands were met with constant effort by the man- agement of the telephone company. In 1954, an open house was hosted to celebrate new facilities and conversion to dial equipment. Also in 1954, Charhe Joe (succeeding J. L.) was elected president and his mother was elected vice presi- dent. Others who have served on the board of directors are: James Bland and Henry Bhtch, D. B. Franklin (1961) Eddie Bibisi (1965) and C. R. Pound (1982). A microwave system that was part of the state-wide BeU system was inaugurated in 1963. By 1968, pushbutton dialing equipment was installed and in 1969 direct distance dialing was added. The next years were filled with keeping pace with industry developments and 149 changes including: 2,000 line Stromberg Carlson ESC office, mobile telephone system and paging and digital PBX's. Harry S. Mathews, Charhe Joe's son, followed in his family's footsteps when upon graduating from college in 1978, he was named to the board of directors and became a vice president of the company. By this time equip- ment was being replaced, and the company was responding to deregulation within the industry by setting up tele- phone sales operations. A second son of Charlie Joe, Joe E. Mathews, was elected to the board of direc- tors and named as vice presi- dent in 1983. At this same time, Harry was elected presi- dent and C. J. became chair- man of the board. Charlie B. Mathews, the third son, became vice president in 1984. In 1985, a new DMS was cut into service, all EAS routes were converted to T-carrier and 0-1- dialing and custom calling features became avail- able to customers. A Harry, Charlie, and Joe Mathews seen here with their wives, have each ployed octive roles in Georgia Telephone Association. Statesboro Telephone Company is one of the most outstanding member compa- nies of the Georgia Telephone Association. J. L. and Charlie Joe were two of the founders of telephony in Georgia. Harry, Joe and Charlie became active in the Association and took leader- ship roles. The company was recently purchased by Rochester Telephone Company, headquartered in Rochester, New York, which had previously acquired Eairmount Telephone Company in Eairmount, Georgia. Harry, Joe and Charlie continued working in the company under manage- ment agreements rmtil April, 1994. Statesboro Telephone Company falls into Rochester Telephone's southern region headquarters in Atmore, Alabama. The tremendous growth occurring in Statesboro with Georgia Southern University makes market opportunities for information age service almost equal to metropolitan areas of the state. Rochester Telephone is proud to be a part of Georgia independent telephone industry as the independent companies work together to provide the net- work to assure all customers in the state access to these ser- vices. i William R. (Bill) Tatum is president and manager of the company which serves parts of Dade and Walker Counties in the most north- western part of Georgia. It is, in fact, the point where Georgia meets the state lines of Alabama and Tennessee, which provided the only access to the area at that time. In the early 1900s, open wire Hnes were strung on locust poles long before roads were built into the isolated area by Governor Rivers' administration. Telephone service was later extended from Trenton to Lookout Mountain to Sand Mountain. The company, known as Simpson Telephone Com- pany, had fifteen customers and was owned and operated by WiUiam Simpson. By the early 1920s, the number of telephone subscribers had grown to twenty or twenty- five. Following Mr. Simp- son's death, Mrs. Simpson continued to operate the com- pany from an old store build- ing until she sold it to J. W. Gray. Mr. Gray moved the equipment to a service sta- tion/grocery store and renamed the business "Trenton Telephone Company." He operated the business until 1950 by which time the station count had grown to sixty. Mr. Tatum purchased the company in 1950 and by 1953, the number of cus- tomers had doubled. Mr. Tatum took on partners and incorporated with Jules A. Case and Henry Gross on April 17,1953. Then in 1964, Mr. Tatum and Mr. Case pur- chased Mr. Gross's stock in the company. Mr. Case's part ownership is now in the hands of his estate. News of the REA pro- gram brought encouragement to formulate a plan for updat- ing the company's operations and preparing for REA loan funds to improve and extend the service area. This compa- ny is the only existing tele- phone company in Georgia to have fully repaid its REA loan. In subsequent years, the company and area continued to experience steady growth. Trenton Telephone Gompany boasts of being one of Georgia's first companies to install 0+ dialing equip- ment. This move toward the latest industry technology is indicative of the company's commitment to provide supe- rior quality service. Subscribers are served by nineteen employees from three exchanges, Trenton, West Brow and Rising Fawn. Trenton Telephone Company Growth Year 1962 1975 1987 1992 1993 Number of Subscribers 1,225 2,900 4,000 4,612 5,003 151 a WAVEEYHALl TELEPHONE COMPANY, INC A Mary Eunice Jones, president and chairman of the Board. Julian T. Jones' vision of providing excellent telephone service to the citizens of Waverly Hall continues to be reahzed as Waverly Hall Telephone Company records its history. Jones organized the company in 1944 to serve the people living within the city limits of Waverly Hall. He was the sole proprietor of Waverly Hall Telephone until its incorporation in 1964. Officers and stockholders of the corporation were: Julian T. Jones, president; Ethel H. Jones, vice president; and Mary Eunice Jones, secre- tary/treasurer. Mary Eunice Jones became president and chair- man of the board in 1975 fol- lowing the death of Julian Jones. She takes a personal approach to managing the business and communicating with her customers. This leadership style has fostered the growth and stability of the company as it plays a sig- nificant role in the develop- ment of the community. The company's switch- ing facilities have kept pace with changing technology as it has evolved from the North Electric all-relay automatic CX-60 equipped for forty lines to today's Stromberg Carlson digital office capable of providing enhanced ser- vices to its customers. Digital subscriber carriers have been utilized in areas where unex- pected growth has occurred. Party lines were ehmi- nated in December, 1979, thus fulfilling one of Julian Jones' long term goals. Touch-tone service was initiated in 1982. Mary Eunice Jones plays an active role in GTA functions and has lasting memories of the early activi- ties of the Association and her friends who had found- ing roles in the development of the Association and the industry, many of whom are no longer with us. She had the distinct pleasure of serv- ing as president of the Georgia Telephone Association during 1987-88. During her term of office, she recalls the Association experi- enced a big loss upon the death of Milt Stewart, Sr. "To award the family a plaque of appreciation seemed so small and yet so magnanimous for such a great man," she stated. Waverly HaU Tele- phone Company recognizes that its customers are more comfortable seeing familiar faces, so it feels forhmate to have retained the same employees since 1983. A new employee has been added in the bookkeeping department and one in outside plant. The company reports a steady growth rate of about five percent per year as it con- tinues to seek new ways to work in the competitive envi- ronment. Coimty-wide call- ing has been implemented, and the next step is equal access. Whatever the future of telecommunications, a new generation of the Jones family is in the wing to help keep reasonably priced telephone service for the people of Waverly HaU. 152 Washington, Georgia, got its first telephone service in 1902 when Oliver S. Dyson built an exchange there. In 1919, Dyson sold Washington Telephone Company to W. L. New, former owner of the Metter Telephone Company. New operated the company for five years before selling out to Continental Telephone Company. Dyson became the owner a second time when he purchased the company from Continental in 1954. He also purchased the Lincolnton Telephone Company and began operations as the Wilkes Telephone & Electric Company. Dyson had already owned and operated the tele- phone facilities at Tignall for a number of years and also maintained a co-owned toll line to Washington and Elberton. Having obtained REA loan funds, the company was able to build new facili- ties and convert all operations to dial in 1953. Following Elyson's death, ownership of the com- pany passed to his children. George E)yson, Sr., current president of the company, is Ohver S. Dyson, Sr.'s only child with ownership interest in Wilkes Telephone & Electric Company. In 1983, Wilkes Tele- phone & Electric placed a Stromberg digital switch into service, and all party lines were converted to private lines. This host switch, locat- ed in the Washington exchange, has been upgraded to the 17.3 release enabling Wilkes Telephone & Electric to offer all the new CLASS features, such as caller ID and special call blocking. This release also provides equal access capability, and the company plans to convert to equal access by September, 1994. The ultimate goal of an ongoing fiber optic program started in 1988 is to replace outdated copper wire and provide a fiber optic Sonet ring around the company's serving area. Completion of the Sonet ring is expected by fourth quarter 1994. Wilkes Telephone & Electric has an AT&T fadhty POP in the Washington officeuncommon among independent companies which offers twenty-four hour operator services for its affiliate, Wilkes Long Distance Service, and other toll providers. The company has diver- sified in the last few years and formed Dycom Holding in an effort to remain competitive in a rapidly evolving indus- try. Wilkes Telephone and Electric serves Wilkes, Lincoln and Taliaferro Counties and has exchanges in Crawfordsville, Lincolnton, Metasvihe, Rayl, Tignall and Washington. Headquarters facilities are located in Washington, Georgia. The company employs sixty-three people and had 9,595 cus- tomers as of January, 1993. George Dyson, Sr. and his very capable staff look for- ward to providing the best service possible to its cus- tomers for many years to come. 154 George H. Carswell, III, heads the Wilkinson County Telephone Company. He is president and general manag- er of the company which serves territory in the heart of the state. In fact, if you drew Hnes to find the exact center of Georgia, it would probably be in Wilkinson County. The company which now has exchanges in Irwinton, Gordon and Toomsboro was started in Gordon by the Brooks family. In 1949, the company came into the hands of George Henry Carswell and two partners, Wilber Council and Ralph W. Culpepper. Culpepper was at this time elected president of the com- pany. In 1954, they incorpo- rated as Wilkinson County Telephone Company, Inc. Following the death of Culpepper, Council served as president. Upon Council's death, Julia Porter Carswell assumed that position. The company serves its 3,690 January, 1993 figure) customers out of three central offices. George Carswell com- pleted his education, had a tenure in the Navy, a success- ful career away from his hometown and then returned to the family telephone com- pany. He brought with him the experience and knowl- edge needed to serve as busi- ness manager and secretary. He then followed his mother, Julia Porter Carswell, as presi- dent of the company. George has played an active role in the GTA organi- zation, having served in a number of positions and assumed the presidency for the year 1986-1987. Under his leadership, the Wilkinson County Telephone Company, Inc. has committed to meeting the communication needs of their customers. 