TDS Telecom Acquires State Long Distance Telcom in Elkhorn, Wis.
TDS Telecommunications Corp. (TDS Telecom) has acquired State Long Distance Telcom, Ltd. in Elkhorn, Wisconsin. The transaction includes more than 9,600 residential and business line equivalents and 2,200 DSL lines covering a 75 mile radius. The southeast Wisconsin company is near several existing TDS service territories including Waterford, Bohners Lake and Wind Lake, Wis.
The acquisition also includes subsidiary, SLD Services, Ltd., which sells, installs and maintains telephone equipment, including customer premise phone equipment in various communities throughout southeast and south central Wisconsin.
State Long Distance Telcom is a fixture in Wisconsin telecommunications history, with its roots in the Wiswell family reaching back more than 100 years.
“Certainly one has to acknowledge the hard work of the Wiswell family to build and continue to grow a strong communications company. TDS and State Long Distance Telcom have been friendly neighbors for many years,” states Dave Wittwer, president and CEO of TDS Telecommunications Corp.
For TDS the acquisition enables the company to expand customer coverage in the state.
TDS will communicate directly to all State Long Distance Telcom customers in their monthly statements or via direct postal mail not via email, as the change moves forward. TDS encourages customers to continue to interact with the company as they normally would until they are officially notified by mail of any changes. “We are working now with the employees to ensure a smooth transition. There will be a time period for us to convert the customer information into our databases, until then it is business as usual,” adds Wittwer.
Recent acquisitions by TDS include Mosinee Telephone Co. in Wis. and West Point Communications in Indiana. Mazer Telecom Advisors of Denver, Co., acted as financial advisor to State Long Distance Telecom, Ltd, in the transaction.
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