Shentel history

By 1906, Farmers Mutual served roughly 400 customers through 50 grounded lines.

The company’s 20th anniversary in 1922 marked the introduction of long distance service to its customers, a service available for a flat, $5 fee.

Farmers suffered from the toll exacted by the financial crisis—the price of certain crops fell to levels not seen since the end of the 18th century—but Farmers Mutual survived, earmarking funds for the purchase of new equipment and new lines by 1936.

In 1941, the year the United States entered World War II, Farmers Mutual generated $40,000 in revenue, a total that would more than double during the war years.

1954: WARREN B. FRENCH, JR., JOINS FARMERS MUTUAL

By 1960, when Farmers Mutual changed its name to Shenandoah Telephone Company, the years of operators having to manually place calls on switchboards were over.

Introduced in 1961, this water slide is still tops for many kids wanting to beat the summer heat.

French streamlined the process in 1962 by installing automatic, long distance dialing equipment, making Shenandoah Telephone subscribers the first in the state of Virginia to dial their own person-to-person and collect long distance calls.

Line crews, using a state-of-the-art cable plow, began burying wire in 1965, the same year French, distinguishing himself as a visionary, launched a study of cable television, intending to provide such service to Shenandoah Telephone customers.

1980 – Shenandoah Telephone Company introduces cable TV service.

French, who was intent on diversifying Shenandoah Telephone’s business, perceived the wisdom of the move and formed Shenandoah Telecommunications Company, or Shentel, in 1981.

In 1984, one year after the company laid down its first fiber-optic cable, ShenTel Service Company and Shenandoah Mobile Company were formed.

In 1987, Shenandoah Long Distance Company was formed, a subsidiary that captured 35 percent of the local market by the time Shenandoah Network Company, which was founded to participate in an interstate fiber-optic network, was launched the following year.

The formation of Shenandoah Network Company in 1988 marked the end of an era.

In 1990, Shentel became the first company in Virginia to offer cellular service to rural customers.

In 1994, through a partnership with Globalcom, an Internet service provider based in Falls Church, Virginia, the company began offering access to the Internet in a three-county area.

1995 – Shentel enters into an agreement with American Personal Communications to become the first rural PCS provider in the US.

By the end of the decade, as Shentel’s operating subsidiaries matured, sales doubled, reaching $42.2 million in 1999.

“Edinburg, Va.–Based Shenandoah Telecommunications Reports Rise in Earnings,” Richmond Times-Dispatch, October 19, 2002.

“Shenandoah Telecommunications Inks $20 Million Pact with Lucent,” Wireless News, May 21, 2004.

The addition of NTC combined with the growth achieved by Shentel’s operating subsidiaries lifted revenues to $146 million in 2005.

“Shenandoah Telecommunications Gets New Affiliate Pacts with Sprint, Nextel,” Wireless News, March 18, 2007.

2008 – Purchased franchised cable assets in VA and WV from Rapid Communications

2009 – Purchased North River Telephone Cooperative in Augusta County; bringing high-speed Internet service to these customers for the first time.

2010 – Purchased two small cable systems from Suddenlink – one in Maryland and the other in West Virginia.

2011 – Upgrades and extends former JetBroadband and Suddenlink cable systems, bringing total number of homes passed to 182,156.

2013 – 50 Mbps high-speed Internet launched in most cable markets.

2015 – Shentel announces agreement to buy regional wireless company, nTelos.

2016 – Completes acquisition of nTelos, becomes sixth largest public wireless company in the United States.

2017 – Shentel is recognized as the Independent Operator of the Year by industry magazine Cablefax.

1 Gig PowerHouse Internet service available in Virginia cable markets after soft launch in fall of 2018.

2019 – Shentel launches first Fiber to the Home market under the Glo Fiber brand in Harrisonburg, Virginia, offering speeds up to 2 Gigs.