155 The Development of Significant Industry Issues I A new interactive, multi-media infrastructure is developing in Georgia as in all the major populated areas of the United States. Technology not only is advancing rapidly, but that which has been available for years is now poised and ready to be applied. USTA, OPASTCO, GTA and industry trade publications have officially alerted us to the fact that we are on the threshold of a new era of telephony. Fresh terms and acronyms are swimming around. Hot new issues continue to invade and complicate the scene. One of the most volatile is the telco/cable/computer debate. It is not simply about an alternative system for deliv- ering information to the home. It concerns the ability of the pubhc switched network to evolve into a broadband elec- tronic super highway which will play a central role in the economic future of our country. The telephone companies can and wiU be major role players in expediting the universal deployment of technology. For the purpose of this written account, we presented ourselves with the challenge of selecting the ten most out- standing topics in this explosive technological arena. After interviewing and surveying the Association membership, the following were chosen as the ten most significant topics in the industry today. Some of the "movers and shakers" and present-day pioneers will honestly, intellectually and boldly share their perspective, in their own words, from their field of expertise and maybe a little from their field of dreams. This shall serve as a historical record by qualified and knowing people. THE TEN MOST OUTSTANDING TOPICS OF THIS EXPLOSIVE TECHNOLOGICAL ARENA CHRONICLED BY INDUSTRY LEADERS Divestiture Digital Conversion Technological Convergence Wireless Technologies Cable Integration Infrastructure Sharing Global Competition Regulatory Reform Deregulated Activities Redefining Universal Service Don Bond Public Service Telephone Company Mansfield Jermings Hawkinsville Telephone Company George H. Carswell, III Wilkinson County Telephone Company Betty Gleaton Plant Telephone Company Milt Stewart Standard Telephone Company Dean C. Swanson Standard Telephone Company Jim Blackburn, Consultant AT&T, Retired J. Lee Barton Hart Telephone Company Albert Harrison Ellijay Telephone Company Glenn E. Bryant Coastal Utilities, Inc. 156 DIKESTITURE TEN YEARS UTER Coming To Terms With New Directions In The Industry By: Don Bond, President/General Manager Public Service Telephone Company January 1,1994, was the tenth anniversary of the breakup of the Bell System by Judge Greene. In 1984, many of us operating small telephone companies thought that our family business would be severely hurt. Yet, most of us sur- vived while those who sold did so because they thought the "pine tree was as tall as it would get." Concurrently with divestiture, on January 1,1984, the state pool was broken apart. Namely, the inter-LATA portion became a "bill and keep" system with company specific access charges while the intra-LATA portion remained a pool with Southern Bell Telephone Company being the pool adminis- trator. The intra-LATA pool lasted until December 31,1992, at which time an access charge-based "bill and keep" system became its replacement. Southern Bell became the primary carrier in each LATA with many interexchange carriers (IXCs) participating on an inter- LATA basis. To replace the pools (compa- nies settling on cost and average schedule), a new system of tariff- based charges to allow us to recover our cost of access was developed. There were two elements of this cost recovery; namely, carrier common line (CCL) and traffic sensitive (T/S) tariff elements. This resulted in a very complex tariff. However, every telephone company in the state was able to install and bill by this new cost recovery system. This was truly a remarkable feat for the industry. The disappearance of the Southern Bell/AT&T managed set- tlement process has resulted in a spirit of cooperation between com- panies and a more unified solution to industry problems. With divestiture the FCC creat- ed the National Exchange Carrier Association (NECA) to administer settlements in the interstate arena. All wire line carriers were partici- pants in the NECA common line pool on January 1,1983. They remained there until April 1,1989, when the bigger companies left the NECA pools. Half the big compa- nies were in the T/S pool in 1984 with all of them exiting in October, 1985. In concert with the exodus, the "Bigs" moved into price caps and the "Smalls" received long term support, both in agreement with these compromises brought on through the Unity 1-A process. Along with the exodus of the big companies, the size of NECA diminished. However, with the phase-in of the universal service fund, the broad acceptance of life line assistance and the recent intro- duction of TRS, the size of NECA has stabilized and wiU, in all UkeU- hood, increase in size as each of these support mechanisms continue to grow. As long as there is a uni- versal service fund, life Hne assis- tance, and average schedules, there will need to be a NECA. In the past ten years, there has been a number of small companies that have sold, but the small compa- ny sales are not what has turned out to be the "mother of aU Georgia acquisitions;" namely, ALLTEL's purchase of GTE/CONTEL in our state. This consolidation will further influence the acquisition of small and mid-size companies in our state for the next decade. No doubt, we will continue to see the "Smalls" dis- appear. However, the mid-size and the BOCs (BeU Operating Companies) wiU be the pacesetters in mega-mergers and deal making. As this trend continues, we wiU see more consohdation of companies into holding companies composed of LECs (local exchange carriers), CATV (cable TV), ceUular, entertain- ment and manufacturing, both at home and abroad. As competition increases in our industry, the risks to the investor will become greater and greater as some of the deals turn sour. However, the chance of reward will encourage more and more take-overs. Divestiture has accomplished one beneficial consumer byproduct - telephone rates have stabilized. The BOCs through early retirement pro- grams with price caps and incentive plans continue to flow savings into price reductions. The small compa- nies, through economies brought on by technology improvements and productivity gains, continue to cut their cost and reduce their redun- dancies. All of this will continue as each of us become more price com- petitive to meet the competition. Divestiture has been a prime mover in technology advancement and state-of-the-art infrastructure deployment. The companies have been released from the "AT&T con- trolled" infrastructure development strangle-hold that existed pre- divestiture. Now, with each company oper- ating independently and with the pressure of competition, the most advanced technologies are being deployed. As has been predicted, we are seeing voice communication move away from the exchange carrier's twisted pair copper wire to the cellu- lar companies' .9 GHz radio spec- trum and later to the 2 GHz PCS radio spectrum. While at the same time, we are seeing the exchange car- riers advance rapidly into broad- band services through digital technology replacing antiquated analog broadband. The services our telephone companies offer in the year 2000 will look very different from the services we offer today. Increased competition has not been brought on directly by divesti- ture. However, the Tele-Communi- cations, Inc. - Bell Atlantic merger could not have been conceived years ago. Since TCI operates in South Georgia, an accelerated deployment of infrastructure in competition with the local telephony loop is very like- ly. This will put Bell Atlantic in com- petition with those of us serving common areas. The CATV industry has changed from what we once knew. This "born again" industry controlled by regional BOCs could produce a formidable new type of competition. For those companies having vision and determination, the next ten will be exciting and can produce handsome rewards in a new emerg- ing communications industry. DON E. BOND Don Bond is the third generation of his family to provide telephone service to the middle Georgia area. His grandfather started the company in 1911. Bond graduated from Georgia Institute of Technology with a BSEE degree in 1958. He served as a com- missioned officer in the Signal Corps, U. S. Army from 1958 to 1959 and then in the Army National Guard from 1960 to 1973. He is past president of the Organization for the Protection and Advancement of Small Telephone Companies and presently serves on the United States Independent Telephone Association Board of Directors and the National Exchange Carriers Association Board of Directors. Since 1973, he has held the position of president/general manager of Public Service Telephone Company in Reynolds, Georgia. He is also president/general manager of Pubhc Service Cellular, Inc. and Hint Cable T.V., Inc. Bond and his wife, Beverlyn, have three children and one grandson. His two sons are actively involved in the operation of the company. 158 DIGITAL COMMIICATIONS IN GEORGIA An Independent's Conversion By: Mansfield Jennings, President/CEO Hawkinsville Telephone Company Archived in the lobby of Hawkinsville Telephone Company is a plaque that reads as follows: Congratulations to the Employees and Management of the Hawkinsville Telephone Company for over 60 Years of Progressive Telephone Service to Middle Georgia and on the Public Dedication of ITS Electronic Switching Center. H. M. Stewart, Jr., President Georgia Telephone Association March 3,1974 Little did many of us in the industry know, as this nation's first Electronic Class 4 local and toU cen- tral office was placed into service, just what future was awaiting us. Basically, this switch was one with a wired program, digital front-end and analog matrix talk patha very early version of the change that the industry faced only twenty years ago. Prior to the very short time electronic switching was displacing step and crossbar switching, pure digital switching was only a con- cept. The big problem seemed to be the talk path. There was no trouble with digitizing the front end; nor was it difficult to place it under a common control with expanding software to direct the workings. Why a short time? Because in less than the usual thirty years of life for a central office switch, Sromberg Carlson installed a fully digital, stored program controlled DCO in Coastal Utihfies' Richmond Hill exchange in July, 1977. This was the first digital exchange in the country. So you see, digitizing Georgia began very early in the evolution of switch- ing and Georgia, particularly the Independents, has maintained a leadership role since these origins. All of this infrastructure improvement began before the infa- mous AT&T consent decree in 1983, and thankfully so. This event, which was to be transparent to Independents, redefined the busi- ness. Between the reorganization of the industry by the consent decree and the rapid development of cellu- lar, Independents would have been hard-pressed to meet the demands for service they faced with less than digital technology. The demands placed on the Independents are many. LATA boundaries^being able to select the carrier responsible for hauling the traffic by determining whether a call was an intra-LATA or an inter- LATA call. Creating an environ- ment for 911 emergency service using step technology would have required decades to clear this level. Now enhanced 911 is fairly com- mon. Custom calling features, con- sidered "standard fare" and a real revenue generator, would have been difficult with electronic switching and almost impossible with step-by- step switching. Then comes an entirely new switching protocol SS7 (shortened from signaling sys- tem seven) which allowed a number of other local services, as well as toll service. But the greatest advantage may have really entered the back door: the natural relationship between fiber optic cable and a digi- tal switch. In rural Georgia, fifteen mile loops were not uncommon. At best, they generally provided marginal service with frequently as many as ten parties per line. Even using technological treatments of the dayelectronic long line adapters, 44 mh load coils and negative impedance repeatersyou still had frequent troubles, line hum and noise. Facihfies were the target of every lightning storm and every road machine. With digital switch- ing and digital transmission, the quality could be improved some- what. The big breakthrough came with remote switches which used the host computer in the central 159 office and digital transmission lines to extend the line circuit closer to the customer. Then with fiber optic cable, there were no electronic repeaters for lightning to strike. We also learned that four feet depth was much better than two to three feet for physical protection. All in all, digital switching and fiber optic cable made telephony easier, espe- cially in providing state-of-the-art telephone service to rural areas. Thus, a real byproduct of digi- tizing Georgia includes several advantages. It certainly made tele- phony easier in the rural areas, both from a quality-of-service point of view as well as a state-of-the-art point of view. This was done while keeping universal service as a major objective. There were minimal rate increases during this period. The cost savings incurred using the digi- tal switching/fiber optic combina- tion were dramatic. A second advantage in the digital world of telephony was changing the size of economy of scale. A number of ser- vice offerings could be done with old technology like common-con- trolled crossbar. But the minimum size of this type switching was much too large for most Independents. A good example was the old lA cross- bar tandem, about the smallest switch to offer 1+ dialing before the Stromberg Carlson ESC Class 4. With digital switching, it was even easier and faster to accomplish all of the custom calling, class and toll functions necessary to remain a real