For those of you in the Alton, Barnstead, Farmington, Gilmanton, New Durham and Strafford areas Union Telephone has been sold:
Fosters Daily Democrat
Wisconsin company buys Union Telephone
By
John Quinn
[email protected]
Thursday, December 3, 2009
FARMINGTON — Union Telephone Co. became part of a Wisconsin telecommunications company after the sale was finalized Tuesday, but customers will not experience any difference in their service at this time.
TDS Telecommunications Corp., based in Madison, Wisc., announced it had purchased the privately held telecommunications company based at 7 Central St., which provides service to all or parts of Alton, Barnstead, Farmington, Gilmanton, New Durham and Strafford.
"We look forward to the opportunity to serve the customers of Union Telephone Company with the same level of outstanding customer care and communications expertise that our existing TDS customers enjoy in the Granite State today. Union Telephone is an excellent company and a strong, strategic addition to our service area footprint in New Hampshire," David Wittwer, president and chief executive officer of TDS, said in a company release on Tuesday.
Officials from TDS and Union Telephone could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
TDS entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Union Telephone Co. in August. The transaction includes more than 8,500 access line equivalents, covering 150 square miles in the eastern part of the state
Area residents within Union's service area with worldpath.net Internet domains will eventually be converted to tds.net addresses in a few months, local phone "customers will not experience any immediate changes, nor will they need to take any immediate actions," according to the release.
"We will work with the employees of Union Telephone Company to ensure a smooth transition for each of our customers," Wittwer said in the release. "Thank you in advance for your patience as we begin the hard work of carefully converting account information and transitioning critical infrastructure to the TDS platform."
TDS customers will be notified and fully prepared for the ISP transition in advance of that change in 2010, according to the release.
TDS Telecommunications — a subsidiary of Telephone and Data Systems Inc. — provides phone, broadband and digital television service in 30 states and already operates five phone companies in New Hampshire. The company will expand its communications services through this acquisition by offering more phone, Internet, and online security options. DISH Network digital satellite television services will be added shortly, according to the release.