Our Mission
The Tri-County Telephone Cooperative was formed in 1962 with one clear mission: to keep our community well-connected. On March 1, 1966, 180 TCC members started using their new one-party dial service – the very first in the state of Wisconsin – and the rest is history.
Today, we provide state-of-the-art Internet, TV, and Phone services to an area that's 25 communities strong across five counties, spanning approximately 550 square miles. Our network is fiber-rich and officially certified as Gig Capable by the NTCA, delivering speeds of up to 1 Gigabit per second. And our members are neighbors, friends, and the businesses that help support us all.
Our dedication to providing impeccably reliable telecommunications infrastructure along with our exceptional community support has helped our area earn a Smart Rural Community designation. It's also what we promise to deliver well into the future, whatever that might bring.
The Area We Serve
TCC serves an area of approximately 550 square miles, spanning about 25 communities in five counties. Click the map below for a full-size view.
TCC Timeline
Choose a year to read more or use the arrows to scroll through the timeline.
New Website Launches!
TCC launches a new website to help customers with new branding! The new site has been thoroughly modernized and will allow Spanish and English users to both use the site without any issues.
TCC begins offering video service via Streaming; TCC gets new branding!
TCC will be offering our TV service as a streaming product! No more set-top boxes connected to ethernet or coax. In 2023, you will be able to get your TCC Television service through your own streaming device (Amazon Fire, Apple TV, Roku). Just download our app to your device and enjoy your TCC Television service via streaming!
Continued expansion projects; sold old TCC building in Independence, moved back to original location.
We continued our expansion into the town of Alma south of Merrillan and the town of Pleasant Valley between Eleva and Mondovi. That makes four expansion areas that now have access to TCC Internet, TV, and Phone services!
We also SOLD our current office space in Independence we we’ll be moving BACK to our ORIGINAL office space in Independence (which, by the way, is in the same building). So, as of the start of 2023, we will be back to the smaller office space in our building (which Barneson Insurance has been leasing).
Expansion projects begin.
Began extending our services to the town of Drammen and Newcomb Valley outside Arcadia. We applied for and were approved for a grant to plow fiber to the homes in those townships. This is exciting news for TCC and the residents of those townships who will be able to access services and bandwidth they’ve never had before!
TCC offers online class.
TCC offered our first online class via Zoom. Being unable to meet in person, TCC opted to work with Western Technical College in Independence and La Crosse to offer a free class over video chat service, Zoom. The class topic was “Technology and Your Health” and had 36 participants. We felt the class was a success and will look to offer more online classes in the future.
Broadband Technical Apprentice Program.
TCC became the first in the State of Wisconsin to officially offer and train a Broadband Technical Apprentice. TCC partnered with the Department of Workforce Development, Wisconsin State Telecommunications Association, and Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College (WITC) to create this exciting new apprenticeship. Our very own Cody Moen was the first apprentice in this program.
TCC launches “Tech Home” services.
TCC launched “TECH HOME” services for Internet customers in an effort to help protect customer devices and data. TECH HOME includes three services: SecureIT Anti-Virus, File Hopper Cloud Backup, and Password Genie Password Manager. TECH HOME has three packages: Protect — all 3 services for 1 PC + 1 mobile (included with TCC Internet); Protect Plus — all three services for 4 total devices ($9.95/month); and Support — all three services for 4 total devices plus Premium Technical Support ($14.95/month).
TCC is certified as Gig-Capable by NTCA.
TCC was “GIG Certified” by NTCA – The Rural Broadband Association. This means our network was certified being capable of speeds up to 1 Gigabit per second (Gbps). One Gigabit per second is 1,000 times faster than 1 Megabit per second. Being “GIG Certified” sets us apart from other providers who cannot offer speeds like this. It also sets our communities apart from other communities that do not have a provider capable of speeds up to 1 Gbps, which may help attract people and businesses to our area.
TCC earns designation as a Smart Rural Community.
Our company and our serving area was designated a Smart Rural Community by NTCA – The Rural Broadband Association, for our recent and ongoing efforts to improve the data network and overall technology culture in our area. This designation is an affirmation by a national organization and by our peers in the telecommunications industry of our efforts to improve the network and technology in the areas we serve. For our communities, it is a “badge of distinction” among other communities of having a solid network for fast internet, cable tv and telephone services.
TCC starts Fiber-to-the-Home project.
Started “Fiber-To-The-Home”project of installing and connecting “fiber optic” lines to all homes in our phone exchanges. Fiber optic lines send data as light pulsing through tiny glass tubes. Fiber carries more data at faster speeds (by far) than existing technologies, allowing us to have better capacity for services and Internet speeds both now and for the future. Fiber also eliminates our need to provide and maintain separate lines for phone and cable tv services to the same location.
TCC begins offering technology classes.
TCC began offering free technology classes in the community. Since then, TCC has offered over 100 classes with total attendance over 1,000! We adopted the name “TCC-U” for “TCC University.” Topics have included Windows Basics, Computer Basics, Facebook, eBay, Wi-Fi, Digital Pictures, Digital Music, Using a DVR, iPad Basics, Internet Security, Streaming, and more!
TCTC and WWCC merge to form TCC.
