Whidbey Telecom
Encyclopedia
Whidbey Telecom is a private telecommunications company operating on the South End of Whidbey Island
, the community of Point Roberts, Washington
, and doing business as Hat Island Telephone Company on Hat (Gedney) Island
. Whidbey Telecom is a technologically advanced local telephone company, given its size. Whidbey Telecom is unusual because it is locally owned and has never been a part of a larger company. Whidbey Telecom is also unusual in that 100% of the lines it services are buried underground. This allows for reliable service during major storms and power outages, as well as allowing for major upgrades to be done to the phone system with little complaint from residents since any additional infrastructure is buried.
. They wanted to provide telephone service to the community but wanted to keep the ownership local to prevent an outside company from interfering in the affairs of the Whidbey Island community. All residents of South Whidbey had access to the Whidbey Telephone system by 1920. The company prospered, but after World War II
an influx of new residents began to tax the small phone company. By 1950, the company began to make major upgrades to its network but began to lose money. A white knight appeared in the form of David C. Henny. In 1953, Henny purchased a controlling interest in Whidbey Telephone Company. Under his leadership, the company was able to restructure and become profitable again, all the while completing much needed upgrades to the infrastructure. The Henny family still controls the company.
Winters in Washington bring many storms, Whidbey Telephone had overhead wires, and when the storms came, the lines went down. After several winters, where more than 60% of their customers lost service, the company decided to bury its entire network. By 1961, 100% of its lines were buried, a first for local telephone companies. Since then there has yet to be a widespread service disruption due to infrastructure damage.
Whidbey Telephone became the first local phone company (west of the Rocky Mountains
) to provide Internet access to its customers, in 1994. In 2000, while many phone companies were just beginning to offer DSL services, Whidbey began an aggressive campaign to provide the service to all of it customers. In just two years, the entire service area, including Point Roberts and Hat Island had DSL service available. For a few years, the company's Internet division, Whidbey.NET, even offered DSL to residents in Verizon territory on Whidbey Island. The service was a failure, due in part to aggressive marketing and disinformation provided by Verizon. To this date, there are large portions of North Whidbey that do not have access to DSL because of this failure.
When Greenbank
was added to the service area in the late 1990s, Whidbey Telephone assigned all Greenbank lines a 222 prefix.
on the north end of the island. WIC later expanded to also serve people on the south end of Whidbey Island. WIC's Internet domain was 'whidbey.net', whereas WIS's was 'whidbey.com'.
Whidbey Internet Connections and Whidbey Internet Services merged in 1995 into Whidbey.NET. As a result of the merger, some customers of Whidbey.NET on the south end of Whidbey continue to have '.net' addresses whereas most south end customers have '.com'.
Until 2001, Whidbey.NET maintained two different customer databases on their servers, leading some customers to have different passwords, and even different usernames depending on how and where they connected to the ISP.
Whidbey.NET began to offer DSL services to some customers (within one mile of local exchange systems) in 2000. By 2002, all Whidbey Telephone customers were capable of receiving Whidbey.NET DSL on south Whidbey Island and in Point Roberts. In 2005, the newly rebranded Whidbey Telecom Internet and Broadband began offering 5.5 Mbit/s DSL, and set their other speeds at 512kbit/s, and 2.5 Mbit/s. However, Whidbey Telecom does not offer DSL services in Verizon territory on Whidbey Island, but does still provide dial-up services in those areas. Fiber Cloud does offer DSL to any Verizon or Qwest customer in the US, via Verizon's deregulated phone system.
Beginning the spring of 2009, Whidbey Telecom began upgrading customers, free of charge, from ADSL to ADSL2+ services. This included speed upgrades to 18 Mpbs., 12Mbps, and 6Mbps. Additionally, existing dial-up customers were offered a discounted 3Mbps. service, in advance of Whidbey Telecom's phasing out their Dial-up service on South Whidbey and in Point Roberts. It is expected that the entire upgrade will be complete by Summer 2010.
The DSL prices are competitive, although Whidbey Telecom is the only provider available in their service area, apart from Comcast
, Broadstripe, Wild Blue
, and HughesNet.
Whidbey Island
Whidbey Island is one of nine islands located in Island County, Washington, in the United States. Whidbey is located about north of Seattle, and lies between the Olympic Peninsula and the I-5 corridor of western Washington...
