BendBroadband
 | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Telecommunications Mass media |
| Founded | 1955 |
| Headquarters | Bend, Oregon |
Area served | Central Oregon |
| Products | Cable television Broadband internet VoIP phone Television broadcasting |
| Revenue | US$70 million (2013) |
Number of employees | 280 (May 2014) |
| Parent | Telephone and Data Systems |
| Subsidiaries | Zolo Media KBNZ KOHD |
| Website | bendbroadband |
BendBroadband is a cable television and internet provider in the U.S. state of Oregon. Based in Bend, it serves Central Oregon and also owns several television stations and a data center. As of September 2014, the company became a wholly owned subsidiary of Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. [NYSE: TDS], a Fortune 500 company.
History
The company was founded as Bend TV Cable in 1955.[1] Don Ries and Fred Hartman worked to start the company that started with three channels and charged $3.69 per month.[2] Donald Tykeson bought the company in 1983.[3] In 1997, the company, then known as Bend Cable Communications Inc., started providing internet service.[1] It announced in 1998 it would expand its fiber optic network to Redmond and Sisters.[4] By 2004, the company had moved to the BendBroadband moniker, and that year introduced high-definition video-on-demand to its system utilizing technology from nCUBE.[5]
In 2009, the company started a wireless network to provide internet and telephone service, which was upgraded to LTE in 2011.[6] BendBroadband opened a 30,000-square-foot (2,800 m2) data center, the Vault, in 2011.[7][8] In February 2014, it sold off its LTE spectrum to AT&T.[6] The company sold itself to Telephone and Data Systems (TDS) for $261 million in May 2014.[9] At that time the company had $70 million in annual revenues and 280 employees with Amy Tykeson as CEO.[1]
Operations
BendBroadband serves 36,000 cable customers, 22,000 landline customers, and 41,000 internet customers.[1] It also owns Zolo Media, which operates KBNZ, KOHD, and COTV11, plus an advertising division.[8][9] The company also owns a data center, the Vault,[8] which is now part of OneNeck IT Solutions, a TDS Company.
References
- ^ a b c d Rogoway, Mike (May 2, 2014). "BendBroadband sold to TDS for $261 million". The Oregonian. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
- ^ Rogoway, Mike (May 4, 2014). "Why did Bend have cable TV in the 1950s?". The Oregonian. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
- ^ Stevens, Suzanne (September 26, 2012). "OSU Bend campus gets $1M gift". Portland Business Journal. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
- ^ "Bend Cable reaches out". Portland Business Journal. December 4, 1998. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
- ^ Earnshaw, Aliza (February 18, 2004). "NCube forging deals". Portland Business Journal. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
- ^ a b "Business briefing: BendBroadband sells spectrum". The Bulletin. Bend, Ore. February 25, 2014. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
- ^ Williams, Christina (June 24, 2011). "BendBroadband beats Facebook to coal-free green data center". Sustainable Business Oregon. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
- ^ a b c "About". BendBroadband. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
- ^ a b Spencer, Malia (May 2, 2014). "BendBroadband sells to Chicago cable firm for $261M". Portland Business Journal. Retrieved 3 May 2014.