Tri-County Telephone and WWCC, after years of working together, officially merged to become Tri-County Communications Cooperative (“TCC”). A single, merged company could be more efficient and function as a team than two companies just “working together”.
DSL available in all six telephone exchanges.
100% DSL access in all six telephone exchanges. We were one of very few telephone companies with Internet service in Wisconsin offering DSL access to 100% of our access lines. Without additional equipment and electronics, DSL is distance-limited in its reach from the phone office. In true cooperative spirit, we wanted to offer access to the same service to all of our customers, regardless of distance from our phone offices.
Tri-West Communications, LLC (Internet provider) is formed.
Tri-County Telephone Cooperative and Western Wisconsin Communications Cooperative formed a new company together: Tri-West Communications, LLC, to provide Internet service over telephone and cable tv lines. Tri-West Communications joined with 19 other companies around Western Wisconsin also providing Internet to collectively offer together what we might not be able to each provide individually. From this partnership, the company Airstream Communications, was formed.
Cellular properties purchased.
Invested in the cellular interests in our serving area, which at the time was Cellulink. Over the years, this investment has paid off many times over in fees and royalties from cellular companies whose customers utilize our towers and network.
WWCC is formed.
Western Wisconsin Communications Cooperative began as the nation’s first (and still only) Cable Television cooperative. Towns served by WWCC included Eleva, Strum, Osseo, Fairchild, Alma Center, Humbird, Merrillan, Whitehall, Independence, Arcadia, Trempealeau, Galesville, Ettrick, and Blair.
Tri-County Telephone Cooperative is formed.
Tri-County Telephone Cooperative was formed to provide telephone service to Eleva, Independence, Pigeon Falls, Pleasantville, and Northfield. On March 1, 1966, 180 subscribers in our Northfield Exchange started to use their new one-party dial service. This is the first all one-party system in the State of Wisconsin and one of very few in the nation!
TCC Membership
TCC is a cooperative and all of our customers are members. Membership entitles you to be actively involved in your cooperative and its business, a part of an organization that is very supportive of the local communities they serve, and a recipient of Capital Credits determined by the Board of Directors. There is no charge for cooperative membership.
What's a cooperative?Cooperatives
A cooperative is a business that is started by and owned by its members – which are also the customers.
Cooperatives are typically formed out of a need in a community for goods or services, so residents pool their resources to start a company to provide those goods and services. While it is set up to make money, it does not keep profits beyond expenses and a prudent reserve. Excess profits are given back to the members as “Capital Credits”. There is no single owner who has complete authority over the company, but rather a board of directors is voted upon by the members to steer the direction of the cooperative.
Cooperatives have been around for hundreds of years, since Benjamin Franklin formed the first mutual insurance company in Philadelphia.
Today’s cooperatives trace their origins to England’s Industrial Revolution, when cooperative initiatives were common and offered their working-class members the promise of economic opportunity and democratic control. But until the founding of the Rochdale Equitable Pioneers Society in 1844, none were successful. When the self-described “Rochdale Pioneers” opened their first cooperative food shop, they sold only five products – butter, flour, oatmeal, sugar, and candles – but promised to provide members with “purest provisions, giving full weight and measure”. They went on to establish many other member-owned businesses.
The founders of the Rochdale society developed a series of seven operating principles which ensured their success and the success of hundreds of cooperatives in England, and beyond which soon imitated them. Today, these seven basic principles still guide cooperatives around the world.
7 Cooperative Principles
- Voluntary and Open Membership – Cooperatives are voluntary organizations, open to all persons able to use their services and willing to accept the responsibilities of membership, without gender, social, racial, political, or religious discrimination.
- Democratic Member Control – Cooperatives are democratic organizations controlled by their members, who actively participate in setting policies and making decisions. The elected representatives are accountable to the membership. In primary cooperatives, members have equal voting rights (one member, one vote) and cooperatives at other levels are organized in a democratic manner.
- Members’ Economic Participation – Members contribute equitably to, and democratically control, the capital of their cooperative. At least part of that capital is usually the common property of the cooperative. Members usually receive limited compensation, if any, on capital subscribed as a condition of membership. Members allocate surpluses for any or all of the following purposes: developing the cooperative, possibly by setting up reserves, part of which at least would be indivisible; benefiting members in proportion to their transactions with the cooperative; and supporting other activities approved by the membership.
- Autonomy and Independence – Cooperatives are autonomous, self-help organizations controlled by their members. If they enter into agreements with other organizations, including governments, or raise capital from external sources, they do so on terms that ensure democratic control by their members and maintain their cooperative autonomy.
- Education, Training, and Information – Cooperatives provide education and training for their members, elected representatives, managers, and employees so they can contribute effectively to the development of their cooperatives. They inform the general public, particularly young people and opinion leaders, about the nature and benefits of cooperation.
- Cooperation Among Cooperatives – Cooperatives serve their members most effectively and strengthen the cooperative movement by working together through local, national, regional, and international structures.
- Concern for Community – While focusing on member needs, cooperatives work for the sustainable development of their communities through policies accepted by their members.
We are a Smart Rural Community
TCC was honored with the Smart Rural Community Showcase Award by NTCA – The Rural Broadband Association, which cited TCC’s advanced communication services and collaboration with local leaders in education, health care, agriculture and business.