, the community of Point Roberts, Washington
Point Roberts, Washington
Point Roberts is an unincorporated community in Whatcom County, Washington, United States. It has a post office, with the ZIP code of 98281, whose ZIP Code Tabulation Area had a population of 1,314 at the 2010 census.A geopolitical oddity, Point Roberts is a part of the United States that is not...
, and doing business as Hat Island Telephone Company on Hat (Gedney) Island
Gedney Island (Washington)
Gedney Island is an island in Possession Sound in Snohomish County, Washington, USA. The island lies in Possession Sound between the mainland city of Everett, Washington and the southern part of Whidbey Island...
. Whidbey Telecom is a technologically advanced local telephone company, given its size. Whidbey Telecom is unusual because it is locally owned and has never been a part of a larger company. Whidbey Telecom is also unusual in that 100% of the lines it services are buried underground. This allows for reliable service during major storms and power outages, as well as allowing for major upgrades to be done to the phone system with little complaint from residents since any additional infrastructure is buried.
History
Whidbey Telephone was founded in 1908 by local business owners and farmers in Langley, WashingtonLangley, Washington
Langley is a town in Island County, Washington, United States near the eastern end of the north shore of the south end of Whidbey Island. It is the third largest incorporated area on Whidbey. The population was 1,035 at the 2010 census, while the ZCTA for Langley's post office had a population of...
. They wanted to provide telephone service to the community but wanted to keep the ownership local to prevent an outside company from interfering in the affairs of the Whidbey Island community. All residents of South Whidbey had access to the Whidbey Telephone system by 1920. The company prospered, but after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
an influx of new residents began to tax the small phone company. By 1950, the company began to make major upgrades to its network but began to lose money. A white knight appeared in the form of David C. Henny. In 1953, Henny purchased a controlling interest in Whidbey Telephone Company. Under his leadership, the company was able to restructure and become profitable again, all the while completing much needed upgrades to the infrastructure. The Henny family still controls the company.
Winters in Washington bring many storms, Whidbey Telephone had overhead wires, and when the storms came, the lines went down. After several winters, where more than 60% of their customers lost service, the company decided to bury its entire network. By 1961, 100% of its lines were buried, a first for local telephone companies. Since then there has yet to be a widespread service disruption due to infrastructure damage.
Whidbey Telephone became the first local phone company (west of the Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
) to provide Internet access to its customers, in 1994. In 2000, while many phone companies were just beginning to offer DSL services, Whidbey began an aggressive campaign to provide the service to all of it customers. In just two years, the entire service area, including Point Roberts and Hat Island had DSL service available. For a few years, the company's Internet division, Whidbey.NET, even offered DSL to residents in Verizon territory on Whidbey Island. The service was a failure, due in part to aggressive marketing and disinformation provided by Verizon. To this date, there are large portions of North Whidbey that do not have access to DSL because of this failure.
Compartmentalization of Exchanges
Prior to 1991, Whidbey Telephone had two service prefixes (or exchanges), the original 321, and 221 (which was added in the late 1980s). Whidbey Island was in a period of growth, especially in the south end community. Whidbey Telephone realized that if they did not have more prefixes to use, they would shortly run out of numbers. In 1991 Whidbey added 331, 341, 579, and 730 to the existing service prefixes and began to use them on what appears to be a random basis until 1992. That year, Whidbey changed its policy and began to issue numbers based on location. The south end was carved into different exchanges; this coincided with the ending of the company's offices acting as the primary switching station. New switching centers were built in each of these geographical areas. Shortly thereafter, the existing numbers in those areas were gradually changed to the 'local' prefix, while retaining the extension (or last 4) that the number had before. This was around the same time that western Washington state was broken into two area codes. These two changes, being so close together caused problems until residents gradually adapted. However, as of 2008, it is now possible to retain a number from a different area of service when moving, rather than just the extension.When Greenbank
Greenbank, Washington
Greenbank is an unincorporated community on Whidbey Island in Island County, Washington, USA.Greenbank, which was named by Calvin Philips after his homestead in Delaware, has a population around 250...
was added to the service area in the late 1990s, Whidbey Telephone assigned all Greenbank lines a 222 prefix.
Internet services
Internet services on Whidbey Island began in 1993. Whidbey Telephone began Whidbey Internet Services (WIS) to cover the telephone company's service area. At the same time, another company, Whidbey Internet Connections (WIC), was founded to serve customers of GTEGTE
GTE Corporation, formerly General Telephone & Electronics Corporation was the largest independent telephone company in the United States during the days of the Bell System....
on the north end of the island. WIC later expanded to also serve people on the south end of Whidbey Island. WIC's Internet domain was 'whidbey.net', whereas WIS's was 'whidbey.com'.
