Our Mission
Our mission is to be an industry leader in providing rural communities with high-quality technology and communication services at competitive prices accompanied by honest and friendly local customer service.
Our Company Timeline
On June 30th 2022, the Company acquired West Media Group (WMG) and its wholly-owned affiliate, Apollo Design Group (ADG). Established in 1998, WMG is a full-service creative advertising agency and Internet marketing company that specializes in the development of strategic marketing plans geared toward maximizing sales. ADG’s core competency is billboard and magazine design work. WMG and ADG will be accounted for as divisions of LHTC Media, Inc. (LHTCM).
LHTC joined with two other local companies to form a fiber ring in the Laurel Highlands region to cover its bandwidth needs for the foreseeable future, and to help control the costs of its Internet backbone. As part of this effort, a new entity, WPA Fiber Network, LLC, was formed and became operational effective January 1, 2022.
On Thursday, August 6, the Mountain Laurel Chamber of Commerce (MLCC) hosted a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for LHTC Broadband’s New Corporate Offices overlooking the beautifully remodeled Caddie Shak at 101 Laurel Highlands Place in Donegal. Members of the MLCC, sister chamber’s, local officials and members of the community toured the new facility that brings together both LHTC Broadband’s business offices, that were in Indian Head and Stahlstown, along with its LHTC Media operations. The building includes a customer care center for LHTC Broadband customers to pay bills, pick up equipment, learn about new services, and discuss their accounts with customer service representatives. It will also be home to the new LHTC Media studios for video and broadcast production.
In July 2019, LHTC acquired the stock of Statimate Systems, Inc., d/b/a Exelos, an IT managed service provider in Greensburg, PA, which has been serving southwestern PA since 1992.
In February 2018, LHTC acquired the stock of a holding company, LTC Communications, and its subsidiaries, Lackawaxen Telecom, Inc. (LTI), Lackawaxen Telecommunications Services, Inc. (LTSI), and Lackawaxen Long Distance Company (LLDC), in Rowland, PA. LTC was formed in 1905 and was organized under the name of Hawley and Lackawaxen Telephone Company. Like Laurel Highland Telephone Company, area residents had begun to organize in response to the need they saw in the community for a communications system. Consequently, some of the leaders and original investors in the young phone company were store owners, woodsmen, farmers, and members of the Forest Lake Club. Originally, the company had two exchanges; one in a house in Bohemia, and the other in the Lackawaxen area. Eventually, the Bohemia exchange was discontinued, and the final location of the other original exchange was on the riverbank, just before the approach to the Lackawaxen Bridge.
In 1953-54, E.Y. Stroud, of Dingman’s Ferry, PA, acquired controlling shares in the company. Under his leadership, Lackawaxen Telephone restructured its finances through its participation in the federal telephone loan program made possible by the Rural Electrification Administration (REA) in Washington, D.C. This expansion enabled the company to complete its cutover from the old magneto hand-crank system to modern dial tone in January 1957. After Mr. Stroud’s passing, Mrs. Mildred Stroud took over as LTC president. In overseeing the company’s operations. In 1972, Hale S. Coughlin, Jr., of Fayetteville, NY, purchased the Stroud family’s shares and became majority shareholder. Mr. Coughlin worked diligently to expand LTC’s operations and to set the groundwork for the company’s status today. From the old magneto system that served less than 100 subscribers in the off-season, Lackawaxen now serves close to 2,000 customers. In December 1996, LTC established a long-distance subsidiary, Lackawaxen Long Distance, to provide customers competitive long-distance rates coupled with the benefit and convenience of a provider located in the community. In September 1997, LTC began to offer local, dial-up access to the Internet and then eventually deployed DSL service to bridge the Digital Divide in Wayne and Pike Counties.
In June 2017, the LHTC acquired the assets of four stations (100.9 FM WZST, 94.3 FM WRLF, 1490 WTCS, and 920 AM The Ticket), along with two FM translators, in Fairmont, WV and formed LHTC Media of West Virginia (LHWV). WZST operates as the flagship station for West Virginia University Athletics.
In January 2017, LHTC was rebranded as LHTC Broadband.
LHTC Broadband provides local phone, long distance, Internet, and cable television services to customers across 200 square miles in rural Pennsylvania. LHTC employs over 50 people and is headquartered in Stahlstown with a business office in Indian Head.
LHTC Broadband’s success has been derived from a long-standing commitment to provide customers with high quality services, which are delivered at affordable prices and supported with personalized care. LHTC Broadband continues to invest heavily in its infrastructure so that customers can enjoy the state-of-the-art communications services available through LHTC Broadband’s network – both now and in the future.
