Alma Telephone Company was organized in June 1904. The original location of the switchboard equipment and company office
was located at 115 S County Road in Alma, Missouri. By 1918 the operation was moved to the present location at 206 S County Road.
William H. Rolf served as the first president of the board and Julius Frerking served as secretary-treasurer.
Operations began with four women operators and only a few phones in service. In February of 1912 Alma Telephone Company
was incorporated and in 1936 the customer base in this small rural community had grown to 294 subscribers.
In December of 1972 new switching equipment was installed and touch-tone dialing was provided to the then 366 subscribers.
This new system eliminated the need of a switchboard and therefore initiated the retirement of the operators who had provided
a very valuable service by operating them.
In September of 1989 Alma Telephone Company and three other partners formed Mid-Missouri Cellular. This partnership was
responsible for bringing wireless services to Lafayette and six other counties.
In May of 1992 Alma Telephone Company took another step forward by upgrading from the mechanical system to a digital system.
This installation was a trial test site for the Rural Electrification Administration (REA). Before the end of 1993
Alma Telephone Company had begun another adventure in bringing the world closer to Alma and its surrounding rural communities
by offering internet services.
Today, Alma Telephone Company is in the finishing steps of its latest project, FTTH (Fiber To The Home). FTTH means
that each customer has a fiber optic connection to the side of their house. Fiber Optic
technology allows Alma Telephone Company to provide legacy telephone service & BroadBand
access to each home and business in the 674 exchange without distance being a factor. |