 *move your mouse over the photos to read the captions*
In 1920 a new office building was constructed at 413 North Calhoun Street. New features included a central energy system(called common battery) and the capability of two-party service in town. The common battery equipment placed the electrical power for ringing phones and talking at the office rather than at the subscriber's phone. During 1921 to 1949, there was a gradual replacement of the old two-piece transmitter-receiver phones with one-piece transmitter-receiver phones that closely resemble modern phones. The company also replaced the open aerial leads throughout town with more reliable underground cable. In 1947, the local switch board was converted to automatic harmonic ringing, allowing one and four-party service in town, and up to ten-party full selective ringing to rural customers. This was a necessary step to upgrade from operators to a mechanical dial system. The total cost for the switchboard upgrade was $25,000.
At 11:45 p.m. on March 30, 1957, the last call was made through the old manual switchboard. The first call made on the new equipment was placed by the retired manager, Henry B. Melick. The need for local operators was eliminated, because the toll center had been changed to Iowa City. Now customers dialed the prefix "MAIN 7" plus four other digits to make their calls. The total cost for this conversion was approximately $125,000.
When the company introduced direct dialing in 1965, it was the first of its kind in Southeastern Iowa. Now all one and two-party customers could dial any 7-digit telephone number in their service area without any operator assistance. In 1968, as the company was reducing all the rural party lines from ten customers per line to four, it faced the decision of expanding the existing dial system or a total replacement with the latest high-speed electronic crossreed Electronic Switching Center (ESC) equipment. The company chose to install the new electronic equipment.
In April 1975, in conjunction with the W.L. State Bank, a service of precision time and temperature was offered in West Liberty by simply dialing 844. It was one of the first such systems in the Midwest. It is still in use today, and has received over 8 million calls. On December 13, 1980 the cutover to a new Northern Telecom DMS-10 switch was completed. The total cost of the system was $464,000. This switch, after several upgrades, is still in use today.
In March 1987, the Stromberg-Carlson DCO central office switch in West Branch was replaced by a Northern Telecom DMS-10. Now both exchanges had the same switching equipment, simplifying operations, maintenance and support. Replacing obsolete buried cable in West Branch and eliminating four-party service in rural areas were the goals of major construction projects around West Branch every year between 1985 and 1989. In 1987 two-party service was eliminated in town. A large rural project in the summer of 1988 installed several miles of new cable, and a Northern Telecom DMS-1 "mini-switch" to feed a growing housing area on Rapid Creek Road. By early 1989, four-party service was eliminated in the rural areas. In 1987, several Iowa Independent telephone companies started Iowa Network Services, in order to provide equal access to long distance carriers for rural telephone subscribers.
By working with Iowa Network Services (INS), West Liberty Telephone was one of the first Iowa telephone companies to offer their subscribers dial-up Internet accounts. The service began in December 1993. For $30.00 a month customers received 250 hours of full Internet access. Fiber optic cable was installed in April 1994 between West Liberty and West Branch to provide a future redundant toll route for both telephone exchanges. Future uses for the fiber optics will be high speed data, video-conferencing or distance learning.
In July 1995, our company completed a fiber optic connection to Iowa Network Services facilities in Tipton, Iowa. This second phase of the fiber optic project that began in March of 1994, gave all subscribers a redundant route for toll calls, plus increased capacity for all long distance calling. It also improved Caller ID and other related services by gaining access to hundreds of other similar networks across the country. On August 1, 1995, toll-free dialing between West Branch and Iowa City began. This service was approved by the West Branch customers with a mail-in vote held in January. On June 24, 1996, toll-free calling between West Liberty and West Branch began. This enhancement to local service was made possible by the increased capacity of our backbone fiber optic link between the two communities. No increase in local rates accompanied this service improvement, which had been one of the top requests by our customers according to a local survey.
In September of 1996, West Branch EAS with Iowa City was expanded to include Iowa City cellular phone and pager prefixes. Also in September a major cable addition in West Branch added extra line capacity to the west half of town for future housing developments, and provided a connection for the high school to the state distant learning network, the Iowa Communications Network. On December 10, 1996, an open house marked completion of a 2,600 square foot addition to our business office in West Liberty. The new addition featured more office space, a conference room and fire-resistant record storage area. The existing building was extensively remodeled to provide a new computer room and to comply with federal rules on accessibility for the disabled. A new natural gas heating system and emergency generator (to power phone lines during electrical outages), were also installed. In January of 1997, we changed our name to Liberty Communications. After more than seven decades of doing business as West Liberty Telephone Company, the name change was made to reflect the different communication services offered. No longer limited to just offering local service to customers, the company provided paging and Internet service for customer convenience. July 15, 1997, Liberty Communications offered Voice Mail to customers. This long awaited option provided a great convenience to customers spending a lot of time on their computers, or to those who experienced power outages, lightning storms and missed many calls as a result. In August 1997, we switched to laser-printed bills to increase clarity, better charge detail, and to have a larger message area. The bill is the final result of an entirely new billing system from Gensoft Systems in Geneseo, Illinois. An entirely new PC based computer network was installed to run the new software.