In 2016, LHTC Media, Inc. acquired the assets of radio station 910 AM WAVL in Apollo, PA, along with its FM translator, enabling the station to simulcast on 98.7 FM.
In November 2016, LHTC branched into the family entertainment industry by purchasing assets of the Caddie Shak Family Entertainment Center in Donegal, PA. A new company was formed in connection with the acquisition, LHTC Entertainment, Inc.
In 2015, LHTC Media, Inc. launched LHTC Media Showcase to sell TV advertising on the LHTC Broadband and Citizens Fiber cable systems. Also, in 2015, LHTC began to offer its core services (i.e., Internet, phone, and TV) as a CLEC in Ligonier, PA.
In 2014, LHTC formed a new subsidiary, LHTC Media, Inc. (LHTCM) and purchased the assets of 1480 AM WCNS radio in Latrobe, PA.
In 2013, LHTC acquired the assets of South Canaan Telephone Company (SCTC), along with its two affiliated companies, South Canaan Services Company (SCSC) and South Canaan Long Distance Company (SCLD), in South Canaan, PA. Like Laurel Highland Telephone Company, it was around the turn of the century when a one wire telephone line was built, connecting the villages of Lake Ariel, Georgetown (Gravity), and South Canaan. Those who had telephones on this line could be connected to each other by means of a switch board. There was a meeting in 1906 to consider the organization of a more modern telephone system and it was decided to obtain a charter for the organization of a telephone company. The name of the new company was The South Canaan Telephone Company and the charter was obtained in September of 1906. Before long, a trunk line was built across the mountains to Carbondale from Waymart and more lines were added to Lake Ariel to expand business in that direction. During this time, an independent telephone company organized and built lines north of Waymart and east of South Canaan and Waymart. As the two companies grew, they seemed to cause dissension in the town. People needed to rent telephones for calling one another since the independent lines and South Canaan lines did not connect with one another. After considerable bargaining, the independent company was bought by the South Canaan Telephone Company.
During the 1950s, plans went forward for the installation of a dial system and automatic exchange. A building to house the central office and the new automatic exchange was built in South Canaan and a central exchange office was built in Waymart. In October of 1963, the switch over was officially completed. South Canaan Telephone Company, which began in a small way, had become a progressive, modern telephone system.
In 2012, Laurel Highland Telephone Company joined forces, along with several other small, rural telecommunications companies, to form The Small Company Coalition (SCC). Jim Kail serves an Executive Board member along with two others. The organization is an alliance of rural telecommunications and broadband providers formed to educate and empower small rural ILECs on methods to influence and eliminate harmful regulations and legislation.
In 2008, LHTC acquired another small local exchange carrier, Yukon-Waltz Telephone (YWTC), and its subsidiary, Yukon-Waltz Communications, Inc. (YWCI), based in Yukon, PA. YWTC was originally founded in 1911 by John Cook, who also owned Yukon Lumber Company. The name Yukon-Waltz came from the town name, Yukon, and the nearby Waltz Feed Mill. During the 1930s, John Rocker had a telephone and, like most, it was connected to a party line, which meant that when the phone rang, the call may or may not have been for the Rocker household. Rocker decided to ask for a private telephone line and was told that if he wanted a private line he had to hang the line himself, and so he did. Rocker began doing telephone installations and repairs for the company. By 1949, the Rocker family had taken control of YWTC.
At the start of 2006, Laurel Highland Telephone Company implemented a corporate restructuring whereby it and LHLD became wholly owned subsidiaries of Laurel Highland Total Communications, Inc. (LHTC), a newly formed holding company. As part of the corporate restructuring, LHTC acquired Laurel Highland Television Company, an affiliate company.
In 1996, Laurel Highland Telephone Company acquired a newly formed company, Laurel Highland Long Distance Company (LHLD), which is a reseller of interLATA toll service.
In 1967, a new affiliate company formed that provided coaxial television services in the Laurel Highlands.
In 1962, the Company acquired Indian Creek Valley Telephone Company and began providing service in the Indian Head exchange. At that time, the Company changed its name to Laurel Highland Telephone Company to reflect the fact that its service territory covered a significant portion of the geographic area referred to as the Laurel Highlands.
The Company was originally incorporated in 1908 as Ligonier Valley Telephone Company to provide service in the Stahlstown exchange. Typical of small telephone companies formed at the turn of the 20th century, the Company was founded by a group of local farmers and business people who wanted to ensure their rural communities were not bypassed by the telecommunications industry.