player in the new business of tele- phony. Thus it enables Independent telephone companies to participate fully in the development and imple- mentation of the Information Age. The trend in Georgiaand suspected to be in most other areasis for metropolitan areas to grow rapidly at the expense of rural areas, thus continuing a trend of several decades. With the develop- ment of digital switching and fiber optic cable, a new infrastructure began to evolve. Using the fiber optic superhighway, one could per- form many tasks as effectively in a rural area hundreds of miles away as could be done in the city. Several companies in Georgia actually moved back-office operations from urban to rural areas because it was more cost effective and technologi- cally the same. With a lot of hard work, the fiber optic superhighways could be terminal and stopping points in rural America rather than an interstate bypass. The reduction in economics of scale, improved quahty and reliabili- ty of service are aU products of this digital conversion. Because of all our service with digital switching and fiber optic cable, a very real asset to Georgia is the result. Our focus can begin to shift to the new changes coming our way. All rural Georgians served by Independent telephone companies are the real beneficiaries. The digital switch and its deployment have made the Independent telephone company truly independent as we move toward the end of the twentieth cen- tury. While the trend toward digi- tizing Georgia was established by Independents, it needs to continue at the same rate as the industry is changing. On October 6-7,1993, a two- day seminar entitled "At the Edge" in information technology was held in Atlanta. Participants included Robert Allen of AT&T, Pat Crecine of Georgia Tech, John Clendenin of BellSouth and Zell MiUer, Governor of Georgia. The principal thought promoted was the convergence of several technologies. MANSFIELD JENNINGS, JR. W. Mansfield Jennings, Jr. is the son of W. Mansfield and Sarah Home Jennings. He is a graduate of the Georgia Institute of Technology; Georgia State University Advanced Management Program; the London School of Business, International Business Course; and has a Master of Business Administration from Emory University. Jennings became a third generation owner of the Hawkinsville Telephone Company when he purchased his father's interest in the company in 1971 and his imcle's interest in 1980. He has actively participated in the Georgia Telephone Association and served two terms as the Association's president. In addition to leading his company through the challenges of growth, new technology and industry changes, he has been active in the Hawkinsville-Pulaski County Chamber of Commerce, the Hawkinsville Rotary Club and the Museum of Aviation at Robins Board of Directors. Jennings is president and CEO of Hawkinsville Telephone Company, chairman and CEO of COMSOUTH Corporation, chairman of United Cable Company, Inc. (a cable TV holding company), chairman of MGeorgia Bankshares, Inc., and a member of the Boards of Directors of Plant Telephone and Power Company m Tifton and the Pulaski Banking Company in Hawkinsville. 160 Crecine suggested this new business be called Telematics. The converging industries where con- sumer electronics, telecommunica- tions, cable television, cellular telephone and PCS, just to name a few, come together. While there were lots of ideas, few people really thought they knew exactly what was going to happen in this future. What everyone did acknowledge was that change^big changeis right around the corner. It is obvi- ous that without digital switching and a fiber optic based transmission system. Independents would not be players in this new Telematics industry. A Personal View By: George H. Carswell, III, President/Business Manager Wilkinson County Telephone Company, Inc. When contemplating the idea of technological convergence, the one thing that repeatedly came to mind was "Everything that Rises Must Converge," the title of a short story by Milledgeville author, Flannery O'Cormor which hardly seemed appropriate since the story has nothing to do with technology, but deals, instead, with change. Upon further contemplation, influ- enced perhaps by an overpowering subconscious mind trying to convey an idea to a conscious mind in per- petual gridlock, the concepts of change and convergence, particular- ly as they apply to communications and information technology, seemed to be a more logical progression. In fact, change may be the one word that best describes what is happen- ing to our technology and is proba- bly the only constant in the equation. Since we have come to think of rising as improving and The converging technologies being focused through the com- pound lens of digital technology and optics are creating expanding, overlapping, and complementary capabilities which are redefining our industry in a manner so drastic and so dynamic that who we are and what we do are limited only by our imaginations. We are like a spe- lunker who, having traveled a long distance through a narrow passage, emerges into a cavern so vast that a small light cannot reach the limits of the top, bottom, sides, or back. Although the prospects for the future may be intimidating, if not downright frightening, the greatest must hope and act to make the changes that are an inevitable result of our technology positive, then it should not be surprising that our technology is converging if, indeed, it is true that "Everything that Rises Must Converge." The lens causing most conver- gence at present is that of digital technology and our abifity to con- vert almost anything we encoimter into a digital format allowing it to be stored, retrieved, analyzed, altered, reproduced, and transmitted at ever decreasing costs with exponentially increasing speed and reliability. 161 opportunities almost always are and are not without risk. Change in the telephone industry has been occurring at a rate so rapid that the boundaries that have limited our capabihties and those of our competitors to move into the other's traditional areas of expertise have been blurred to the point that regulation is the only fac- tor that can limit what services we provide and how we go about it. And even regulation is beginning to buckle under the combined forces of evolving technologies and popular demand for the new services that can be provided. At the same time the technolo- gy which enables us to provide ser- vices is converging, the range of services which can be offered is exploding in every direction from that technological focus at a rate of speed which defies measurement because the number of dimensions through which it is moving exceeds the three that we have historically used to describe our location and our rate of travel. Our technology has reached the point that the idea of virtual real- ity, which not long ago would have been considered a contradiction in terms, is well within its grasp and may be a significant part of the reali- ty of the future. Perhaps, with this in mind, the two things which we seem to be unable to encode and transmitmass and energymay through some quirk of quantum physics move through some black hole lens into an alternate universe of time and space and energy which obeys a new set of laws of relativity; not unhke Alice passing through the looking glass or the "away team" beaming up from the surface of some planet down below. We live in an exciting time in which our roller coaster of change is moving at the speed of light where the past assumes a reddish hue and the future that of violet blue, and we come to realize our greatest chal- lenges are changing from finding the right answers to asking the right questions, because the answers must reside somewhere in that almost infinite digital data base that con- tains the account of our journey from the past into the future. GEORGE H. CARSWELL, III George H. Carswell, III grew up and attended school in Wilkinson County, Georgia. He graduated from Georgia Institute of Technology with a degree in industrial engineering and spent five years in the Navy as Explosive Ordnance Disposal Officer. After his time in service, Carswell spent two years as a project engineer in Savarmah before returning to Wilkinson County and the telephone business where he has worked for the past twenty years. Carswell serves as president of Wilkinson County Telephone Company and has been actively involved with the Georgia Telephone Association during most of his time in the telephone business, having served on a number of committees and held several offices, including GTA president. Carswell feels that although he is indebted to the GTA companies for a great many things, he is most indebted for the friendships he has formed during his time in the telephone business. 162 CEILEAR HISTORY The Structure of the Cellular Industry In Georgia By: Betty Gleaton, President Plant Telephone Company There were many factors that contributed to the structure of the cellular industry in rural Georgia. The first step was the FCC setting aside the "B" spectrum block for telephone companies. A rural ser- vice area (RSA) plan had been sub- mitted by United TeleSpectrum, Inc. (United). The omissions of some northern counties in the state led the Georgia Telephone Association to conclude that the plan was unac- ceptable. A cellular committee was formed to take on the task of restruc- turing the RSAs. The original com- mittee was called the Special Radio Cellular Committee. Its members were Tommy Smith, Chairman (Citizens Telephone Company), Tim Craven (Standard Telephone Company), Dave Atkins (Chickamauga Telephone Company), Don Bond (Public Service Telephone Company), Roger Hester (Ringgold Telephone Company), and Rodney Webb (Walker County Telephone Company). Betty Gleaton (Plant Telephone Company) and Dave Atkins"hand delivered" the GTA plan to the FCC. In 1986, the final rules were released by the FCC. The rules allowed any local exchange carrier (LEC) with a presence in a given RSA to file for the license to serve that RSA. The "B" spectrum license was to be awarded by lottery unless all the eligible LECs could come to an agreement on the division of the license. This agreement was known as a complete market settlement. On June 8,1987, the FCC released its Order on Reconsider- ation in CC Docket No. 85-388. This decision ruled on the various requests for modification of the United TeleSpectrum, Inc. (United) Rural Service Area Plan. The GTA plan for Georgia was adopted by the Commission. Of interest was that the Georgia Telephone Association was the only state trade association proposing a state-wide plan to gain Commission approval. In 1988, the RSA lotteries began. From Plant Telephone's per- spective, the disadvantage we had of serving five different geographic serving areas was turned to an advantage in that it allowed for the opportunity to file for the "B" spec- trum block in five RSAs: Georgia RSAs Nos. 7,8, 9,10 and 14. Each of these markets devel- oped in a different manner. The common factor among them was that sometime in late 1987 and early 1988, Con tel, ALLTEL, Southern Bell and GTE divided up the RSAs. As a result of this division: 1. Contel got ALLTEL and Bell's interests in RSAs Nos. 8,11 and 12, 2. ALLTEL got Bell's and Contel's interests in RSAs Nos. 9,10 and 14, 3. Southern Bell got Contel's and ALLTEL's interests in RSA No. 7, 4. Each of these companies agreed to help each other in negotiating with the other telephone compa- nies who held an interest in these areas. RSA No. 8 RSA No. 8 is located adjacent to the Savannah MSA. In 1988, the wirehne license in Savannah was held by Savarmah Cellular. Savannah Cellular was owned by Contel, Pembroke Telephone Company, Planters Telephone Co- op, and Coastal Utihties. The Savannah Cellular Partnership was very aggressive at organizing the adjacent Georgia RSAs, and through their leadership, complete market settlements were reached in Georgia RSAs Nos. 8,11 and 12. These mar- kets combined with Savarmah Cellular to become Atlantic Cellular 163 and operated as a single market entity while maintaining their indi- vidual ownership. During the formation of the RSA No. 8 partnership, GTE and Contel merged. GTE held the non- wireline hcense in the Savannah MSA and, as a result, had to sell its interest in the wirehne cellular sys- tem. GTE also decided to sell Contel's interest in the adjacent RSAs. All the partners exercised their option to buy, and as a result, the RSA No. 8 partnership was owned equally by the six remaining partners. The next move in the partner- ship was Pembroke Telephone's sale of controlling interest in its share to Interstate Telephone Company. The first cellular service came on fine in Statesboro in December, 1989. In the fall of 1991, control of Savannah Cellular (MSA) was acquired by ALLTEL Mobile, Inc. and by the spring of 1992, the name of the com- bined MSA/RSA businesses changed to ALLTEL. Also, in 1992, ALLTEL