Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. subsidiary TDS Broadband Service LLC, which is operated by TDS Telecom, says it has closed its acquisition of municipal North Carolina broadband services provider Continuum. The company announced the $80 million deal for Continuum, headquartered in Mooresville, NC, in August 2019.
Continuum was owned by the municipalities of Mooresville and Davidson, NC. TDS closed the purchase after the citizens of the two communities approved a referendum on the deal in November. In addition to those two municipalities, Continuum provided services in Cornelius and Huntersville, passing a total of 36,500 households with fiber and coax infrastructure. The company’s 70 employees have been offered positions with TDS.
“We welcome the employees of Continuum to the TDS family. They are now part of an exciting journey to expand and improve broadband availability in North Carolina,” said TDS Telecom President and CEO Jim Butman. “TDS is a strong, community-minded company. We believe in investing for the long run and work to provide the absolute best in broadband, TV, and phone services for our customers.”
Continuum will continue to operate under its current name “for many months ahead,” according to TDS. “We are not in a hurry to change the name. We want to get to know the community and grow with the needs of the area,” explained Butman.
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Stephen Hardy | Editorial Director and Associate Publisher, Lightwave
Stephen Hardy is editorial director and associate publisher of Lightwave and Broadband Technology Report, part of the Lighting & Technology Group at Endeavor Business Media. Stephen is responsible for establishing and executing editorial strategy across the both brands’ websites, email newsletters, events, and other information products. He has covered the fiber-optics space for more than 20 years, and communications and technology for more than 35 years. During his tenure, Lightwave has received awards from Folio: and the American Society of Business Press Editors (ASBPE) for editorial excellence. Prior to joining Lightwave in 1997, Stephen worked for Telecommunications magazine and the Journal of Electronic Defense.
Stephen has moderated panels at numerous events, including the Optica Executive Forum, ECOC, and SCTE Cable-Tec Expo. He also is program director for the Lightwave Innovation Reviews and the Diamond Technology Reviews.
He has written numerous articles in all aspects of optical communications and fiber-optic networks, including fiber to the home (FTTH), PON, optical components, DWDM, fiber cables, packet optical transport, optical transceivers, lasers, fiber optic testing, and more.
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