DUO Broadband, a leading regional provider of fiber-optic internet and telephone services, is proud to announce the celebration of its 70th anniversary. Founded in 1954, DUO Broadband has been at the forefront of telecommunications, providing innovative solutions and comprehensive service to the residents and businesses of Southern Kentucky.
“Our commitment to local service reflects the reason DUO Broadband was established in 1954,” said Thomas Preston, DUO Broadband Chief Executive Officer. “Back then, a group of local individuals formed the original two-county cooperative to provide telephone service where big, outside companies would not venture. Seventy years later we now serve businesses and residents in six rural Kentucky counties. And, we are still 100 percent owned and operated by people who live, work, and play in the same communities.”
To celebrate the company’s milestone there will be special events and offers throughout 2024. “We plan to have live radio remotes and community celebrations,” said Eric West, Director of Business Operations. “We also would love to hear from people who had our service in the early days of DUO. We’d like to hear your stories… what it was like to have a Party Line, and what it was like before there was Internet.”
DUO’s Beginnings
Telephone service was a luxury in most areas of Kentucky in the 50s. Rural Kentucky normally had service only in the small towns, and that service was performed with a local operator making manual switchboard connections between telephone customers.
In 1954, a small group of individuals in Cumberland County met and decided they would change communications in that rural area of south-central Kentucky. In May of that year, incorporation papers for the Duo County Telephone Cooperative were filed. In May of 1956, the cooperative purchased a small manual telephone system called Russell Home Telephone Company in Russell County. The cooperative also made plans to serve rural Adair County where no service was available. Plans to serve Clinton County fell through as the cooperative could not purchase the manual system in that area. DUO started getting its feet on the ground in December of 1958 when it converted its existing customer base to automated dial service in Russell, Adair, and Cumberland counties.
Over the past seven decades, DUO Broadband has evolved from a small telephone service company (which provided Party Line connections) into a multi-faceted broadband service provider, continually adapting to the changing technological landscape. DUO was ahead of the curve when it began deploying fiber optic data lines almost three decades ago.
