Global Communications. Hometown Service.

State Telephone Company is incorporated by Leonard Warren of Coxsackie. An amalgamation of several rural and “farmers” lines, wire is strung from farm to farm and connected to switches in the villages of Coxsackie or Ravena. As with all small rural telephone exchanges, StateTel’s offices at Coxsackie and Ravena are served by local battery switch units, manned by operators. Subscribers turn a crank on their phone to signal the central office to make a call. Party line users, of which there are many more than direct line users, are signaled by “code” ringing, heard by all other parties on the same line.

StateTel merges with Ravena and Medway Telephone Company and slowly expands its lines as more people become accustomed to telephones and their use.

StateTel’s growth stops as a result of the Great Depression, but it only loses a small percentage of customers overall, as the region doesn’t encounter the catastrophic reversals suffered in the more industrialized areas.

During World War II, a back log of orders builds up because new telephone instruments, wire and gear are not available. Manpower is not available either, as much of the labor force has “gone to war”.

Founder and operator Leonard Warren dies in 1943 along with his wife Margaret Warren the same year.

Leonard Warren and James Warren, sons of the Leonard and Margaret return following their service in World War II to run the company.

Following the war, demand for more and better phone service skyrockets. StateTel acquires a used three position, manual switch unit for Ravena to replace the old two position switch, allowing the Company to increase the number of lines in service from approximately 250 to 350. StateTel also assumes the assets and territory of the Coxsackie and Greenville Telephone Company and the Coxsackie Flats Telephone Company, and relinquishes the northwest corner of its territory at Dormansville to New York Telephone (Ma Bell).

StateTel converts Ravena to automatic dial switching. The project is extensive, and involves selecting and buying a site, erecting a building, moving the main distribution cables, purchasing all new telephone sets for customers, and installing automatic dial switching equipment and necessary auxiliary equipment. Located on Main Street in Ravena, the office becomes the main Central Office for Ravena 756, and remains in service today.

StateTel offers color phones to all its subscribers at no extra charge – a first, we believe, in the industry.

StateTel converts Coxsackie to automatic dial switching, as it did Ravena two years earlier, and the office on Mansion Street in Coxsackie becomes the main Central Office for 731.

StateTel begins to replace its aerial wires and cables, which service customers outside the villages, with underground cables.

StateTel begins to offer Extended Area Service (EAS) to all customers of the Ravena Exchange, allowing subscribers to dial Albany, Troy and Schenectady, as well as South Bethlehem, without payment of a toll charge.

A similar service for Coxsackie Exchange customers is introduced, permitting subscribers to dial Athens, Catskill and Albany without a toll charge.

AT&T is broken up as a result of deregulation of the industry, changing the way toll calls are handled and how toll revenue is calculated and divided.

StateTel installs digital switches in both Coxsackie and Ravena. Once again, StateTel’s equipment and service are state-of-the-art.

James Warren, Co-owner and President of StateTel since 1946, passes.

StateTel begins offering dial-up internet service to the World Wide Web.

StateTel continues to invest in cable, plant and network, offering new services, including voice mail and Enhanced 911.

DSL is introduced as the next generation of internet access and the first generation of high-speed, or broadband, internet access.

Leonard Warren, Co-Owner and President of StateTel passes. State Tel celebrates its 1,000th DSL customer.

StateTel makes a significant investment in its network by installing a “soft switch”, moving StateTel beyond the digital age.

StateTel begins offering broadband DSL to its entire territory.

StateTel starts installing Fiber Optic To the Home (FTTH), making broadband speeds up to several hundred megabytes available.

State Tel is awarded a $10.8 million Broadband NY grant for expansion of fiber to the home service.

State Tel completes the Broadband expansion grant and for the first time provides service in Athens, NY.