acquired the Interstate Telephone (formerly Pembroke Telephone) portion of RSA No. 8. RSA No. 14 During the 1988 Georgia Telephone Association Convention in Chattanooga, Tennessee, repre- sentatives from ALLTEL and Plant Telephone met to discuss the possi- bility of a full market settlement in RSA No. 14. As a result of that meeting. Plant Telephone and ALL- TEL formed a fifty-fifty partnership to serve RSA No. 14 and agreed to use their respective interests in RSAs Nos. 7,9 and 10 to work toward increasing coverage of the newly formed partnership along 1-75. Several of the eligible LECs were interested in merging RSAs Nos. 7 and 10. Plant Telephone worked with Roy Etheridge of Southern Bell to separate the two RSAs into three businesses, allowing each ehgible party to gain the geographical areas of interest to them. Southern Bell would get Baldwin and Hancock counties. Plant Telephone would get Turner, Ben HUl, Wilcox and Irwin counties. The other eligible LECs formed an equal partnership to serve the remaining counties in the combined RSAs Nos. 7 and 10. RSA No. 9 A complete market settlement was unlikely in RSA No. 9, so Plant Telephone and ALLTEL worked to separate the business into three mar- kets. Plant Telephone got Crisp County, ALLTEL got Terrell, Randolph and Clay counties. The remaining ehgible LECs formed a partnership to serve the remaining coimties. Plant Telephone merged Crisp, Wilcox, Turner and Irwin counties with RSA No. 14 to form the RSA No. 14 market as it exists today. On March 17,1993, Plant Telephone sold Plant Cellular RSA No. 8, Inc. to Pineland Telephone Co-op, leaving Plant Telephone more time to concentrate its interests on RSA No. 14 and the future tech- nologies on the horizon. BETTY GLEATON During her career, Betty Gleaton has held many positions with a variety of companies, including auditing clerk, executive secretarial positions, and bookkeeping in Missouri, Permsylvania and Illinois, in 1964, her hus- band was transferred to Georgia where she took a position with the Georgia Agricultural Commodity Commission for Peanuts, responsible for promotions and advertising and secretarial duties. hollowing the death of her husband in 1969, she transferred to the Georgia Department of Labor. She mar- ried James P. Gleaton, owner of Plant Telephone Company, in 1970 and joined him in the operation of the com- pany. Gleaton held the position of vice president and executive secretary to the president of Plant Telephone Company until her husband's death in 1978. She then assumed responsibility for full operation of the company as president and chairman of the Board of Directors. She serves as president and chairman of the Board of Plant Telecommunications Sales and Services, Inc., an affifiate company estabfished in 1982, and holds the same title for Plant CeUular RSA No. 14, Inc. Gleaton is active in OPASTCO and USTA and has served as president and on the Board of Directors of the Georgia Telephone Association. She served on the GTA Credit Union Board for twelve years and one term as GTA Credit Union president. She has served on the State Advisory Cormcil for Dual Party Relay, the Governor's Task Porce for Welfare Reform, and the Tifton Advisory Board for the Trust Bank. A member of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and the local Chamber of Commerce, she is the recipient of the Chamber's 1994 Athena Award. Gleaton partici- pates in local projects for charities and organizations and supports area schools and colleges. 164 I MYIODCHTS ABOUT CABLE INTEGRATION An Industry In Evolution By: Milt Stewart, Chairman & CEO Standard Telephone Company 1 often tell my deer-hunting friends that if they ever go bird hunting, they will never again sit on a deer stand during cold, lonely days praying for that one good shot at a standing target which will make their hunting season. Far more enjo)Tnent, I say, to hunt with the dogs, stirring up coveys and bring- ing down large counts of speeding game birds on the fly using a 20- gauge shotgun. 1 used a 12-gauge in my younger days, but now my skill is improved while my shoulder is not as tough. The matter of "cable integra- tion" provides even more sport than bird hunting. Here we have a target that is moving so quickly that I would feel disadvantaged even if my weapon were an unplugged, 10- gauge shotgun, short barrel with improved cylinder. My own experience with cable television began in 1966, when we at Standard Telephone Company decided to build a community antenna television (CATV) system, in the Cornelia, Georgia area. In 1970, while the system was quite small and rapidly growing, the Federal Communications Commission ordered telephone companies to divest CATV proper- ties owned in their telephone service areas consisting of communities defined as urban. Standard was given until March, 1974, to dispose of its CATV system in my small hometown of 3,000, and that we did, practically giving the system away in February, 1974. It is a move we and other sim- ilar telcos did not want to make but were forced to do so by federal agency edict. Even two decades ago, we could clearly see that our long term economic health may be impaired by not being allowed to participate in the cable TV industry. Now the day has arrived when the expansion and coUision of tech- nologies have forced us to the wall. Telephone and cable television com- panies worldwide have recognized the perils of the inevitable collision, so, not surprisingly, 1993 became the year of proposed acquisitions and alliances designed to extend the life, if not the very survival, of the corpo- rate participants in each industry. We see unfolding before us massive cable integration. In 1984, Congress codified the so-called "cross ownership" prohibi- tion designed to prevent telcos from operating cable television systems in their own urban telephone franchis- es. However, in 1993, Bell Atlantic proved before the U. S. E)istrict Court in Alexandria, Virginia that such prohibition was unconstitu- tional. Much earher, the FCC had already concluded that it should reconsider its own position on cross ownership. Although the cross ownership constraints are presently still in place outside of Bell Atlantic's service area, law suits have been filed by other regional Bell operating companies to pattern the Bell Atlantic suit. And although Congress may be expected to con- tribute more mischief, cable integra- tion has made a giant leap forward. It is too late to recapture the millions of dollars of lost revenue and appre- ciation the 1970 FCC edict has cost Standard Telephone Company, but we can at least see some glimmer of Light at the end of a long, dark tun- nel. I suspect that the light, howev- er, may occur less from sunshine than from lightning announcing strong storms and turbulence ahead. The evolution of technology and market forces has far outdistanced the vision of legislators and regula- tors. Even the cable and telephone 165 planners are having difficulty get- ting a grip on the businesses that once were so well defined. Consumers are confused and wary after having been stung by the tur- moil created by the events leading to the breakup of the Bell System in 1984. In turn, they have pressured lawmakers to protect them from some of the forces of market and technology. The poorly written cable re-regulation act of 1993 is one example of lawmakers floundering around in an area they really do not fuUy understand. By way of commentary, it seems to be a natural consequence of vibrant free market systems that sea- soned businessmen and marketers become so involved in the creation of our nation's wealth that they are not attracted to the federal agency and congressional posts which engage in the redistribution of that wealth. Federal regulators and law- makers (FRLs) have too little under- standing of the nature of competition, microeconomics, and the effect of new technologies on the marketplace. The FRLs appear to spend much of their time and resources trying to build competi- tion where it is not efficient, and controlling competition where it has been fueled to excess. The FRLs appear determined that there should be at least two competing telecom- munication systems into every home in America and then the world will be wonderful. Never mind that one water system and one power utility have worked quite well. The FRLs seem convinced that telecommuni- cation companies should exist under a system of controlled competition like the ones that have contributed to the economic and safety decline affecting our airline and trucking industries. The leadership exhibited by our own telephone industry has been no better. Too often, telco lead- ers reasoned and proclaimed that we alone knew what was best for the consumer of telephone service. "Just trust us," we said. The land- mark Carterfone decision and subse- quent events leading to elimination of the telephone monopoly were a direct rebuttal of such arrogance, born of a pubhc cynicism for an industry that had allowed cus- tomers to use the telephone facihties only in a manner that pleased the industry. Such rules and regula- tions were translated as a "customer be hanged" attitude on the part of a huge and ruthless monopoly. History repeated itself yet again throughout the cable television industry. And we could hardly see what we were doing to ourselves. End of commentary. Cable television multiple sys- tem operators (MSOs) and tele- phone company leaders both recognize the detrimental effect of an all-out war between the two industries. The non-metropohtan areas of the nation will not, in large part, support the kind of telecom- H. MILTON STEWART Beginning in 1954 with part-time work. Milt Stewart has logged forty years with Standard Telephone Company and now serves as chairman and chief executive officer. Stewart graduated from Georgia Tech in 1961 and holds a license as a registered Professional Engineer. He currently serves as president-elect of the Georgia Tech Alumni Association. He graduated from Harvard Business School's Owners-Presidents-Managers program in 1980 and received an MBA from Emory University in 1981. A veteran telephone engineer and manager, Stewart has helped to advance the field of telecommunications through his many endeavors on behalf of the industry. He is a past president of Georgia Telephone Association and has served with various United States Telephone Association committees, including eight years as chairman of the REA Borrower's Committee. In 1976, he became the twentieth recipient of the REA Certificate of Appreciation and in 1980, he received the USITA President's Citation for his participation in the AT&T/USITA Joint Network Planning and Ownership Peasibility Study. In 1985, he was elected president of the Organization for the Protection and Advancement of Small Telephone Companies (OPASTCO). In 1993, he received the Excellence in Pioneering Award from the Peach State Chapter of the Independent Telephone Pioneer Association. Stewart has served in various capacities with numerous church, school and civic organizations, including president of the Boy Scouts of America - Northeast Georgia Coimcil, president of the Habersham Chamber of Commerce, president of the Cornelia Kiwanis Club, Board of Trustees of Piedmont College and the Georgia Chamber of Commerce. He and his wife, Carolyn, have two children, Jeb and Jill. inunication competition envisioned for the large cities. Mergers and alliances that have developed and are developing have been conceived to protect the interests of investor and consumer alike. Yet, they bring together two businesses that are as different as day and night. Telephone service is two-way, interactive, switched and informa- tion based. The value of telephone service to a customer is enhanced each time a new customer is added to the system, so our system of cost separation and revenue distribution recognizes this fundamental. 