Hillary Communications snaps up TDS Telecom’s Oklahoma properties
Hillary Communications, a family-owned independent telco serving customers across rural Oklahoma, Texas, and Iowa, is acquiring TDS Telecom's Oklahoma network operations in a bid to enhance fiber broadband in rural markets.
What's significant for Hillary Communications is the customer base. The acquisition adds nearly 35,000 new locations to Hilliary Communications' service footprint, including communities across Oklahoma, many in growing rural regions from Elgin and Jones to Adair.
Edward E. Hilliary, Jr., co-CEO of Hilliary Communications, said that “high-speed internet is the modern economic driver to unlock each community's full potential."
Focus on scale
Hillary’s acquisition of TDS’s Oklahoma operations marks what it says is its latest move to bring scale, technology, and long-term investment to rural networks, while preserving the local, community-focused service.
This is the company's eighth acquisition of independent or regional telecom assets since 2016.
Hilliary Communications is actively investing in funding and resources to support the expansion and is currently deploying more than $250 million in new broadband infrastructure across Oklahoma, Texas, and Iowa.
The service areas being acquired include dozens of towns across the state, from central Oklahoma communities like Choctaw and Jones, to areas near Tulsa, Oklahoma City, and Lawton.
TDS’ core fiber focus
This acquisition also has benefits for TDS, which has been doing business in Oklahoma since 1978.
In particular, the divestiture of these assets allow it to sharpen its fiber focus.
"This divestiture will allow us to focus more heavily on our core fiber operations," said TDS Telecom President and CEO Ken Dixon. "We are confident our customers and associates will continue to have a positive experience with their new company."
TDS Telecom has been shedding targeted assets in various markets in recent years. In March, TDS sold its Amelia Telephone Corporation and New Castle Telephone Company properties to River Street Networks. Last August, it sold its Texas cable operations assets to Poka Lambro Telecommunications Ltd. and Nevill Holdings.
TDS Telecom has implemented an aggressive fiber build-out strategy, with plans to deliver 150,000 new fiber addresses this year. This expansion will occur in two primary segments: its fiber expansion markets and those leveraging the FCC's Enhanced Connect America program (E-ACAM).
This expansion will occur in two primary segments: its fiber expansion markets and those leveraging the FCC's Enhanced Connect America program (E-ACAM).
While assets are changing hands, TDS Telecom has ensured existing customers should will continue to receive consistent service. Upon the acquisition's closure, the local TDS Field Service associates will also transfer to the company as part of the agreement.
After meeting customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals, the deal is expected to close in the second half of 2025.
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About the Author
Sean BuckleySean Buckley
Sean is the Editor-in-Chief of Lightwave. He establishes and executes Lightwave's editorial strategy across its website, email newsletters, events, and other information products. Before coming to Lightwave in July 2023, he served as editor of Broadband Communities. Earlier, he served as senior editor of FierceTelecom and the editor of the former Telecommunications Magazine. He got his start in the optical industry in 1998 when he became the editor of enterprise and optical networks at Information Gatekeepers. He has a BA in English from the University of Massachusetts, Boston, and lives in Dracut, Mass, with his wife, two sons, and his cat, Dove.
