About Alma Telephone Company 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 206 S County Road where it operated until 2012. At the end of 2011 the company purchased the LBI building and as of January 2012 the new year began with corporate operations relocating to 102 3rd Street in Alma.
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.
In 2006 Alma Telephone Company completed its Fiber to the Home (FTTH) project. 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 & high-speed Broadband access to each home and business in the 660-674 Exchange without distance being a factor.