1993 cable television is primarily a one- way, entertainment based service and its value to a customer is largely independent of the addition of new customers. Historically, telephone service has been regulated at both the state and national levels, while 1993 brought national rate regula- tion, loosely defined, to cable televi- sion for the first time. Telcos have an obligation to serve all paying apphcants within a franchised area under rates set by regulators. Telcos seek revenue adjustments that satis- fy their requirement to meet the public trust while providing a rea- sonable return on investment. Cable television MSOs are profitable only if they operate and expand prudent- ly according to market demand and revenue parameters that are within federal mandated benchmark stan- dards. The cable television market is heavily residential, while tele- phone business customers provide a disproportionately higher share of per customer revenues to telcos. MSOs seek to enter the tele- phone business because they are faced with the prospect of reduced revenue growth in their own matur- ing industry. MSOs can see their future economic health tied to inter- activity, which means they will need to invest heavily to upgrade their systems. To help pay for the upgrade, they need to be positioned to participate in the two-way voice and data markets which presently provide revenues to telephone com- panies that dwarf the revenues derived only from cable television service. Telephone companies covet the broadband facilities that MSOs provide into each customer's home or place of business. With the rapid evolution of the computer business, broadband facilities promote a promising data market that is already fast outpacing the voice market. Further, telcos recognize the desire of MSOs to invade the tra- ditional telco business and the opportunity that MSOs may have to participate with interexchange carri- ers desiring to bypass the local telco facilities. So why should these two potential competitors be talking of mergers and joint ventures? I think it is because MSOs usually have lit- tle or no knowledge about the inner workings of the vast and complicat- ed telephone business and lack suffi- cient capital resources to rapidly become full scale players in the total telecommunications market. My personal experience is that a tele- phone company can acquire cable television expertise much faster and easier than the opposite, but also carries excess regulatory baggage that puts it at some disadvantage when competing with a cable com- pany. Further, telcos usually have the cash flow and financial resources to allow them to be aggressive in their pursuit of the cable television world. Acquisition of existing cable television property is far more expensive than constructing a com- peting system, but acquisition brings immediate cash flow and presence in the cable television market with- out the problems of obtaining fran- chises, constructing signal receiving points, negotiating signal carriage and slugging it out with competitors for market dominance. Acquisition makes the most sense in a rural environment where it is hkely that only one carrier would be able to survive in the long run. But telcos have their share of problems upon entering the cable television business, even with a friendly acquisition, for three big reasons.... local government, state government and federal govern- ment. Lawmakers and regulators are almost always behind the tech- nological and market forces that drive an industry, yet they continue to hold fast and true to concepts, laws and regulations that were put in place years ago. Witness the 1934 Communications Act as exhibit one. When it was enacted, the technology of 1994 could not have been imag- ined, much less foreseen. More to the point is the poten- tially disastrous depreciation prob- lem faced by telcos. Existing narrowband facilities are all but obsolete and our balance sheets should, but do not, carry a sufficient depreciation reserve to reflect that reahty. Low depreciation charges have appeal to some short-sighted regulators because low charges translate into reduced service rates to utility customers. System man- agers sometime tolerate low depre- ciation because it presents an improved, albeit erroneous, earn- ings picture to investors as well as reduced service rates to customers. This perspective accomplishes very httle toward preparing the public switched telephone network for newly developing technologies and the market evolution that follows. Even worse from the investor and lender viewpoint, tomorrow's cus- tomer must be "overcharged" to pay for telephone service delivered over antiquated facilities. Narrowband service is a cheap adjunct to a broad- band facility. This spells danger for the astute telephone company investor because he knows (1) the telco no longer has a monopoly, so customers will migrate to cheaper alternatives available through supe- rior facUities, and (2) the telecommu- nication market will evolve into a multimedia market for which the telcos will be ill equipped unless investors are willing to write down huge investments in underdepreci- ated facilities. The writedown would have to be charged against new and retained earnings that, for all practical purposes, are merely an illusion in their magnitude. To demonstrate how slow we are to incorporate new technology into our thinking and planning, just review our evolution in the telecom- munication world. Mankind Uved and communicated in a natural ana- log environment until the introduc- tion of the digital computer in the middle of the twentieth century. As T-carrier was developed for trans- mission on telephone systems, we slowly began to appreciate that peo- ple, as well as computers, could communicate digitally. Indeed, it is the digital world that has promoted cable integration through the con- vergence of communications, com- puters and cable. A bit is a bit is a bit, and we can move and switch these bits through fiber optics and asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) switches regardless of whether these bits represent voice, data or video, or combinations thereof. We have finally become very comfortable with a digital world that most of us could hardly envision just three decades ago. Now, it looks as though we feel destined to follow wherever the great digital master wants to lead us. With our telephone mentahty, we have announced our switched 56 KBPS, SMDS, ISDN and ATM net- works as the data transfer modes to satisfy our customers even as the video and large data markets are signaling the need for facilities that will be able to handle the multi-giga- bit speed of massively parallel supercomputers. These customers will not need their information crammed through our digital bottle- necks; they will need access to dark fibers through which they can trans- mit what they want, when they want, the way they want. We telcos have a narrowband mentality that tells us to centralize the intelligence, but a number of our new age media customers will want decentralized intelligence connected by "dmnb" broadband networks. However, this is not to say we will not need to cen- tralize the call set-up and subscriber features of the Advanced Intelligent Network for ubiquitous voice and data service to the mass market. Now if we can rmderstand and appreciate that notion, let us not again become smug and arrogant. It just may be that we very soon will be faced with a leap from the digital wireline world into the coded wire- less world. Code division multiple access (CDMA) applied to high fre- quency wavelengths can be expect- ed to counter the telco "narrow and strong" mentahty which seeks to employ brute force to move massive amounts of information through a relatively small funnel. Indeed, as "wireless wide and weak" is the antithesis of "wireline narrow and strong", CDMA apphed to the air- waves could conceivably obsolete the telecommunications paradigm we have aU grown to know and love. The quantum leaps in comput- er technology with plummeting costs have fueled the rise of CDMA as a viable option in the telecommu- nications arena. Using ever smaller cells for wireless voice, data and video communications, the spec- trum becomes virtually limitless. Combine these low cost terrestrial systems with sateUites and let your imagination carry you the rest of the way as you bid fareweU to your expensive local switching offices and land lines. At the very least, we can visu- alize the replacement of narrowband wireline facilities with broadband facihties, whether on fiber, coaxial cable or transmitted via a CDMA wireless platform, perhaps even at 28 gigahertz. The telco narrowband centralized intelligence mentality that prompted asymmetrical digital subscriber line (ADSL) development should ultimately yield to broad- band facihties that meet a market need for decentralized processing. The new network will combine fiber, coax and the airwaves, evolv- ing from that point to its next stage of evolution. And it wiU happen fast. Bird hunters wiU usually con- cede that improved hit ratios are obtained when flushing a single bird rather than an entire covey. That is because it simplifies the decision process to have only one target dur- ing a time of sudden anticipation and anxiety. It is an understatement to say that 1993 has been a year of immense anticipation and anxiety. The potpourri of events surround- ing the cable integration issue has been enormous. Decisions, deci- sions, decisions! Sometimes, I think I might rather hunt deer. But it just wouldn't be as much fun. 168 INFRASTRUmmE SHARING The Key To An Information-Rich Society By: Dean C. Swanson, Director-Government Relations Standard Telephone Company The Communications Act of 1934 called for a telecommunica- tions system that was rapid, effi- cient, nationwide and available at reasonable rates. From that charge evolved a common communications network, known as the Pubhc Switched Network (PSN), that to this day serves as the backbone of the nation's telecommunications infrastructure. Also evolving from the Communications Act was the concept of universal service, which in the final analysis means informa- tion will be made available to all Americans, rich or poor - urban or rural. Within the Public Switched Network, this means an appropriate framework must exist for sharing the physical facilities that transfer information from point to point. We caU that arrangement "infrastructure sharing" and beyond everything else, it is a recognition of the unique responsibilities local exchange carri- ers have in providing ubiquitous communication services as contrast- ed with communications services provided only on a selective basis. Successful infrastructure shar- ing depends greatly on joint plan- ning and revenue flows that recognize the wide variance in costs of service when facilities are extend- ed throughout the country. And it was this sharing of technology, facil- ities and revenues that built the greatest telecommunications net- work in the world. By any measure, the Public Switched Network that was deployed over the years met the public pohcy goals stated in the Communications Act of 1934. In the years since the breakup of the former Bell System, the future direction of telecommunications has shifted increasingly from regulatory and legislative decision making to marketplace forces. While this trend is expected to continue, and even accelerate, it raises the question of whether pure market criteria can meet the universal service goals that have served this nation so well over the years. Many observers feel that universal service will suffer signifi- cantly unless there is a thorough governmental review of communi- cation policy strategies for the future. This issue is being addressed on many fronts, perhaps the most notable of which is the Clinton administration's report on building the National Information Infrastructure, which was released September 15,1993. The National Information Infrastructure (Nil) would be a "seamless web of communications networks, computers, databases, and consumer electronics that will put vast amounts of information at users' fingertips." Essentially, it will create an infrastructure that will integrate communications networks, computers, information sources and users. It has nine principles and goals: (1) Promote private sector invest ment. (2) Extend the "universal service" concept to ensure that informa- tion resources are available to all at affordable prices. (3) Act as a catalyst to promote tech- nological innovations and new services. (4) Promote seamless, interactive, user-driven operation of the NIL (5) Ensure information security and network rehability. (6) Improve management of the radio frequency spectrum. 169 (7) Protect intellectual property rights. (8) Coordinate with other levels of government and with other nations. (9) Provide access to government information and improve gov- ernment procurement. It is obvious that with the introduction of Nil and other leg- islative initiatives, the issue of infra- structure sharing is becoming much more complex and more closely associated with a broad range of economic and social goals. New technologies and increasing global competition are just two of the many changes that are driving the pubhc sector to call for action to shape the evolution of the communications infrastructure. 