Venture Communications Cooperative

What Venture Communications Cooperative does

Venture Communications Cooperative is a member-owned rural telecommunications cooperative headquartered in Highmore, South Dakota, founded in 1952 to deliver telephone service to rural South Dakota communities. The company has evolved over seven decades into a full-service connectivity provider, now delivering Fiber to the Home (FTTH) to 100% of its customer base across its defined service territories. The cooperative operates with a small team of 14 employees and serves both residential and business customers in geographically constrained rural markets.

The company's product portfolio spans bundled Internet/Phone services, UView and StreamNow streaming television platforms, cellular service, and a dedicated business voice product (Venture Voice for Business), all delivered primarily over its 100% fiber optic network. Technology partnerships with GoStreamNow (StreamNow) and WatchTVEverywhere extend the TV content capability, while the website is hosted by Cornerstone Group. The cooperative structure — with board governance, capital credits, and member ownership — is central to the company's operating model and differentiates it from investor-owned telecoms.

Revenue is generated through recurring subscription fees across internet, phone, streaming TV, and cellular services on a quote-based pricing model, with no publicly disclosed pricing tiers. The go-to-market motion is sales-led and direct, relying on a local office, 24/7 phone support, community engagement, and a self-serve web portal for billing and account management. The customer base is concentrated entirely within rural South Dakota, with no disclosed geographic expansion plans.

Name

Venture Communications Cooperative

Legal name

Venture Communications Cooperative

Website

https://venture.coop

Company type

Private

Founded year

1952

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Venture Communications Cooperative is a member-owned rural South Dakota telecommunications cooperative delivering 100% Fiber to the Home internet, phone, streaming TV, and cellular services to residential and business customers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Rural Telecommunications

NAICS

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

SIC

Telephone Communications (No Radiotelephone) (4813), Communications Services, Nec (4899)

akta.pro primary industry

Rural Broadband & Cooperative Fiber Operators (HDAIACAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) Operators (HDAIACAB), Fiber ISPs (FTTH/FTTP Retail Providers) (HDAIADAE), Fiber-to-the-Premises (FTTP/FTTH) Broadband Providers (HDAIABAC)

Keywords

• Rural broadband services
• Fiber to the home
• Telecommunications cooperative
• Landline telephone service
• Streaming television services

Headquarters

HQ city

Highmore

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Internet Services: Broadband internet connectivity via fiber-to-the-home infrastructure for residential and business customers in rural South Dakota
2. Phone Services: Landline telephone services for residential and business customers, with business-specific offering through Venture Voice for Business
3. Streaming TV Services: UView TV streaming, StreamNow streaming platform, and WatchTVEverywhere access for television content delivery
4. Cellular Services: Cellular account services for mobile connectivity needs

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Venture Communications Cooperative delivers telecommunications services over a 100% Fiber to the Home (FTTH) network to residential and business customers in rural South Dakota. Its offerings include bundled internet and landline phone service, cellular service, streaming TV (UView, StreamNow, WatchTVEverywhere), and a dedicated business voice product (Venture Voice for Business). The cooperative was founded in 1952 to provide telephone service and has since expanded to full fiber-based connectivity across its service area.

Product overview

Venture Communications Cooperative is a rural telecommunications cooperative offering a unified portfolio of connectivity services. The company provides Internet/Phone bundles, Streaming TV (UView and StreamNow), Cellular service, and Venture Voice for Business, all delivered primarily through its 100% Fiber to the Home (FTTH) network infrastructure. Founded in 1952 to provide phone service in rural South Dakota, the cooperative has evolved from traditional landline services to modern fiber-based internet, streaming television, and business communications solutions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Internet/Phone

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• SDTA (South Dakota Telecommunications Association)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndustry association membership connecting Venture Communications with other South Dakota telecommunications providers. Listed in popular links section for industry resources and advocacy.
• NTCA (National Telecommunications Cooperative Association)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational industry association membership for rural telecommunications cooperatives. Listed in popular links section representing industry advocacy and best practices for cooperatives.
• GoStreamNow / StreamNowcoreTechnology or IntegrationStreaming television platform integration providing StreamNow service to Venture Communications customers. Customers can access streaming content at gostreamnow.com/venture/ with dedicated channel for Venture customers.
• WatchTVEverywherecoreTechnology or IntegrationCross-platform TV streaming integration allowing Venture customers to access television content across multiple devices and locations through WatchTVEverywhere platform.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• T-Mobile Home Internet: Fixed-wireless 5G home internet offering from T-Mobile rapidly expanding into rural markets. Provides a credible broadband alternative for rural households that previously relied on incumbents like Venture.
• Starlink (SpaceX): Satellite broadband service from SpaceX that directly targets rural and underserved households — including those in Venture's South Dakota service area — making it the most disruptive competitive threat to a rural FTTH cooperative.

Broad incumbents

• Lumen Technologies (CenturyLink): Major incumbent wireline carrier with extensive rural and small-town coverage across the Plains states. Relevant incumbent peer for benchmarking pricing, voice/broadband bundling, and competitive dynamics against Venture.
• Frontier Communications: National incumbent wireline provider aggressively expanding FTTH into rural and exurban markets. Comparable fiber broadband product offering and direct competitive overlap in rural geographies where Venture operates.
• Consolidated Communications: Large-scale incumbent fiber and broadband operator serving many rural and small-town markets across the U.S. Provides a relevant pricing, product-mix, and competitive benchmark for a small rural FTTH cooperative like Venture.

Direct peers

• James Valley Telecommunications: Rural South Dakota cooperative providing internet, voice, and TV via fiber infrastructure. Same cooperative ownership model and FTTH delivery to rural customers; competes for cooperative members in the same regional geography.
• Golden West Telecommunications Cooperative: South Dakota-based rural telephone cooperative providing FTTH internet, phone, and TV services across western South Dakota. Operates the same cooperative, FTTH, and rural-broadband business model as Venture Communications in an adjacent South Dakota service territory.
• Horry Telephone Cooperative (HTC): Member-owned cooperative delivering fiber internet, video, and phone services. Although geographically distant, HTC is a directly comparable cooperative model — same cooperative governance, FTTH-first build, and bundled triple/quadruple-play product set.
• Midstate Communications: South Dakota cooperative delivering fiber, phone, and TV services to rural communities. Comparable cooperative structure, FTTH infrastructure, and rural South Dakota service footprint make it a direct operating peer.
• Vivid Communications: Regional fiber and broadband provider in the Northern Plains serving rural and small-town markets. Comparable FTTH-first broadband offering and rural customer base in markets adjacent to Venture's South Dakota footprint.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/venture-communications-cooperative

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 Venture Communications Cooperative