Whidbey Internet Connections and Whidbey Internet Services merged in 1995 into Whidbey.NET. As a result of the merger, some customers of Whidbey.NET on the south end of Whidbey continue to have '.net' addresses whereas most south end customers have '.com'.
Until 2001, Whidbey.NET maintained two different customer databases on their servers, leading some customers to have different passwords, and even different usernames depending on how and where they connected to the ISP.
Whidbey.NET began to offer DSL services to some customers (within one mile of local exchange systems) in 2000. By 2002, all Whidbey Telephone customers were capable of receiving Whidbey.NET DSL on south Whidbey Island and in Point Roberts. In 2005, the newly rebranded Whidbey Telecom Internet and Broadband began offering 5.5 Mbit/s DSL, and set their other speeds at 512kbit/s, and 2.5 Mbit/s. However, Whidbey Telecom does not offer DSL services in Verizon territory on Whidbey Island, but does still provide dial-up services in those areas. Fiber Cloud does offer DSL to any Verizon or Qwest customer in the US, via Verizon's deregulated phone system.
Beginning the spring of 2009, Whidbey Telecom began upgrading customers, free of charge, from ADSL to ADSL2+ services. This included speed upgrades to 18 Mpbs., 12Mbps, and 6Mbps. Additionally, existing dial-up customers were offered a discounted 3Mbps. service, in advance of Whidbey Telecom's phasing out their Dial-up service on South Whidbey and in Point Roberts. It is expected that the entire upgrade will be complete by Summer 2010.
The DSL prices are competitive, although Whidbey Telecom is the only provider available in their service area, apart from Comcast
Comcast
Comcast Corporation is the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider, and fourth largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers in 39 states and the...
, Broadstripe, Wild Blue
Wild Blue
Wild Blue may refer to*WildBlue, a two-way satellite ISP subdivision of ViaSat*The Wild Blue: The Novel of the U.S. Air Force, 1986 book by Walter J. Boyne and Steven L. Thompson*The Wild Blue, 2001 book by Stephen Ambrose...
, and HughesNet.
Rebranding
In 2004, Whidbey Telephone company decided to consolidate its operations under a single name, Whidbey Telecom (FiberCloud continues to operate under its own name). This new identity was previewed at the Island County Fair and was officially launched in September.- 'Whidbey.NET' became 'Whidbey Telecom Internet and Broadband'
- 'Western Long Distance' became 'Whidbey Telecom Long Distance'
- 'American Alarm Systems, Inc.' became 'Whidbey Telecom Security and Alarms'
Whidbey Island
Any new customers or lines are assigned numbers based on geographic location, but customers are no longer required to change prefix when moving between service areas.- ClintonClinton, WashingtonClinton is a community and census-designated place located on southern Whidbey Island in Island County, Washington, United States. The town was named after Clinton, Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the village was 928. However, the post office serves at least 2,500 people.Clinton is the western...
- 341 - FreelandFreeland, WashingtonFreeland is a town and census-designated place in Island County, Washington, United States. At the time of the 2010 census the population was 2,035. The town received its name based on its origins as a socialist commune in the early 1900s—. Literally, in the eyes of its founders, the land of...
- 331 - LangleyLangley, WashingtonLangley is a town in Island County, Washington, United States near the eastern end of the north shore of the south end of Whidbey Island. It is the third largest incorporated area on Whidbey. The population was 1,035 at the 2010 census, while the ZCTA for Langley's post office had a population of...
- 221 - BayviewBayview, WashingtonBayview is an unincorporated community centered at the intersection of State Route 525 and Bayview Road on Whidbey Island in Island County, Washington, United States....
- 321 - Locales outside of the service area with a South Whidbey number (Foreign Exchange) - 321
- Maxwellton Beach, Scatchet Head, and Sandy Hook/Cultus Bay - 579
- Bells Beach, Baby Island, Beverly Beach - 730
- GreenbankGreenbank, WashingtonGreenbank is an unincorporated community on Whidbey Island in Island County, Washington, USA.Greenbank, which was named by Calvin Philips after his homestead in Delaware, has a population around 250...
- 222
Hat (Gedney) Island
- All Areas - 444
- Whidbey Telecom also has a 729 prefix if additional numbers are needed.