1994 could well be the year when the integrity of our public telecommunications infra- structure is determined by legisla- tive action. Allowing increasing competition, while protecting the concepts of universal service, joint planning and infrastructure sharing will be a most challenging task and one that will determine the direction of telecommunications in the twen- ty-first century. DEAN C. SWANSON Dean C. Swanson was bom in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and attended schools in Minneapolis and Palo Alto, California. He graduated from the U. S. Naval Academy in 1957 and took a commission in the U. S. Air Force where he spent the next six years as a fighter pilot. Swanson joined Standard Telephone Company in 1963. From 1964-1970 he was vice president and opera- tions manager; from 1970-1978 he served as executive vice president; from 1978-1991, he was president, and he currently serves as president of Standard Group, Inc. Swanson has served in many key positions m the telecommunications industry. He is a past president, director and committee chair of the Georgia Telephone Association. In 1990, he served as chairman of the United States Telephone Association. In that role he helped shape national telecommunication policy by his appearances before congressional committees and by close coordination with state telephone associations throughout the United States. He continues to promote the general welfare of telephony in today's rapidly changing telecommunications environment as he serves as an officer of this national association. Locally, Swanson's affihations include the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, Habersham County Chamber of Commerce, Habersham County Development Authority, Habersham County Airport Commission, Habersham County Rotary Club and the Governor's Council for School Performance. He and his wife, Kay are the parents of three children: Sabrina, Stewart and Christopher. GLOBAL COMPETITION Strong Evidence for the Value of Competition By: Jim Blacicburn, Consultant AT&T, Government Affairs Vice President, Retired Global competition has become an increasing factor in American business in general. With this increase, we are experiencing a tremendous impact on our personal quality of life and within the infor- mation industry. Metaphorically, the planet is much smaller today because of the rapid technology gains in communi- cations and the availability of trans- portation. Those who either grew up or served during World War II can recall the newsreels in the movie theater and radio reports that kept us somewhat abreast of the events of the war. You need only think about recent claims of some groups that the holocaust never happened to doubt the effectiveness of communi- cations during that time forty years ago. What a contrast to the Vietnam War which has been identified in trivia questions as the "TV" War. Then, most recently, the "Gulf War" was so well reported that the news reporters were considered by some to be more participants than observers and, perhaps, manipulat- ed by both sides. The Gulf War also brought emphasis on "command and control" and the realization that destroying communication centers that serve that role makes effective military action impossible. We have also seen great changes in transportation. A hand- ful of airports where planes trav- elled to and from international points has expanded tremendously. Many cities with a small population now have international airports. In fact, the global travel and tourism industry is said to be the world's largest industry sized at approxi- mately $3 trillion today. In telecommunications, global competition has been a reality for decades but imtil the last decade was primarily focused in manufac- turing and sale of equipment and transmission products. AT&T, Northern Telecom, NEC, Ericsson and others have competed for busi- ness as telecommunications net- works have grown and technology advances were developed. Competition in the form of actual provision of services has developed more slowly. The recog- nition of the value of instant voice commimications developed natural- ly first to the city limits of large communities, then across nations. beyond national boundaries, across continents and oceans, and finally around the globe. The model for the international industry until the last decade was the regulated monopoly service provider. Typically, this provider was a government-owned operation which acquired and main- tained exclusive franchise rights for aU domestic and international facili- ties and services. In the United States, a privately owned network emerged which provided service within a government regulated framework. Providers for countries worked with each other as partners to provide international service. This arrangement has been known as the "correspondent" relationship and worked well. Monopohes dealt with monopolies. Each had market power within their country and con- trolled the regulatory and opera- tional framework. In addition, they were motivated similarlyexpand- ing the domestic telecommunica- tions infrastructure by using pricing and cost sharing subsidies derived from the use of the international long distance network. The last decade has brought significant changes to traditional international operation. The com- 171 petitive domestic long distance mar- ket established in the United States in 1984 has been expanded to inter- national service by the Federal Communications System (FCC). In 1985, the FCC began allowing inter- national competition by reducing regulation for "non-dominant" car- riers (including resellers). Further relaxation of requirements occurred as recently as last year. The tradi- tional international industry estab- lished primarily for voice services has also experienced a market changing to meet the demands for data, voice, video, facsimilewith these representing every form of information conceivable today. This is a clear indication of more to come yet to be conceived. The international telecommu- nication environment is being reshaped by technological, market, economic and social changes. The "public interest" today in many countries is being redefined. The new definition moves away from expanding inexpensive service to recognizing the importance of the telecommunications infrastructure in the creation of jobs, attracting cap- ital investment and the expansion and development of national economies. Today China and the former Soviet Union are considered to be examples of large market opportunities based on need for infrastructure to match economic development goals. In China there are two phones for every 100 people. That nation wants to increase phone service twentyfold by 2020. This equates to installing approximately fifteen million lines each year for the next twenty-seven years. AT&T, Northern Telecom Ltd., Alcatel, Ericsson and others will compete to become the major supplier for this tremendous market. The U.S. Government has recently removed the export controls on American technology which will allow U.S. firms to compete fully. Correspondent relationships are being augmented by the largest telecommunications companies becoming globally based through their own expansion and/or strate- gic alliances and agreements. At divestiture in 1984, AT&T had fewer than 100 people outside the U.S. Ten years later there are 53,000 AT&T people working in approxi- mately 100 other coimtries. AT&T and MCTs intense domestic compe- tition is also seen internationally in matching each other with strategic alliances in Europe and Canada. It is likely that over time more countries will be forced to adopt a more competitive approach with less control and regulation. The U.S. model offers strong evidence of the value of competition in terms of expanding the industry. Movement in some countries to adjust to the new global market is seen as they begin to privatize former govern- ment owned companies and permit some forms of competition. U.S. concerns about fair trade also play a major role in global telecommunications. The U.S. mar- ket is an open market. International companies can and do participate in the U.S. while markets in many countries remain completely closed. The success of our government in correcting this unfairness will spur further competition in international telecommunications. At this writ- ing, we've just heard President Clinton announce resolution of Japan's failure to allow Motorola's participation in that country's cellu- lar market. Mexico's long distance market will open to competition by U.S. carriers in 1996 as a condition of the North American Eree Trade Agreement (NAFTA). JIM BLACKBURN Jim Blackburn is a Management Consultant specializing in leadership. He assists organizations seeking to transform from traditional operation to a Customer Driven Team approach. His clients include Standard Telephone Company, financial institutions and health services organizations. He is an experienced facilitator in service quality, total quality, process management and teaming concepts. Blackburn spent over thirty-seven years with AT&T rising from entry level to the executive position of government affairs vice president at his retirement in 1992. His experience with AT&T included operations, engineering, sales, data services, human resources, labor relations and external affairs positions. His academic studies include programs at the University of Georgia (Atlanta Division), Mercer University, Rutgers University and WiUiams College. Blackburn is a native of Baldwin, Georgia, and currently resides in Batesville with his wife, Fran. Their family includes three children and eight grandchildren. He currently serves on the Habersham County Chamber of Commerce Board, the Habersham County Planning Commission and Governor's Council for Employment and Training. 172 These market and economic realities are increasingly impressive. The information industry today gen- erates about $900 billion in annual revenues and is expected to grow to $1.4 trillion by 1996. The number of cellular customers is growing between 30 and 40 percent a year. The market of messaging (FAX, elec- tronic mail, et cetera) is expected to double to $18 billion by 1996. And the $120 billion market of net- worked computing is expected to grow to $200 billion by 1996. Globe spanning companies represent a $10 billion market for private networks and other services. AT&T formed a global alliance with KDD of Japan and Singapore Telecom in 1993 to provide one-stop service for multinational companies. Australia's Telstra, Unitel of Canada and Korea Telecom will join this alhance in 1994 to serve multination- al companies in North America, Asia, Europe and Latin America. This move reflects increasing cus- tomer pressure to be served by a sin- gle global network rather than a combination of networks with dif- ferent standards, inconsistent fea- tures, varying service quality and separate ordering, maintenance and bilhng. All of the economic and mar- ket factors create pressure on tradi- tional supplier driven operations, subsidies and artificial pricing. Those of us familiar with the U.S. market are seeing the same issues emerge internationally that we saw domestically. The value in examining global competition is being able to under- stand and deal with its impact or potential impacts on our plans and operations. If we move away from the global view and back to Georgia, we find that our own newly-formed Council on Competitive Georgia states that 80 percent of Georgia businesses have foreign competi- tion. What they don't say is how many of them realize it. There are few true visionaries among us. Most of us have to be hit with a hard dose of reality before we plan and/or act. After World War II when we entered business or started our careers, it was a lot easier to suc- ceed than today. Today you can do everything well and use the best techniques and you still can't guar- antee success because things have become incredibly more complex and the world is much smaller. However, the chances for success are certainly maximized by doing all you can to prepare for an uncertain future. A process to better prepare for the future should include: 1. Think globally and act locally. While involved in a localized operation, we can't isolate our- selves from the broader global and national environment. We will see what needs to be done quicker if we look, question, and try to understand. As we act locally, we should get closer to our customers who can help us understand the global realities. 2. Accept the reality that the policy that exists, whether stated or not, is "If there can be competition there will be." The forces behind competition are much stronger than those opposing. Competition generally brings better service, more features, more choices and lower prices to consumers. The best preparation for competition is to act like you have it before it arrives. 3. Prepare to drive costs down. When competition occurs, prices are driven toward cost and to be successful your costs need to be as low as competitors. Bench- marking to others and re-engi- neering processes to prepare plans and reduce costs are criti- cal. We should know what we would do next to improve our efficiency. 