Fulfilling a Vision of Small-Town Broadband

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When they set out on their own in 2012 after more than two decades working for one of the most revered names in the cable industry — the late Bill Bresnan, founder of Bresnan Communications — Jeff DeMond and Andrew Kober had a clear vision of where their respective futures lay. Broadband was the key. But not just any broadband. DeMond, CEO of Vyve Broadband, one of 2018’s Independent Operators of the Year, said he and Kober, Vyve’s chief financial officer, specifically looked for rural markets, territories that were essentially being shunned by larger, more established operators. "We still thought upgraded broadband networks were the best delivery platform for all the advanced services that were known and seemed to be coming, and that rural markets were still attractive and obviously still are underserved,” DeMond said. “They have lower competition and, important to our investment, they had slower broadband adoption. That gave us a window to say, ‘Where could we go to do what we believe we do well, based on the experience of our core team and all that have joined since?’ We looked around for that kind of opportunity and we ended up finding two companies.” Those two companies were Allegiance Communications, a small operator with systems in OK, TX, AR, KS and MO; and James Cable, with operations in OK, TX, LA, TN, GA and WY. 


Fulfilling a Vision of Small-Town Broadband