Range Telephone Cooperative, Inc.

What Range Telephone Cooperative, Inc. does

Range Telephone Cooperative, Inc. is a rural telecommunications cooperative founded in 1953 and headquartered in Forsyth, Montana, providing connectivity and IT services across approximately 30,000 square miles spanning Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, and South Dakota. The cooperative operates a fiber optic network infrastructure that delivers residential high-speed internet (starting at $60 per month with no data caps or throttling), traditional and VoIP landline telephone service, managed IT services for small businesses, and wholesale carrier services including dark fiber, Ethernet, wavelength, and wireless backhaul. Range serves three primary customer segments—residential, business, and wholesale carriers—through a hybrid go-to-market combining direct sales (website with zip-code availability check, 24/7 phone sales, four local offices), enterprise field sales for business and carrier customers, and self-service account management via the SmartHub customer portal.

The business model is anchored on subscription recurring revenue across all three segments, supplemented by managed-services contracts for business IT support. Proprietary product features include Ultimate Wi-Fi for whole-home coverage, a Smart Home App for network and device management, the Range Smart Business Wi-Fi and security platform, a VoIP business phone system, and the SmartHub self-service portal. The cooperative extends its reach through partnerships, notably the 2025 Heartland Fiber Project for expanded fiber deployment and an IFAST cybersecurity partnership. With 70-plus years of operating history, multi-state regulatory incumbency, and a "Live Your West Life" brand position emphasizing local support and no data caps, Range competes primarily on rural coverage depth and customer proximity rather than on price or technology novelty.

Name

Range Telephone Cooperative, Inc.

Legal name

Range Telephone Cooperative, Inc.

Website

https://rangetel.coop

Company type

Private

Founded year

1953

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Rural Telecommunications Services

NAICS

Wired Telecommunications Carriers (517111), Wired and Wireless Telecommunications Carriers (except Satellite) (51711)

SIC

Telephone Communications (No Radiotelephone) (4813)

akta.pro primary industry

Rural & Universal Service Fixed Broadband Providers (HDAIABAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Fiber ISPs (FTTH/FTTP Retail Providers) (HDAIADAE), Neutral-Host Fiber & Shared Access Network Operators (HDAIACAJ)

Keywords

• Rural broadband services
• Fiber internet services
• Telecommunications cooperative
• Managed IT services
• Wholesale carrier services

Headquarters

HQ city

Forsyth

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Residential Internet Services: Monthly subscription-based high-speed internet services for residential customers. Revenue generated through recurring monthly fees with no data caps or throttling.
2. Business Internet & Phone Services: Customized internet and VoIP phone system solutions for business customers. Includes managed IT services with recurring support contracts.
3. Managed IT Services: IT support services including data protection, help desk support, security, and network management for business customers.
4. Wholesale Carrier Services: Network infrastructure services including dark fiber, Ethernet, wavelength, and wireless backhaul sold to other carriers and network operators.
5. Landline Telephone Services: Traditional and VoIP landline telephone services for residential and business customers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Range Telephone Cooperative provides fiber-based high-speed internet, traditional and VoIP telephone service, managed IT support, and wholesale carrier network infrastructure to residential, business, and carrier customers across Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, and South Dakota. Its offering spans consumer broadband plans starting at $60/month, business connectivity and phone solutions, end-to-end managed IT services, and wholesale dark fiber/Ethernet/wavelength/wireless backhaul for other telecom operators, supported by local offices and 24/7 support.

