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1940's
top
- October 28, 1949 - President Truman signs the telephone
amendment to the Rural Electrification Act of 1935 to provide
low cost loans to be used to improve and to provide telephone
service to rural areas of America.
1950's
top
- July 7, 1950 - First public meeting to discuss the formation
of our telephone cooperative takes place in Garrison.
- January 1951 - Area residents and representatives from
the telephone companies at Parshall, Plaza, Makoti, Ryder,
Van Hook, and Sanish meet at Roseglen and decide to form
a rural telephone cooperative named Reservation Mutual Aid
Telephone Corporation.
- 1952 - New Town exchange replaces the Van Hook and Sanish
exchanges.
- August 12, 1952 - Reservation Mutual Aid
Telephone Corporation's first REA loan is obtained for
$417,000.00.
- August 14, 1952 - Freddie Ahlgren is named General Manager.
- 1954 - 1958 - Telephone exchanges at Parshall, Plaza, Makoti,
Ryder, Emmet, Roseglen, Arnegard, Keene, Norma, Spencer,
Ross and Douglas are added.
- 1958 - Reservation Mutual Aid
Telephone Corporation headquarters building is built.
- 1959 - Original nine member Board of Directors reorganize as a board of seven members. The name Reservation Mutual
Aid Telephone Corporation changes to Reservation Telephone
Cooperative (RTC). RTC begins offering mobile telephone service with towers at Keene, Parshall
and Roseglen. IMTS (Improved Mobile Telephone Service) is offered over radio
channels licensed by FCC (Federal Communications Commission).
1960's
top
- 1963 - Minuteman Missile installations began. RTC provides
service to 7 sites.
- 1967 - RTC's "Service Improvement Program" begins
to bring one party service to all subscribers and
replaces the open wire plant with underground facilities.
1970's
top
- 1971 - Squaw Gap exchange is added.
- Dec. 15, 1971 - Squaw Gap is connected to the rest of the world by telephone. NBC (National Broadcasting Corporation)
along with thousands of television viewers and Squaw Gap subscribers
gather to witness the first telephone call made by RTC Board President Donnell Haugen and Squaw Gap resident Ray Macik
to Washington D.C. where Secretary of Agriculture Earl Butz
is on the line to congratulate them.
- August 1972 - All subscribers now have private line service.
- 1973 - 1974 - All exchanges are converted to direct distance
dialing and automatic number identification.
- 1974 - Mandaree exchange is added.
- 1976 - First major addition to the headquarters building
is completed. RTC becomes member of NCDC (North Central Data Cooperative) now known as
NISC (National Information Solutions Cooperative). Phone billing is converted to computer.
1980's
top
- 1980 - RTC hires Gene Sloan as new General Manager. Freddie Ahlgren, RTC's first General Manager, retires ending a 28 year career
(1952-1980).
- 1981 - RTC gets into the cable TV business. Rolfson Construction
plows coaxial TV cable in New Town and Parshall.
- 1983 - Headquarters building is expanded to make room for
the new digital switch.
- 1984 - New digital switch is installed. AT&T Divestiture becomes a reality.
- 1985 - RTC starts replacing the old rotary dial telephone
sets using a modular connection.
- 1987 - RTC plows coaxial TV cable in Plaza. RTC becomes member of North Central Regional Processing Center (NCRPC).
- 1988 - RTC plows coaxial TV cable in Makoti.
- 1989 - RTC plows coaxial TV cable in Ryder and purchases the cable TV system in Arnegard from a private individual. Payroll and labor accounting becomes automated with the aid of NCDC. RTC upgrades new digital switches and plows fiber optic cable as the backbone
for the toll network.
1990's
top
- 1990's - College scholarship program implemented for high
school seniors.
- September 1995 - RTC announces it will offer Internet service.
- 1996 - RTC becomes a member of Dakota Carrier Network (DCN).
- June 1996 - RTC purchases the exchanges of Garrison, Max
and Kenmare. RTC sells payphone business.
- 1998 - Royce Aslakson, previously Office Manager, is promoted
as Assistant General Manager.
- August 1998 - RTC joins North Dakota Long Distance (NDLD) as a
partner.
- 1999 - RTC offers equal access giving RTC subscribers a choice
of long distance carriers.
- May 1999 - Cellular phone service makes IMTS obsolete and
all three systems are shut down.
2000's
top
- 2001 - Gene Sloan, RTC's second General Manager retires
after 21 years of service. RTC begins offering DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) service.
- September 1, 2001 - Assistant General Manager Royce Aslakson
is promoted to the General Manager position.
- 2003 - RTC installs OC-48 Sonet Ring.
- April 1, 2003 - RTC purchases Watford City and Alexander
exchanges from Citizens Telecommunications Company.
- September 1, 2003 - RTC purchases McKenzie Consolidated
Telcom (MCT).
- November 2, 2004 - RTC purchases the Alexander, Garrison,
Kenmare, Max and Watford City cable TV systems from Midcontinent
Communications, Inc.
- April 28, 2005 - Ground breaking takes place for addition
to headquarters building.
- June 1, 2005 - RTC begins offering WildBlue Satellite Speed
Internet service in partnership with National Rural Telecommunications
Cooperative (NRTC).
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