Horry Telephone Cooperative
Encyclopedia
Horry Telephone Cooperative (HTC) is America's largest telephone cooperative and the 25th largest telecommunications company in America. The cooperative was incorporated on June 16, 1952 to serve the rural areas of Horry County, South Carolina
where it was cost prohibitive for national telephone companies to provide service.
Since 1954, HTC has offered telephone service to the residents of Horry and Georgetown Counties in South Carolina. The cooperative first offered party line service and eventually transitioned its customers to private line
service as facilities were upgraded. Following the deregulation of AT&T, Horry Telephone Cooperative was awarded the status of incumbent local exchange carrier (ILEC).
Long Distance
Because many of the beach areas were served by national providers such as GTE
, Horry Telephone introduced Measured Extended area service
(MEAS) in 1988 to reduce the cost of phone calls between the western portion of Horry County and the beach areas. This was expanded to include full long distance service under the name Horry Telephone Long Distance. National long distance service was first offered in 1992 by HTC Communications, Inc.
CLEC
In 1998, HTC Communications, Inc., received approval from the South Carolina Public Service Authority to offer local telephone service to additional areas of Horry and Georgetown Counties as a competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC).
Cable TV
HTC Cablevision is the brand name of cable television service from HTC. Cable TV was added to menu to bring the service to the rural areas of Horry County where national firms would not provide service. HTC Cablevision offers digital cable service, premium channels (HBO, Showtime, etc.) and pay-per-view service.
Internet
HTC offers both dial-up Internet service and HTC Netracer, broadband Internet service. HTC began offering local dial-up Internet in 1995. HTC Netracer is the name for both DSL
and cable modem
offerings depending on the customer's service area.
Mobile Phone
Through a partnership with Cingular, now AT&T Mobility, HTC offers mobile phone service under the HTC Horizon brand. The cooperative began offering service in 1997. HTC Horizon also offers paging, though that technology is being phased out.
Horry County, South Carolina
Horry County is a county located in the U.S. state of South Carolina. This name honored Revolutionary War Hero, Peter Horry. Brigadier General Horry was born in South Carolina sometime around 1743 and started his distinguished military career in 1775 as one of 20 captains the Provincial Congress...
where it was cost prohibitive for national telephone companies to provide service.
Product Offerings
Telephone (ILEC)Since 1954, HTC has offered telephone service to the residents of Horry and Georgetown Counties in South Carolina. The cooperative first offered party line service and eventually transitioned its customers to private line
Private line
In wired telephony, a private line or tie line is a service that involves dedicated circuits, private switching arrangements, and/or predefined transmission paths, whether virtual or physical, which provide communications between specific locations. Most private lines connect only two locations...
service as facilities were upgraded. Following the deregulation of AT&T, Horry Telephone Cooperative was awarded the status of incumbent local exchange carrier (ILEC).
Long Distance
Because many of the beach areas were served by national providers such as GTE
GTE
GTE Corporation, formerly General Telephone & Electronics Corporation was the largest independent telephone company in the United States during the days of the Bell System....
, Horry Telephone introduced Measured Extended area service
Extended area service
Extended area service is a telephony term that deals with calling a wider area beyond the exchange without long distance or toll charges. It can be a flat rate, message or measured and also it can be zoned as well. Finally it can be optional or mandated by government regulations....
(MEAS) in 1988 to reduce the cost of phone calls between the western portion of Horry County and the beach areas. This was expanded to include full long distance service under the name Horry Telephone Long Distance. National long distance service was first offered in 1992 by HTC Communications, Inc.
CLEC
In 1998, HTC Communications, Inc., received approval from the South Carolina Public Service Authority to offer local telephone service to additional areas of Horry and Georgetown Counties as a competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC).
Cable TV
HTC Cablevision is the brand name of cable television service from HTC. Cable TV was added to menu to bring the service to the rural areas of Horry County where national firms would not provide service. HTC Cablevision offers digital cable service, premium channels (HBO, Showtime, etc.) and pay-per-view service.
Internet
HTC offers both dial-up Internet service and HTC Netracer, broadband Internet service. HTC began offering local dial-up Internet in 1995. HTC Netracer is the name for both DSL
Digital Subscriber Line
Digital subscriber line is a family of technologies that provides digital data transmission over the wires of a local telephone network. DSL originally stood for digital subscriber loop. In telecommunications marketing, the term DSL is widely understood to mean Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line ,...
and cable modem
Cable modem
A cable modem is a type of network bridge and modem that provides bi-directional data communication via radio frequency channels on a HFC and RFoG infrastructure. Cable modems are primarily used to deliver broadband Internet access in the form of cable Internet, taking advantage of the high...
offerings depending on the customer's service area.
Mobile Phone
Through a partnership with Cingular, now AT&T Mobility, HTC offers mobile phone service under the HTC Horizon brand. The cooperative began offering service in 1997. HTC Horizon also offers paging, though that technology is being phased out.