Truvista Fiber's SlyTel acquisition deepens its Southern Georgia reach

Truvista Fiber is on the acquisition hunt again, reaching a deal to acquire SlyTel, a municipal telecommunications company in Sylvester, Georgia, to expand its presence in the Southern Georgia broadband market. 

A big focus of the acquisition is consistency for SlyTel’s existing customer base.

After the deal closes, SlyTel will operate under the Truvista Fiber name, and existing customers will have access to the features and benefits of the Truvista Fiber network, including new video and voice products for residential and business customers. SlyTel customers will also have the option to purchase 2 and 5 Gbps speeds.

SlyTel customers will be seamlessly moved to the Truvista Fiber network. They can expect to receive welcome information in the coming weeks, both by mail and email, on options for higher speeds, customer care numbers, and other relevant details.

"The telecommunications industry has become complex enough that we were looking for a partner with the ability to invest in the network and offer residents the best products, while keeping our commitment to top-tier customer service," said Chris Davis, Sylvester City Manager.

Enhancing services, experience

While municipally run broadband networks have seen their share of successes and failures, the City of Sylvester sees an opportunity to hand off network operations to a provider with experience operating fiber networks and access to broader financial resources.

SlyTel currently offers an array of broadband, video and voice services. Starting at $64.99 a month, SlyTel offers three main speed tiers to consumers—300 Mbps, 500 Mbps and 1 Gbps. Consumers can also purchase streaming video and voice services, which require a broadband account. It offers similar voice, video and data services to businesses.

In addition to its experience operating and integrating network facilities, TruVista, which began its life as the Chester Telephone Company in 1897, has the financial backing of private equity firm iCON Infrastructure, which acquired the company in 2019. This structure will likely enable TruVista to enhance customer service capabilities and the service set by adding additional speeds and features.

The City of Sylvester noted that selling its municipal broadband system to Truvista Fiber will improve services for its residents.

“We made this decision to ensure that a dedicated and experienced internet service provider can invest in and manage the network effectively,” the City of Slyvester said in a Facebook post. “Our goal is to provide the best for our residents, and we believe this new service provider will bring significant improvements in the near future.”

Long M&A history

Truvista has never shied away from making inorganic acquisitions of other providers to enhance its reach.

In 2022, the service provider acquired Plant Telephone Company (PTC) and Plant Telecommunications Sales & Services (PTS) (together known as PlantTel).

After completing the acquisition, Truvista expanded its reach into North Central South Carolina, Northeast Georgia, and Southern Georgia.

Earlier, in 2012, Truvista bought cable systems serving Franklin, Hart, Rabun, and Stephens counties in Georgia from Northland Communications, a Seattle, WA-based company, and Depot Street Communications, a GA based company, the first acquisition outside South Carolina.

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