What's a CO-OP?

Their goal was to provide themselves with the basic human needs: food, shelter, goods and services. The fame from the Rochdale Pioneers came not from what they did, but from how they did it. Working together, not one, but all workers benefited. From that small group emerged what has become known as the "Rochdale Principles", a set of practices and procedures that have served as a guidepost for cooperatives around the world.

Cooperatives have come a long way since Rochdale. There are 47,000 cooperatives in operation today that provide credit and financial services, telephone and electric service, insurance, housing, child care, health care, food, farming, marketing and supply, and news distribution services. Familiar cooperative enterprises include: Associated Press, Ocean Spray, Nationwide Insurance, Land O' Lakes, Ace Hardware and Sunkist. Seven hundred twenty million people belong to CO-OPs all across the world. Each year America's cooperatives generate more than $100 billion in economic activity. Cooperatives serve more than 120 million people in cities, towns, and suburbs throughout rural America. Cooperatives embody the best traditions of American self-reliance and independence. CO-OPs are successful because they provide nonprofit services to their communities that may not be readily available otherwise.

Rural Telephone is Incorporated.
Rural Telephone was incorporated as a cooperative in February of 1951. The cooperative was formed by a group of farmers and businessmen with an elected Board of Trustees who wanted better telephone service for the rural areas of northwest Kansas.

Low cost quality service was made possible through the Rural Electrification Administration. REA loans from this program have provided rural America with affordable, dependable electric and telecommunication services. With the assistance of REA funds, Rural Telephone acquired its first exchanges in 1954 serving 524 subscribers in Damar, Edmond and Logan with eight-party service over open wire aerial line and a dial switch. Antiquated by today's standards, this was a tremendous improvement over the ten-party manually operated  switchboard magneto systems. The member/subscribers were delighted with the improved service that became the envy of other communities.

Since 1954, Rural Telephone has experienced dynamic growth, acquiring twenty-six additional exchanges throughout western Kansas. Access lines increased by over fourteen fold from 1954 to 1989. By the end of 1997 Rural served  over 11,000 customers with the recent additions of the WaKeeney and Quinter exchanges. Since 1989, the number of access lines served by Rural Telephone has nearly doubled in size.

Today Rural Telephone provides a wide variety of services through the most modern switching and transmission equipment available, including digital switching and fiber optic networks.

Establishing Equity in Rural Telephone.
When you establish service with Rural Telephone you become a member of the cooperative with members' equity interest in Rural Telephone. In other words, if you're a member, you own a piece of Rural Telephone.

As a nonprofit organization, Rural Telephone seeks to provide its patrons with the highest quality service at the most affordable rates. It is not always possible, however, to establish rates that ensure that money collected exactly equals money spent. Revenues earned above operating expenses are called margins (in a commercial business, these funds are called net income or profits). Last year Rural Telephone paid back 1.2 million dollars in capital credits.

Keeping customers up to date with cutting edge technology is a top priority at Rural Telephone. In a world of rapidly expanding technology, it is indeed the dawn of an exciting new age in telecommunications at Rural Telephone.

Rural Telephone Bylaws