Surry Communications

What Surry Communications does

Surry Communications is a rural telecommunications cooperative operating as Surry Telephone Membership Corporation, headquartered in Dobson, North Carolina. Founded in 1951 with an initial REA loan of $595,000, the company provides telephone, internet, television, home security, and business connectivity services to residential and commercial customers across Surry County and adjacent northwestern North Carolina counties, with four retail/office locations in Dobson, Mount Airy, Elkin, and Lexington.

The company's core technical asset is a 100% fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) network delivering symmetrical speeds up to 2,500 Mbps for residential subscribers and up to 1 Gbps Metro Ethernet E-LAN services for business customers, with a fiber backbone dating to its first installation in 1984. Product portfolio includes residential internet (Pure Stream 500/500 through Hyper Stream 2,500/2,500 tiers), digital cable TV (Surry TV with HBO/Cinemax/Showtime/Starz add-ons), local and long-distance telephone, PCSI-branded monitored home security, and a CommandIQ WiFi management app. Business services span broadband, multi-line phone systems, Metro Ethernet, data storage/disaster recovery, TV advertising via Viamedia, and wireless hotspots, complemented by Notify Plus mass-notification services and Lifeline federal subsidy support.

Surry Communications operates a subscription-based recurring revenue model with no-contract fiber installation at $65 (regularly $400+), tiered monthly pricing across all services, and bundle-based discounts. GTM is direct-to-consumer via retail stores, online request forms, and phone, supplemented by a sales-led business account team providing on-site consultations. As a cooperative, the company is member-owned with a $10 non-refundable membership fee and capital credits distributed based on patronage, with no external equity investors and no public listing. Strategic positioning is reinforced through CarolinaLink coalition membership, the 2009 merger with Piedmont Telephone, and community investments including a $500,000, ten-year UNC Health Foundation partnership and ongoing Foundation for Rural Service grants.

Name

Surry Communications

Legal name

Surry Telephone Membership Corporation

Website

https://surry.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

1951

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Surry Communications is a rural North Carolina telecommunications cooperative (founded 1951) providing bundled fiber internet, telephone, television, and security services to residential and business customers across Surry County and adjacent counties via a member-owned cooperative structure.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Rural Telecommunications Services

NAICS

Wired Telecommunications Carriers (517111), Wired and Wireless Telecommunications (except Satellite) (5171), Telecommunications (517)

SIC

Telephone Communications (No Radiotelephone) (4813), Cable & Other Pay Television Services (4841), Communications Services, Nec (4899)

akta.pro primary industry

DSL Broadband Providers (xDSL) (HDAIABAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Set-Top Box, CPE & Home Video Distribution Hardware (STB/Gateways/Remotes) (MPABAGAI), Service Provider Edge Routing (PE/BNG/Carrier Ethernet) (HDAFABAC)

Keywords

• Rural telecommunications services
• Fiber optic internet
• Residential telephone service
• Cable television services
• Home security monitoring

Headquarters

HQ city

Dobson

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Infrastructure, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Residential Internet Services: High-speed internet services including fiber optic connections with speeds up to 2500 Mbps. Revenue from monthly subscription plans with various speed tiers.
2. Residential Telephone Services: Local telephone service at $16/month plus long distance packages including unlimited options. Additional revenue from calling features such as voicemail, caller ID, and call forwarding.
3. Residential Television Services: Digital TV services including basic, plus, and premier tiers with premium add-ons (HBO, Cinemax, Showtime, Starz). Revenue from monthly channel package subscriptions.
4. Home Security Services: Monitored home security systems including 24/7 monitoring for burglary/intrusion, fire/smoke, and carbon monoxide. Professional installation included with monthly monitoring fees.
5. Business Telephone Services: Business phone systems with single and multiple access lines, calling features, Notify Plus messaging service, conferencing, and long distance packages.
6. Metro Ethernet / E-LAN Services: Virtual LAN connectivity services connecting business offices with speeds up to 1Gbps, serving local hospitals, community colleges, county schools, and Carolina West Wireless.
7. Data Storage & Disaster Recovery: Backup solutions for businesses covering servers, PCs, and networks with encrypted data transfer to company data storage facilities.
8. TV Advertising: Cable TV advertising through Viamedia partnership, enabling local businesses to advertise on networks like ESPN, HGTV, Fox News, CNN, and others.
9. Notify Plus: Automated messaging service for groups with pricing tiers based on contact volume ($9.95-$84.95/month), reaching 200 to 10,000 contacts.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Surry Communications provides bundled residential and business telecommunications services delivered over a 100% fiber-to-the-home network, including high-speed internet (up to 2,500 Mbps symmetrical), local and long-distance telephone, cable television (Surry TV), and 24/7 monitored home security through its PCSI Security brand. Business offerings include fiber broadband, multi-line phone systems, Metro Ethernet (E-LAN) connectivity, and data backup/disaster recovery, complemented by Notify Plus mass messaging and TV advertising via Viamedia.

