Decatur Telephone Company is an independent phone company serving Decatur, Mississippi. Bill and Louise Bailey bought the company in 1945 when it had just 27 telephones. Now, it supplies 2,000 homes with telephone service and around 2,500 with internet service.

“Through the years we've grown, and we are really excited to be able to bring folks Internet in our small little country town, because everybody needs it,” shared Esther Smith, Bill and Louise Bailey’s daughter and current Decatur Telephone President. “Everybody's excited to see us coming when we are plowing down the road. It's a real nice place to be, to get to serve your community like that.”

In the early days of the company, Esther’s mother ran a switchboard from inside her home. Her father maintained the lines and did work outside the office.

“For three years, she was by that switchboard twenty-four, seven.” shared Smith. “It was in her bedroom. She knew everybody's voice in town and knew nobody's face. And Daddy would be repairing the phone lines out during the day, while mother took care of the office side of it.”

When telephone service started switching from analogue to digital, Esther’s father helped lead the charge. The company was one of the first in the United States to go all digital.

“Daddy saw that as a good service to the community, and he really had some pretty good ideas about telecommunications,” said Smith. “In 1977, Decatur Telephone became the first completely digital telephone office in the United States.”

The company also implemented another innovation. They buried all their phone lines.

“In ‘76, we buried all of our cable so there was no aerial lines.” said Smith. “We did that for dove season because [hunters] like to shoot the birds off the telephone lines. It was a lot easier on maintenance.”

Smith took over as president when her parents retired, though they kept working at the company until they passed. To this day, Smith keeps her father’s innovative spirit at the heart of her business decisions, including the switch to fiber internet that her father started.

“We went from copper to fiber because it has such better data transmission,” shared Smith. “We go to the trade shows and see the up-and-coming things. The world was going that way, and daddy liked to be out there in front, even for rural Mississippi.”

Smith planned to reach all her customers with fiber internet over the long term. After she learned about USDA Rural Development’s ReConnect program, Decatur Telephone Company applied for funding to help speed up that process.

“The ReConnect grant money has really made it easier for me to provide Internet for all my people,” said Smith. “I can go outside my territory and the folks that thought they were not touchable by me are now with the grant money. The grant helps pay some of the installation on the fiber, so it helps give them a discount on things as well.”

Better Internet service impacts the Decatur community by helping with things like online schooling and remote work. Decatur Telephone Company does not sub-contract out any work, and Smith can arrange the construction schedule to reach customers who have an immediate need.

“Everything is done through my office with my guys,” said Smith. “I can direct where they need to go and how they need to go. We have our general plan, but if we're aware of situations like jobs, school, any of that, we try our best to provide them what they need and when they need if it's possible for us.”

Smith’s ability to adjust the construction schedule can have life changing impacts. One work-from-home nurse, Chessie Addy, avoided being let go by her employer when Decatur Telephone Company upgraded her internet ahead of schedule.

“To this day, we get calls of people who may be just outside our service area, or just far enough away that we can't service them,” said Annette Pillsbury, Decatur Telephone Company office manager. “They want service and we've been trying to reach out, like we did with Chessie, and pull some of those people in, because this is something they need for their livelihood.”

The work Smith is doing to bring her customers high-speed internet does not go unnoticed in her town.

“People know us anywhere you go,” said Smith. “Folks are constantly coming up to me saying thank you, thank you, thank you so much. Or I don't care what it costs, please head my direction. We are constantly hearing from our people either about how they like what they've gotten or asking when are you coming in my direction. I'm trying to get there as quick as I can.”

Aside from internet, Decatur Telephone Company still provides telephone service to many customers due to the poor cellular coverage in the area.

“The cell phone service is pretty spotty in this area,” shared Pilsbury. “We have a lot of elderly population. And, for those people, that's their lifeline to get help if they need it when they're by themselves.”

Whether it’s high-speed internet or essential telephone service, Decatur Telephone Company helps improve the quality of life for those living in their coverage area.

"I am thankful for the financial help from the USDA Rural Development ReConnect 3 award,” said Smith. “Because of the award, Decatur Telephone Company can connect people to fiber in a more timely fashion and continue to have more success stories like Chessie Addy."