Toll Free calling between Iowa City and West Liberty began April 1, 1998. On July 2nd,1998, toll-free calling between West Liberty and Atalissa began. The service was a free upgrade to West Liberty customers. GTE refused to extend the local calling option to West Branch, citing lack of toll traffic. Also, in July 1998, a $73,000 switching bay was installed in the West Liberty office to allow for more telephone line growth and improved modem speed. Identical equipment was installed in 1997 at West Branch. In August 1998, a new $200,000, 8-mile fiber optic route from West Liberty to Hills began construction. The new route provided more capacity into Iowa City, plus a new link for toll calls and high-speed data transmission. The project was a joint effort with Sharon Telephone Company in Hills. Starting in September 1998, Atalissa customers could receive unlimited dial-up Internet access through Liberty Communications. Pioneer Directories was signed as the directory publisher for 1999 in September of 1998. The new book included listings for West Branch and West Liberty, Nichols and Atalissa. Pioneer replaced The Berry Company, who published the West Liberty directory for over 30 years.
November 1998, Liberty Communications began free monthly Internet classes. The hands-on course covered surfing the web and using e-mail. Capping off a year of improvements, December 1998 saw Touch-tone become part of the local rate. Rural rates were also reduced and simplified as part of a new rate structure. Ninety percent of our customers saw a reduction in rates ranging from 15 cents to $4.00 per month. To improve Internet speed, a new router and modem rack was installed at our West Liberty office. Digital high-speed Internet service was also offered; prices started at $125 per month for 384Kb/s. On May 1st and then again on July 1st, 1999, the EAS coverage for West Liberty and West Branch was increased. In May an agreement with South Slope Telephone gave our customers toll free access to North Liberty, Coral Ridge Mall, Newhall, Fairfax, Ely and was eventually expanded to include Solon, Tiffin, Oxford and parts of Cedar Rapids. In July an agreement was reached with Sharon Telephone Company giving our customers access to Hills and Sharon Center. Both EAS services were provided to our customers at no additional monthly charge.
On June 15, 1999, Caller ID name was added to compliment Caller ID number delivery for an additional $2.00 per month. This was a highly requested service on the survey sent out to our customers earlier in the year. In July, due to a higher number of customers than originally projected, Liberty Communications shared its cost savings and lowered the Internet access rates for the Atalissa customers to $20.00 per month. Thanks to advances in technology, as of April 2000, we could activate new Internet accounts from our office. In just one visit, an account could be activated and the required software and documentation provided to the customer. On June 19, US West turned up two more circuits to West Branch and West Liberty to alleviate congestion on toll-free calls. Recent increases in the number of customers combined with more Internet usage resulted in a higher demand on toll-free circuits to Iowa City.
In 2000, our construction crews were busy burying and connecting our fiber optic network throughout the area. We laid a total of 43 miles of fiber optics and 15 miles of copper cable. The total annual cost of this project was approximately $500,000. This project not only increased capacity on the existing lines, but helped us expand the distance our Megaband service could reach. On February 23, 2001, the Iowa Utilities Board deregulated local directory service in Iowa. The result of this decision was all 411 (1+411) calls were subject to a fee that appear on the customer's bill. Relay Iowa access became available to Liberty Communications' customers on July 1st, 2001, by dialing 711, a local access number. The service was confidential and available 24 hours a day, 365 days a hear, with no restrictions on the number or length of calls placed. On July 20, 2001, Liberty Communications expanded the EAS calling area to include the 622 prefix in the Amanas. In the summer of 2001, Liberty Communications began discussions of a field trial with Calix, a new broadband telecommunications platform manufacturer. Calix's solution increased bandwidth to customers over existing copper cables and integrate fiber optic directly to the customer in the future. Liberty Communications would be the first deployment of Calix equipment in Iowa. In October, 2001, e-billing was introduced: the customer received $1 credit each month when their bill was e-mailed to them and the amount of the bill was automatically deducted from their bank account. The use of the 563 area code in eastern Iowa became mandatory on December 2, 2001. The Iowa Utilities Board decided to split the 319 area code because of number utilization concerns.
The first Calix cabinets were installed in our rural areas early in 2002. These cabinets brought faster Internet and data speeds to our customers at affordable rates, and allowed for future expansion of our existing fiber optic network.