Product overview

Range Telephone Cooperative operates as a regional telecommunications cooperative offering a unified portfolio of connectivity and IT services across residential, business, and wholesale segments. The core consumer offerings center on high-speed internet (starting at $60/month) bundled with Ultimate Wi-Fi, Smart Home App management, and landline telephone services. Business services expand this with Range Smart Business internet, Range Phone Services, and VoIP Phone Systems. Managed IT Services provides comprehensive technology support for business customers. At the wholesale level, Range offers infrastructure services including Dark Fiber, Ethernet, Wavelength, and Wireless Backhaul for carrier partners. Financial Assistance Programs (Lifeline) support low-income residential customers. SmartHub serves as the unified customer portal for account management and payments across all service tiers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• High Speed Internet Services (Residential) Residential broadband internet service with plans starting at $60/month, providing high-speed fiber connectivity for streaming, gaming, and communication without data caps or throttling. Targeted at households in rural Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, and South Dakota within Range's service area.
• Landline Telephone Services Traditional wireline telephone services providing reliable voice communications for residential customers within Range's service territory. Sold as a standalone or bundled residential service.
• Range Smart Business Integrated business internet and Wi-Fi solution offering safe, secure, and smart connectivity tailored for small and mid-sized businesses operating in Range's service area, with built-in security and network management features.
• Range Phone Services Business telephone services providing reliable voice communication capabilities for commercial customers in Range's service territory, available as a standalone business line offering.
• VoIP Phone Systems Voice over IP business phone solution offering advanced telephony features and flexibility for business communications, sold as a dedicated business product line.
• Managed IT Services Comprehensive IT support services for businesses including data protection, local help desk support, network security, and technology management, delivered under recurring managed service contracts.
• Dark Fiber Wholesale fiber infrastructure service providing dedicated, unlit fiber optic strands for carriers and large enterprises needing dark fiber routes across Range's network footprint.
• Ethernet Wholesale Ethernet connectivity services for carriers requiring high-capacity data transport solutions across Range's wholesale footprint.
• Wavelength Wholesale wavelength services providing high-speed optical transport capabilities for carrier networks across Range's service territory.
• Wireless Backhaul Wholesale wireless backhaul services enabling carriers to connect cell towers and remote locations to their network infrastructure through Range's fiber routes.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Heartland Fiber ProjectcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Strategic partnership announced in 2025 to launch the Heartland Fiber Project, expanding high-capacity connectivity across the upper Midwest region. This project aims to bring fiber internet infrastructure to additional rural communities in partnership with other organizations.
• IFAST (Operation IFast)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership providing cybersecurity protection services. IFAST Shield is promoted on the Range website as part of community safety initiatives, offering protection tools for customers.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Consolidated Communications: Consolidated Communications is a regional wireline carrier delivering fiber broadband, voice, and managed services to rural and mid-sized communities across multiple states, closely comparable to Range's footprint and product mix.
• Empire Access: Empire Access is a regional fiber ISP delivering broadband, voice, and managed IT services to rural towns and small businesses in the northeastern U.S., mirroring Range's full-stack rural carrier model.
• Ziply Fiber: Ziply Fiber provides fiber broadband, voice, and managed services across rural and small-town markets in the Pacific Northwest, with a footprint and customer mix highly comparable to Range's Mountain West/upper Midwest territory.
• Twin Lakes Telephone Cooperative: Twin Lakes Telephone is a small rural telephone cooperative providing fiber broadband, voice, and managed services across Tennessee/Kentucky, sharing Range's cooperative ownership model and rural full-stack approach.
• TDS Telecom: TDS Telecom operates fiber, broadband, and voice services across rural and small-town America, structurally similar to Range's residential/business/wireline portfolio in low-density geographies.
• Allo Communications: Allo Communications is a community-rooted fiber-to-the-premises provider offering residential gigabit, business voice, and managed IT across rural and mid-sized communities, structurally parallel to Range's cooperative-style operation.

Emerging players

• Viasat: Viasat is a satellite broadband provider targeting unserved rural households, directly competing with Range's residential internet offering wherever fiber is not yet built and pricing pressure could intensify.
• Starlink (SpaceX): Starlink is a LEO satellite broadband service rapidly penetrating rural U.S. markets, representing the most significant emerging competitive threat to Range's residential fiber customer base in lower-density geographies.

Broad incumbents

• Lumen Technologies: Lumen operates an extensive fiber network selling wholesale Ethernet, wavelength, and backhaul services to carriers and enterprises, overlapping Range's wholesale carrier business and increasingly its retail fiber footprint.
• Frontier Communications: Frontier is a large ILEC focused on fiber buildouts in rural and exurban markets across the U.S., competing directly with Range for BEAD-funded rural broadband dollars and serving similar residential/business customers.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/range-telephone-cooperative-inc.

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Range Telephone Cooperative, Inc.