4. Those of us in leadership posi- tions need to become more skill- ful in managing change. The only certainty we can identify is change and its increasing rapidi- ty. If we don't become more skillful, we and our organiza- tions will stay in denial of change rather than managing it. In effect, the job of a leader today starts with the responsibility to manage change and improve- ment in order to be successful in the future. Global competition helps make today the most exciting time of our Eves. Everyone in the information industry will be impacted in some way. The largest companies will become more globally based while smaller companies will join in serv- ing customers in a rapidly changing environment. We have the benefit of having experienced competition in the domestic long distance market as we see competition for dial tone emerge at the same time the interna- tional market becomes more com- petitive. Those of us who see these changes as an opportunity rather than a threat will have the best chance for success. "The problem is not therefore, to suppress change, which can- not be done, but to manage it." Alvin Toffler, Future Stock 173 Legislative Action Determines the Future of Our Industry By: J. Lee Barton, President/CEO Hart Telephone Company Imagine, if you will, a bowling alley with thirty-five bowling pins set up at the end of the lane. The pins represent the LECs in the state of Georgia. Underneath each pin is an adhesive, put there to keep the pins from falling, allowing them to stand firm and strong. The adhesive represents state regulation under today's environment. Now, imagine further a bowhng ball, moving swiftly down the lane toward the pins. The bowling ball, of course, represents competition. WhaPs going to happen as the ball strikes the pins? Obviously, the ball will strike the pins separating them from the adhesive and the floor, causing them to break or fall. With competi- tion moving as swiftly and decisive- ly as it is today with such competitors as cable TV, CAPS, COCOTS, cellular carriers, PCS, IXCs, resellers, and perhaps soon, RBOCS and other LECs, this analo- gy may become altogether too close to a reaUty. Regulatory reform is needed in this state if local exchange carriers are to continue their centu- ry-long obhgation to serve rural Georgia with the best telecommuni- cations services that are available and to continue to provide rural Georgia with the opportunity for growth and development. In an address in June of 1993 in response to the Universal Service and Telecommunications Infra- structure Act of 1993 (S-1086), AT&T predicted that in less than seven years, competition in the local mar- kets would exist wherein 75 percent of its customers would be able to obtain local service from two or more providers. These competitors will come in all forms, but quite cer- tainly, they will be going after our most profitable customers. As the provider of last resort, the LECs in Georgia may be left with traffic and customers that nobody else wants and state regulators will be stuck with some unattractive choices: (1) restraining competition; (2) seeing the LECs decline in financial viabili- ty; or (3) raising basic residential rates to a level so that LECs would be able to lower prices to large cus- tomers to remain competitive. AU the technology in the world is not going to be enough to allow the LECs to compete on a level playing field. Regulation will determine the future of our companies; we must either be allowed the freedom to compete equally with our competi- tors or our competitors must jointly undertake the responsibility of sup- porting universal service by sup- porting a high cost subsidy mechanism. It is an indisputable truism that incentives must be present for investment capital to be risked; therefore, the nature of regulation must be changed to create those incentives to invest. Telephone companies need to be able to take risks today in order to achieve possi- ble benefits in the future. NYNEX Chairman William Ferguson recent- ly spoke about the four major forces reshaping the destiny of the tele- phone industry: the customer, tech- nology, the marketplace, and the public policy environment. He explained, "As the customer, tech- nology, and the marketplace race faster and faster, the pubUc policy environment continues to move at a snail's pace. If we want to play in a larger game, we absolutely must win the regulatory freedom to do so....before our markets have erod- ed." New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, California, and many other states are revamping the rules to encourage competition. In an 174 absolutely amazing action taken in October, 1993, the New York Public Service Commission gave official recognition to Metropolitan Fiber Systems (MFS) as a local exchange carrier. With MFS now having LEC status. New York Telephone will be ordered to allocate blocks of local number prefixes to MFS and the New York PubUc Service Commission will require both com- panies to agree on terms of physical interconnection of networks by December 1,1993. Admittedly, these events are occurring today in Tier 1 markets. How long win it take to reach the secondary markets that we serve once the Tier 1 markets are saturated with competition? Are these states proceeding in the right direction? Can competition be halted by states neither willing nor ready to change? Or, will the pressure of competition eventually reign universally in all state jurisdictions? These are ques- tions with which the regulators in this state are going to have to deal and sooner than we might think. The future of our companies will hinge upon their actions. Among the many questions yet to be answered are: how will states deal with the regulation of new services and, more importantly, how will Georgia address the regu- lation of new services? Certainly, new services should be unregulated and priced to the market; regulatory delays can be fatal when new ser- vices are introduced involving the deployment of new technology. Again, 1 echo NYNEX Chairman Eerguson's admonition about public policy not keeping pace with the rapidly advancing forces of cus- tomer, technology and marketplace. Eurthermore, regulation should focus on prices and not prof- its, creating incentives (including infrastructure commitments) in order to modernize our networks. Reform in the area of deprecia- tion rates must be addressed. In an era of competition and rapidly changing technology, LECs need to be able to write off their old equip- ment more rapidly. Regulation in today's environment should analyze not how long a piece of plant will last but how rapidly the economic value of that particular asset is lost. We should be creating incentives to modernize, not dis-incentives to upgrade the network. Opponents of this part of regu- latory reform are coming out of the woodworks. Their arguments hinge on the assumption that short term cash generated by rapid deprecia- tion schedules will not be used to upgrade our networks, but instead flowed into general coffers for investments in non-regulated ser- vices. But, 1 have not talked to a sin- gle telecom manager who doesn't recognize the need to modernize his network and deploy the latest switching and network facilities available. It is essential that our infrastructure supports any service, feature or function that a competitor can also provide. Presently, LECs are strapped by rate of return regulation, which encumbers efficiency and flexibility; therefore, now may be the time to start envisioning an incentive-based regulatory environment that could allow LECs the freedom to compete on a level playing field. The need for close cooperation between the state, federal, and legislative arenas should also be adhered to in order to eliminate conflicting policies, which may delay our ability to move quickly and decisively. And, of course, the question of universal service persists; clearly, universal service should be exam- ined in the marketplace. What does it mean? Is it vital in today's envi- ronment? Should there be a carrier of last resort? If so, what support mechanisms should be kept to pre- serve universal service? In spite of our restraints on the regulatory front, pessimistic views about our industry should not per- sist. Negativism concerning our company's growth and prosperity shoiild not cause us to lose sight of the many opportunities for LECs as we move into the Information Age. Attitudes must change; we must be aggressive and progressive and we must move positively and confi- dently. New technology will mean new markets, more and better ser- vices to existing markets allowing potential revenue opportunities. However, regulation also must change to enhance our ability to serve our customers better with ser- vices they desire. And, we must be prepared to meet these challenges of competition with regulatory free- dom. J. LEE BARTON Lee Barton graduated for the University of Georgia in 1976 with a BBA degree. He has been with Hart Telephone Company for eighteen years, fifteen years as an officer; and became president and CEO in 1987. Barton is past president of the Hart County Chamber of Commerce, served on the Board of Hart County Industrial Authority, and is president of the Hartwell Rotary Club. He has served for many years on the Georgia Telephone Association Board. Barton now serves on the Boards of OPASTCO and ERED (Eund for Rural Education Development). 175 Regulated - Deregulated Unregulated - Competitive By: Albert Harrison, Chairman Ellijay Telephone Company Regulated - Deregulated - Unregulated - Competitive. These words are now the keystone descriptions for telecommunica- tions. Since 1984 the courts of our country have changed the basis for providing the public with services which had been built up over nearly a century. The theory of a govemmental- ly regulated monopoly which is required to serve everyone under controlled pricing is now changing bit by bit. A completely open telecommunications business envi- ronment seems to be taking place. The totally regulated local exchange carrier (LEC) is in a continuing process of change. This process is mandated by law but many details will vary with each LEC. Some change will be controlled by vestiges of regulation and some activity will be providing new goods and ser- vices never before existing. Usually for the independent LEC to engage in new fields a change in organization is made. The organization has varied from no change to multiple corporate struc- tures. Much publicity is now being given to combinations of corpora- tions in entertainment, assorted data and computer services and telecom- munications. While these new com- binations are thought to exist in concentrated urban environments. there is little doubt that new combi- nations will ultimately affect small companies originally engaged in POTS. Cellular telephone is an exam- ple of an unregulated activity in some aspects, but the basic facihty is federally controlled. The future of its regulation is not predictable, but the radio spectrum locations are most likely stable. The future effect of personal communications sys- tems (PCS) is yet to be determined. The effect of PCS on cellular is now the subject of much study and dis- cussion. It should be a commercial- ly unregulated activity. EEC's who are not engaged in cable television business are begin- ning to be interested. The combina- tion of cable TV systems and the LEC business is in process of field trial. The parts of this new activity to be deregulated or unregulated are not well defined. The opportunity of the small LEC is to provide new service and deregulated service and equipment. The commercial office at Ellijay Telephone wants deregulation and customer service to go hand-in- hand. By offering a variety of tele- phone equipment and switching features, we hope to be flexible enough to meet our customer demand. Being located in a rural area and operating a local office, we have the opportunity to have direct customer contact on a daily basis. Many of our new service applica- tions are taken in our office, where the customer can choose to lease a telephone instrument or hear a demonstration of our voice mail sys- tem. In this deregulated market, many new customers have customer provided equipment. Our goal is to serve this customer with features to personalize his telephone system to fit his residential or business needs. We try to inform customers on ini- tial contact or with billing stuffers that we offer a variety of calling fea- tures and telephone leasing with full maintenance. At a later date, if they need to upgrade their service, we hope this customer will try our voice mail or other CLASS features. If a business "outgrows" its present owned system, we hope that busi- ness will contact us for rates on pur- chasing or leasing a new system. We want to be perceived as a full-service company, not just a dial tone provider. When customers choose us to maintain their inside 176 wiring, they know if they have a ser- vice difficulty it can be corrected promptly. If they have a problem with a leased set, they can bring it to our office for needed repairs or exchange. If they are remodeling their home, we will install addition- al telephone jacks or help them select the right color of telephone to go with their new wallpaper. Many customers that move to our area express their satisfaction with leas- ing because "leasing means ser- vice." Our