About Us

Valley Telecommunications Cooperative Assn. Inc., and Valley Communications, Inc. (Valley) will provide our customers the highest level of telecommunications services available.

Objectives:

Valley will increase its market share for all aspects of telecommunications services.

Valley will increase the awareness of all telecommunications services provided by Valley through a superior marketing plan, thereby building a strong customer base.

Goals:

Valley will be perceived by its customers as the premiere provider of high quality, up-to-date, affordable telecommunications services in the markets that we serve. In addition, Valley will provide and maintain these services in an efficient and customer friendly manner.

In September, 1950, a meeting was held in Mound City, SD, by a group of area residents who were interested in bringing improved telephone service into the area. As a result of this meeting, it was decided to canvas the area to see if there would be enough interest to form a Cooperative and obtain a loan from REA (Rural Electrification Administration) to provide dial telephone service.

A committee was formed to explain the program and finally there were enough signatures to prove to REA that a system would be feasible. The name of Valley Telephone Cooperative Association, Inc. was selected and Articles of Incorporation were filed in 1952. In 1954, a loan in the amount of $528,000 was granted by REA.

Construction began in 1955 and dial service was installed in Glenham, Herreid, Mound City, and Pollock in 1956. The rural lines were all eight party with private line service being offered only in the towns.

Valleys service area was expanded in 1958 with the acquisition of the Western Mutual Telephone Company, serving the Leola area and the Hosmer Telephone Company serving the Hosmer area. During 1959, the Leola and Hosmer exchanges were cut over to dial service and the new headquarters office was completed in Herreid. In 1964, the Long Lake exchange was acquired and converted to dial service. Equipment upgrades began taking place in 1964 when four party service was introduced.

In 1980, REA financing through the Rural Development Program became available to telephone companies for construction of cable television systems. Franchises and FCC waivers were obtained and construction began. Leola was the first town to receive cable television service through Valley in 1981 with Herreid receiving cable television service in 1984.

In 1994, US West offered properties for sale to cooperatives and independent telephone companies through a bidding process. Valley Cable & Satellite Communications, Inc. was successful in purchasing two exchanges, Eureka and Ipswich.

To accommodate Valleys growth, the board approved an expansion of the Herreid headquarters office in 1995. Property was acquired and construction began in May 1996 with the completion and  open house held in December 1996.

In December 1997, Valley Telecommunications became an internet provider, with the addition of Local Dial-Up Service. In 2001, Valley Internet began offering DSL (Digital-Subscriber-Line) or high-speed internet service, which is currently available to 99.9% of all Valley members.

In January of 2000, the Eureka and Ipswich customers were brought into the cooperative and two additional directors were appointed to the Valley Board to serve as representatives for these customers.

In June 2004, Valley Communications, Inc. began to offer digital video television service that replaced the outdated cable system from the 1980s. This digital video service is an IP (Internet Protocol) based service and is available in seven of the nine towns serviced by Valley and features more than 100 channels as well as pay-per-view services.

In November 2006, Valley broadened its service offerings with the addition of Valley Wireless. Valley Wireless utilizes the nations most reliable wireless network offering nationwide service with local billing and customer service. With many single and family plans to choose from, as well as advanced services such as text and picture messaging and data delivery, Valley Wireless brings advanced services available nationwide to our members.

In October 2008, Valley announced an $18.3 million dollar FTTF (Fiber-To-The-Farm) project in which fiber optics will be buried to each rural member. This upgrade will allow for members in the rural areas to receive advanced services such as video television.

In December 2008, Valleys DMS10 switch was replaced with a state-of-the-art soft switch which will allow for a totally IP based network.

As we continue to upgrade our services and plan for the future, we are confident that the loyalty from our members will continue to be the driving force behind our success.