Nextlink Internet Acquires CCAOnline, Inc.

 

[May 04, 2022] 

HUDSON OAKS, Texas (May 2, 2022) – As part of an ongoing expansion of broadband internet and voice services in small towns and rural markets across the central USA, Nextlink Internet today announced it has acquired CCAOnline, Inc. based in Logan and Tazewell Counties in Illinois.

For more than 25 years, CCAOnline has been an Internet Service Provider in the community, first as a dial-up provider and later as a wireless broadband provider.

Bill Baker, CEO of Nextlink Internet, said, “We thank Jim and Jan Youngquist for their fine work to serve the counties and communities with broadband internet and the Lincoln Daily News. It takes a special breed of person to dedicate a portion of their life to ensure others in their community can keep up with the latest internet technologies. They both love this area, and we wish them a happy retirement in Lincoln.”

"We feel honored for CCAOnline to have been selected to become part of the expanding Nextlink network, and we recognize that Nextlink will take our company further than we ever dreamed,” said former CCAOnline owner Jim Youngquist. “We are especially thankful to Bill Baker and his team for their insights, vision, and ambition to bring faster and more stable internet service, and even fiber broadband to Central Illinois."

Baker added, “We will immediately begin upgrades to the legacy CCA network infrastructure that we’re acquiring today. These upgrades will bring download speeds to at least 100 Mbps across Logan County, and in many areas, we will be offering up to 400 Mbps download speed plans. As the presumptive winner of over $4 million in Rural Digital Opportunity Funding (RDOF) for Logan County, we plan to significantly improve the broadband capabilities of Logan County residents.”

Rick Harnish, Director of Development for Nextlink, noted, “Nextlink is partnering with counties for Connect Illinois and Infrastructure Act Grants. Our promise is to combine our own capital and leverage CAF and RDOF proceeds with County ARPA allocations to quickly reach as many rural households as possible with performance speeds ranging from 100 Mbps to multi-gigabit tier services.”

About Nextlink Internet

Nextlink Internet is a rural-focused provider of high-speed internet and phone services in Texas, Oklahoma, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, and Nebraska. The company is a fully IP-based, carrier-class network from core to edge with approximately 85,000 customers, more than 1,000 team members, and extensive fiber and wireless infrastructure. As an active participant in the Federal Communications Commission’s programs to close the digital divide, Nextlink is working to rapidly connect thousands of additional homes, schools, libraries, and businesses in small communities across 11 states. For more information, visit nextlinkinternet.com.

[Editor’s note: Jim and Jan Youngquist continue to own and operate Lincoln Daily News.]

[Dale Curtis]