approach to the deregulat- ed side of the industry is to be cus- tomer oriented. We hope to offer the services so that each customer, with our assistance, can design a telephone system that is right for their needs. The customer may only need a single line set or maybe a multi-line business with the newest key equipment. We hope our staff makes every customer feel that they have the best telephone service and equipment to suit their individual needs. To say an activity is deregulat- ed is to imply it is competitive. There are now many devices and much equipment that has been con- nected to the telephone network. Some of the service may be provid- ed from a central switch point at lower cost to the public when all costs of providing the service have been accounted for. These features should all be classified as unregulat- ed. Today there is virtual local ser- vice dial tone available from a sup- plier other than the local exchange carrier. As technology develops, it should be assumed that further local service dial tone availability will be made. The classic toll bypass has been put into service and provision for it has been made so that the LEC continues its regulated activities in the same manner without disruptive rate changes. To make the competition equal when offering telecommunication material and service, the LEC must have deregulated capability. The smaller independent is fortunate in having the opportunity to lease and maintain customer equipment. Where there is not deregulation there becomes an actual allocation of markets rather than free competi- tion. Changes in technology, organi- zations, customer interest and other factors are the basis for change. There is small chance that changes will be slower, but regardless of rate of change it will surely be continu- ous. Whether it is deregulated, unregulated, or competitive, there remains a great opportunity for the innovative LEC in today's world. ALBERT E. HARRISON Albert E. Harrison was bom in Hartwell, Georgia, m 1918. Eollowing graduation from high school, he attended a trade school. In 1935, he enrolled in the Georgia Institute of Technology and received a bachelors degree in electrical engineering in 1940. This was followed by six years in the military, after which he began employment with Pacific Telephone Company where he was transmission engineer for ten years. He then went to work for Lenkurt Manufacturing Company. hr 1947, he married Marian Smith. They moved from California to Vhginia before relocating to theh per- manent home in north Georgia. Harrison became interested in owning and operating a telephone company and visited Ellijay Telephone Company in 1956 to talk with S. B. Green, the owner. Terms were negotiated in June, 1958, whereby one-half the common stock of EUijary Telephone was sold to Albert and Marian Harrison and Green retained h^ owner- ship. The remaining half of stock was purchased by the Harrisons in 1960. Marian Harrison passed away in 1978. She and Albert had three children, John, Marianne and Doug. In 1982, Albert married Anita Stephens Ball. She had three children. Albert Harrison is a true telephone pioneer. He has been a leader and builder and an entrepreneur in Georgia telephony and has earned the respect and admiration of the industry as well as those in his community and Ms employment. In October, 1993, he was honored by his company, friends, and community for thirty-five years service with Ellijay Telephone Company. 177 f E DNITERSAL SERVICE The Availability of Quality, Affordable Communication Services By: Glenn E. Bryant, Chairman of the Board/CEO Coastal Utilities, Inc. Little did Alexander Graham Bell know just how his invention back on March 10,1876, would revo- lutionize the way we hve and work. His invention, which initially received skepticism, has profoundly affected mankind, probably to a greater extent than any other single invention. Through the decades, beginning with the initial disinterest in the "talking device" to the mod- em communications and informa- tion era, the perception of and reliance upon telephone service has drastically changed. The national telephone policy has similarly evolved throughout history from non-existent to the initial concept of universal service to subsidization programs to the present redefining of the universal service doctrine. The dynamics of all aspects of the telephone industry has brought it into the forefront as the premier business that will lead the country into a global economic position. Just how successful the United States wiU be is contingent upon the fact that quality, affordable communica- tion services are available to every- one universal service. The concept of universal ser- vice was conceived in a time when telephone service was a luxury, not a necessity. Similar to other social policies, universal telephone service was established in order to ensure an equality among citizens in America regardless of economic sta- tus or geography. It allowed every household in America to have a tele- phone and access to the telephone network. Although the Commun- ications Act of 1934 defines the con- cept of universal service as making "available, so far as possible, to all the people of the United States a rapid, efficient, nationwide, and world-wide wire and radio commu- nication service with adequate facili- ties at reasonable charges," initially, this universal service doctrine was concerned more with the most basic party hne, rotary dial service. Universal service was also initially viewed as a pohcy which would assist the mral, isolated, less densely populated areas. Because some tele- phone companies have to install more physical plant to cover greater distances to reach fewer people in rural areas than in cities, the costs per subscriber to provide telephone service in rural areas can be much higher than in urban and suburban areas. Thus, universal service pro- grams and regulations have been promulgated to help telephone com- panies economically serve high-cost areas in order that every American be afforded basic service. One such formal program was the creation of the REA telephone loan program in 1949. With the financial assistance from REA, many Independents were able to service isolated areas and expand to new locations. Another program that assists making affordable service available to high-cost areas is the universal service fund. This is a pro- gram whereby long distance compa- nies pay into a fund that is used to help companies economically serve high-cost areas. About 75 percent of the fund goes to companies whose costs to provide service exceed 150 percent of the national average. These mechanisms, as well as others such as the more recent link-up and life line programs, are vitally impor- tant to the provision of universal service. With the national average pen- etration rate of over 93 percent, it is evident that the universal service policy has been highly successful. In looking at the diversity of America from an economic, as well as from a geographic, perspective, one stands amazed at the level in which basic telephone service is afforded. Even within the state of Georgia, which has metropolitan and rural, moun- 178 i tains and swamp land, mainland and islands, well-to-do and poverty, the Independent telephone compa- nies have penetrated the market similar to the national average with providing basic local service. A majority of the customers served by the Georgia independent telephone companies have been benefactors of the universal service programs. Since there is indeed saturation of basic local service, the question now is, "Has the universal service ideology lived its life or should the doctrine continue being dynamic in relation to the industry's technolo- gy?" In essence, in light of today's communication network that has a broader playing field and more players in the field than ever before, what is and should be the role of the universal service concept? In redefining universal service, it must be acknowledged that for the most part the universal service school of thought has accomplished its original intention of providing basic service at affordable rates to all households. However, based on the Communications Act of 1934, which used the terminology "adequate facilities," the basic premise is just what are "adequate facilities?" It is relatively unquestioned that multi- party service with today's commu- nications infrastructure and technology is viewed as sub-stan- dard and because of the universal service programs, it is definitely the exception rather than the rule. As the traditional telephone industry views its business changing from plain old telephone services (basic, local telephone service) to communi- cations to entertainment, the indus- try players will be required to modernize their infrastructure. Similar to previous experience, investments for modernization are relative to densities of subscriber- ship; therefore, the companies serv- ing rural areas will again be faced with the challenge of providing state-of-the- art services at a higher cost per customer than the urban and suburban companies. Many of the current facilities are viewed as inadequate for the services that are proposed to be provided in the immediate future. Is it fair for con- sumers of urban areas to have ser- vices that rural Americans cannot have? Some of these services may yield better educational, business and competitive advantages enhanc- ing the quality of life for the more densely populated areas if the uni- versal service doctrine is not contin- ued. Was it the intent of the Congress that universal service be dynamic? No one really knows; however, it appears that it is still a valid principle that should be adhered. In the modem communi- cations network, there is and will be greater competition with the mar- kets opened up to more entities. What the support mecharusms are and who pays will become more complex with competition. Similar to the perceived two Georgiasthe metro Georgia and the rural Georgiaif universal ser- vice is not dynamic, regardless of the support mechanisms, there easi- ly could be two Americasthe modem, technologically advanced communication America and the mral, basic service America. In order for America to be the leader in world economies, aU of America must be modem and sophisticated in its telecommunications infrastmc- tureaU Americans should have equal access to a common network at an economical price. In some manner, universal service must be a continued ideology in concept and support. GLENN E. BRYANT Bom and raised in Florida, Glenn E. Bryant came to Hinesville, Georgia, as a civil servant with the govern- ment, managing the federal housing at Camp Stewart. Bryant's telephone vocation began with the purchase of Hinesville Telephone Company in 1946. He later purchased Coastal Telephone Company and merged the two companies as Coastal Utilities, Inc. Bryant is chair- man of the Board of Directors of the company. In addition to a sterling career in the telephone industry, Bryant has served his state and community in sev- eral important capacities. He became mayor of Hinesville in 1962, and over the next eight years as mayor, he accomplished many noteworthy work projects. From 1970-78, he was chairman of the Liberty County Board of Commissioners. From 1979 to 1988, Bryant represented the Third Senatorial District in the General Assembly of Georgia and served on several important committees. He has devoted much time and effort to area planning and developmental projects and given over thirty years service to the Boy Scouts. Governor Zell Miller recently appointed Bryant to the Georgia Community Affairs Committee. On a personal level, the Bryants have three sons, all associated with Coastal Utihties, Inc., and five grand- children. He is a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Hinesville. 179 On the 75th anniversary of the Georgia Telephone Association and the corresponding one hundred years since the expiration of the original Bell patents (1893,1894), it is fitting to reflect on the early years of telephony and then briefly to bring the records up to date. Today, bright, sophisticated young men and women are stepping into roles previously held by the rugged individualists whose lengthy shadows provide the foundation that gives heart to the vastly changing industry. Telephone Engineer and Management (TE&M) magazine has changed its name to America's Nefieorfc. Pac-Tel is now Airtouch! AT&T is no longer an acronym for American Telephone & Telegraph Company. The name is AT&T! The former Bell companies have deleted the word telephone from the names of the baby Bell companies. Alexander Graham Bell didn't invent switches, and the box on the wall with a ringer can be bought at K-Mart! The telephone business is moving into the Information Age. The potential is limitless and the telephone industry has committed to becoming a domi Vvf ;, nant leader in the advanced telecommunications infrastructure. ' A: ' TheEnD^-'-. : A