Fixed wireless ISP Watch Communications has acquired another wireless ISP — Q Wireless. The acquisition adds about 2,000 residential customers in western Kentucky and southeastern Indiana to Watch Communications. Watch Communications is a subsidiary of the Benton Ridge Telephone Company that serves rural areas of Ohio, Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky.
“Watch Communications will build on the strong foundation created by Q Wireless to provide high-quality, reliable Internet services to residents in rural communities,” Watch Communications President and CEO Chris Daniels said in a press release. “We welcome Q Wireless customers into the Watch family and are pleased to have the experience and knowledge of Q’s team in our company. We are committed to launching new services in the under- and unserved areas of western Kentucky and southeastern Indiana and to offering exciting improvements and higher speed offerings as they become available to current customers.”
The press release included no terms of the acquisition. Q Wireless owner Phil Lambert will join Watch Communications as its southern regional general manager.
Watch Communications was one of the biggest winners in the Connect America CAF II auction with $53 million in winnings. This funding, according to a company executive, will be used in a project that will represent an 84% expansion of the company’s coverage area. Last July, Watch Communications joined Microsoft’s Airband partnership. The two companies aim to bring broadband to 50 counties in Indiana, 22 counties in Illinois and most of Ohio.
Previously, Watch Communications acquired Beyond Media Networks, a wireless ISP that serves eastern Illinois and western Indiana and Sit-CO, a fiber and fixed wireless broadband provider in Evansville, IN.
