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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]
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