Product overview

Surry Communications is a rural telecommunications cooperative offering a bundled portfolio of residential and business services centered on internet, telephone, television, and security. The core offering consists of high-speed DSL and 100% fiber-to-the-home (FTTP) internet (up to 2,500 Mbps symmetrical), local and long-distance telephone service with over 20 calling features, and residential cable television (Surry TV) across three channel tiers with premium add-ons. Residential security is delivered through the PCSI Security brand. Business services include broadband internet, multi-line phone systems, Metro Ethernet (E-LAN) connectivity, and data storage/disaster recovery. The product portfolio also includes supplementary services such as Notify Plus mass messaging, CommandIQ WiFi management app, Online Backup, Wireless Hotspots, and TV advertising (via Viamedia). Services are bundled for savings, and the cooperative serves customers from multiple North Carolina locations (Dobson, Elkin, Mount Airy, Pilot Mountain, Lexington) under the Surry Telephone Membership Corporation cooperative structure.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CommandIQ: WiFi management app that allows users to control their home WiFi experience, manage devices, set parental controls, and monitor network security.
• Notify Plus
• Surry Fiber Connect
• PCSI Security

Products and services

• Residential Internet High-speed residential internet delivered via DSL and fiber-to-the-home (FTTP), offering symmetrical speeds from 500 Mbps to 2,500 Mbps with no data caps, for households in the service area.
• Fiber to the Premise (FTTP) 100% fiber-to-the-home initiative delivering voice, data, and video directly to the home over fiber optic, replacing copper infrastructure, with two-way transmission speeds up to 1,000 Mbps.
• Surry TV (Residential Television) Residential cable television with Digital Basic, Digital Plus, and Digital Premier tiers, premium add-ons (HBO, Cinemax, Showtime/TMC Flix, Starz), and Watch TV Everywhere streaming access for residential subscribers.
• Residential Telephone Local and long-distance home telephone service with over 20 calling features including voicemail, caller ID, and call forwarding, and three plan options (unlimited, 1,000 minutes, flat rate per minute) for residential customers.
• Home Security (PCSI Security) Monitored home security system covering burglary/intrusion, fire/smoke, and carbon monoxide, with professional installation, wireless control panel, door/window contacts, motion detector, key fob, and 24/7 monitoring for residential customers.
• Notify Plus Automated mass notification and messaging service for sending messages to groups via phone, computer, or mobile app, with tiered subscription pricing based on contact list size (200 to 10,000 contacts).
• Lifeline Service Federal Lifeline assistance program offering monthly discounts on broadband (up to $11.25/month) or voice service (up to $5.25/month) for qualifying low-income households in the service area.
• Business Broadband Business-grade high-speed internet including fiber-optic connections, with on-site business account support, free consultations, and scalable connectivity options for local businesses.
• Business Telephone Business phone systems with single and multiple access lines, over 20 calling features, Notify Plus, conferencing, long-distance plans, toll-free 800 service, and basic or complete maintenance plans for business customers.
• Business Metro Ethernet (E-LAN) Virtual LAN service connecting business offices across Surry County via fiber backbone with speeds up to 1 Gbps, supporting jumbo frames up to 9,216 bytes, and expanding into neighboring counties through cooperative partnerships.
• Data Storage & Disaster Recovery Distributed backup and disaster recovery service using deduplication software on customer devices, encrypted data transport over Surry's private fiber network, and geographically distributed storage facilities with on-site recovery support for business customers.
• TV Advertising Local cable TV advertising placement service powered by Viamedia, enabling businesses to reach subscribers across networks such as ESPN, HGTV, Fox News, CNN, and Lifetime.
• Wireless Hotspots Business wireless hotspot service providing a dedicated WiFi router and advertisement placement on the welcome page, with a network separate from the business's internal network and content filtering for business customers.
• Carolina West Wireless (Cellular) Cellular/mobile wireless service offered as part of Surry Communications' residential service bundle, co-owned with Carolina West Wireless to provide mobile coverage across the cooperative's 6-county region.

