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Tech Valley Communications presents...
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News
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From Surviving to Thriving
Our survival and success - despite the odds against us - is primarily attributable to two things: people and partnerships
When Tech Valley Communications was formed in 1999, we knew there would eventually be a shake-out among the plethora of Competitive Local Exchange Carriers that were spawned by the Telecommunications Act of 1996. However, none of us foresaw the onset of what one telecom analyst later dubbed the "nuclear winter" that was to befall the industry.
Among the CLECs that existed when our company started, many pulled out of the marketplace, went bankrupt or suffered some other debilitating financial setback. Of the approximately 1,500 companies that came into being since the Telecom Act, less than 50 are still in business today.
Despite the industry downturn, which dried up the capital markets and cast doubt and suspicion on the viability of the entire industry, Tech Valley Communications continued to grow and prosper, reaching and maintaining profitability throughout the period.
Our survival and success - despite the odds against us - is primarily attributable to two things: people and partnerships. Charles Dickens' opening paragraph in "A Tale of Two Cities" sums up the scenario the best, as "it was the best of times, it was the worst of times."
Key to the company's success at this time were the partnerships developed with other companies, particularly with Mid-Hudson Communications. Originally conceived as a "merger of equals" to capitalize on the synergies between Mid- Hudson Communications and our company, the merger turned out to be the variable upon which our sheer survival is attributed.
Both companies long believed that they would only ever be as good as the people they employed, and that the commitment, creativity and perseverance of our people was the key determinant in our success at a time when others around us were falling at a rapid pace. In a companywide visioning process undertaken last year, Tech Valley Communications employees coined the phrase "Survival to Thrival - Together We Can." These six words, more than anything else, describe our quest to overcome adversity and succeed in the telecommunications industry despite the trials and tribulations that existed around us.
As Tech Valley Communications looks ahead, the future looks bright with opportunity. Surely, there will be challenges that we will face, but our local partnerships and the efforts of our employees will allow us to rise to meet the challenges before us and continue to prosper.
We continue to grow the company quarter by quarter in both revenues and employee count, continuously maintaining profitability along the way. In addition, we are fully engaged in rebuilding the region's voice and data infrastructure with our new FirstLight technology platform, which delivers gigabit speed voice and data services on fiber directly to our customers.
We are offering new technologies to Tech Valley's businesses, such as gigabit passive optical networking; disaster recovery services; and, affordable, advanced data services such as ESCON, Fibre Channel, Gigabit Ethernet, SONET and Transparent LANs - all before they would have otherwise arrived in this market.
As in the past, it will be through the creativity and commitment of our people and the strength of our strategic partners that we will be able to effectively deliver these technologies. Our survival has strengthened our resolve to invest in and rebuild the region's communications infrastructure so businesses throughout the Tech Valley region have the opportunity to thrive.
Kevin O'Connor
CEO
Tech Valley
Communications
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