Quantifiable outcome

• Up to 2516 Mbps download and 2395 Mbps upload speeds on Hyper Stream plan
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• UNC Health FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2021$500,000 commitment and ten-year partnership with UNC Children's through CarolinaLink, NC's Broadband Cooperative Coalition. Partnership supports rural children's health programs.
• Piedmont TelephonecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2008Surry Communications and Piedmont Telephone agreed to pursue merger plans in September 2008. On October 30, 2008, memberships of both cooperatives voted to merge. Merger effective January 1, 2009, with surviving name of Surry Communications Membership Cooperation.
• Visions WestminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2004Surry Communications became an owner in Visions West, a video service provider for Northwest North Carolina, enabling the company to begin offering Surry TV services in 2008 with latest technology combined with local customer service.
• Carolina West WirelesscoreTechnology or Integration · 1 September 1991Cellular phones introduced through Carolina West Wireless partnership in September 1991. Partnership expanded to provide car phone service utilizing 10 tower sites for maximum coverage of 6-county region.
• Neighboring Co-operativesminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartnerships with neighboring co-operatives enable E-LAN service area expansion rapidly into neighboring counties beyond Surry County.
• ViamediacoreGTM or Marketing PartnerViamedia creates unique media plans for local businesses with mix of traditional and digital media. Surry Communications serves as account executive for local cable TV advertising.
• CarolinaLinkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember of CarolinaLink, North Carolina's Broadband Cooperative Coalition, enabling partnership coordination and advocacy for rural broadband services.
• NTCA–The Rural Broadband AssociationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember of NTCA, enabling access to industry resources, advocacy, and Foundation for Rural Service scholarship and grant programs.
• PCSI SecuritycoreTechnology or IntegrationPCSI Security provides professional installation of home security systems including ProA7C ProSeries security panels with professional monitoring for burglary/intrusion, fire/smoke, and carbon monoxide.
• Local Hospitals of Surry CountyminorOthersE-LAN service customers utilizing Metro Ethernet connectivity for business office connections.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Charter Communications (Spectrum): National cable broadband and TV incumbent aggressively expanding rural fiber footprint in NC. Primary competitive threat on price and content.
• AT&T: Major wireline/wireless incumbent with growing fiber-to-the-home presence in NC markets, directly competing for residential and business customers in Surry's adjacent geographies.
• Brightspeed: Regional wireline operator aggressively building fiber across the Carolinas, competing directly for residential and SMB customers in rural NC.
• Lumos Fiber: Regional fiber-to-the-home operator expanding across the Carolinas and Virginia with multi-gig residential and business services. Larger scale competitor in adjacent geographies.

Direct peers

• Zito Media: Rural cable broadband and telephony provider serving small communities across multiple states with TV, internet, and phone bundles. Closely comparable scale and product mix.
• SkyLine/SkyBest Communications: Member-owned cooperative serving rural northwestern North Carolina with fiber broadband, TV, and voice services. Closest peer in geography and product mix.
• Piedmont Telephone: Former independent rural cooperative that merged into Surry Communications in 2009; operates the Lexington branch office today. Directly comparable rural telephone cooperative model with similar broadband/voice/TV service mix.
• ATMC (Atlantic Telephone Membership Cooperative): North Carolina membership cooperative providing fiber internet, TV, voice, and security to rural coastal NC communities. Identical cooperative structure and bundled service portfolio.

Emerging players

• Carolina West Wireless: Wireless carrier partner of Surry Communications since 1991, co-owned with the cooperative. Provides cellular service across a 6-county region and increasingly competes in home internet via fixed wireless.

Others

• PCSI Security: Wholly-owned subsidiary of Surry Communications providing monitored home security with ProA7C panels. Listed here as a peer/operating arm rather than external competitor for reference.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/surrycomm
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCexample
• Facebookfacebook.com/surrytelephone
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/surry-communications

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Surry Communications