Liberty Communications started its own ISP, Lcom.net, in March of 2002. By becoming Lcom.net, we were able to provide an improved Internet product directly to our customers. We were also in a position to respond to new technologies as they became available. Beginning May 1, 2002, calls to and from Wellman (646 prefix) were toll-free for both the West Liberty and West Branch exchanges. Liberty Communications could boast one of the largest toll-free calling areas of any independent telephone company in the state. The FCC designated 511 as the standard national traveler information number beginning November 22, 2002. Iowa residents could dial 511 to get travel information within 60 miles of a specific city or listen to updates for the entire area. Liberty Communications upgraded the rural telephone network during the first months of 2003. An extensive high-speed fiber optic backbone connected the existing copper phone line through state of the art electronic switching platforms placed throughout our service area. Telemarketer Call Screening was introduced in May 2003. This feature enhanced the national "do not call" registry by intercepting calls from companies not affected by the "do not call" rules. Beginning on December 1, 2003, our 411 Directory Assistance service provided information about numbers throughout the entire United States. In 2003, 211 became the national abbreviated dialing code designated by the FCC nationwide for free access to health and human services information and referral. 211 was an easy-to-remember and universally recognizable number that made a critical connection between individuals and families in need and the appropriate community-based organizations and government agencies. Home
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The history of the West Liberty Telephone
Company began in 1899. The following men were the first shareholders: Isaac Nichols,
Sylvanus Hogue, Maurice and Albert Whitacre, A. H. McClun, Howell Hise, Will McFadden and
Harry MacDonald. When this group formed the West Liberty Telephone Company, their hopes
were to obtain 75 subscribers. Albert Whitacre shared the responsibility of being manager
and the company's first president. 
In 1955, the
company announced plans to replace the common battery manual switchboard with a new
automatic central office switch, a Stromberg-Carlson XY system. The first step was to
rebuild all the rural lines with no more than ten customers per telephone line. In April
1956, the main office was remodeled and a 42 by 22 ft. addition constructed to house the
dial switching equipment. Installation of the new dial equipment began in October 1956.
In August 1963, the Federal
Communications Commission issued West Liberty Telephone a domestic public land mobile
radio-telephone license. Now West Liberty residents could have telephone service in their
cars or trucks. A 160 foot tower with a 10 foot antenna was erected next to the company's
warehouse in West Liberty to provide radio signals for a 30-mile radius.
In May 1973 a contract for
extensive remodeling and a new addition to the telephone office was awarded to Zuber
Construction. The addition housed the new switching equipment, which was the second office
of this equipment installed in the Midwest. At 11:40 p.m. on March 30, 1974 the new system
was placed in service - offering tone dial, speed dialing, call-forwarding, and many other
features. The final cost for the total conversion was $510,000.
Major changes occurred in 1984, both within the
industry and the West Liberty Telephone Company. The breakup of AT&T by the Federal
government forever changed the face of the industry. Also the purchase of the West Branch
Telephone Company by West Liberty Telephone created the eighth largest independent
telephone company in Iowa.
In 1988, West Liberty Telephone Company
applied to the FCC for a cellular license in the Iowa Rural Service Area #4, serving
Muscatine, Louisa, Des Moines, Lee and Henry counties. The company joined Contel Cellular
(now GTE Wireless) and five other Independent telephone companies in a partnership to
share the license. The cellular service is provided by the managing partner, GTE Wireless.
Besides being a limited partner, West Liberty Telephone became a marketing agent for GTE
Mobilnet's cellular service.
In August 1994, extensive
upgrades to the switching software and hardware were completed in both West Liberty and
West Branch. The upgrades brought our local network in compliance with the latest
telephone network standard called SS7. This "intelligent network" standard makes
Caller Identification, Automatic Recall, Customer Originated Trace, Remote Call Forwarding
and other advanced services possible.
In August of 1996, West Liberty Telephone Company waived the initial installation fee for our residential customers to install a second line. Our customers who need a separate line for a fax machine, computer, or teen line save the $40 fee. 
On February 1, 1998, we lowered the rates for our Internet service in West Branch and West Liberty to $20.00 per month for unlimited access. Unlimited usage, a local dial up connection, and our low pricing resulted in one of the best Internet packages available to our subscribers. 
October 1998 launched a totally new billing procedure, giving customers almost two months to pay their balance. A late fee was charged for balances carried after the Past Due Date. Separate disconnect notices were no longer needed. The change increased customer convenience and saved Liberty Communications $500 per month in postage and labor costs. Also, bills were printed on both sides of the page, resulting in a savings of almost $150 per month in postage and paper.
June 1, 1999, we announced the offering of our own long distance plans in cooperation with Iowa Network Services. Two plans were offered - One Thin Dime for 10 cents a minute at $3.95 per month, and Just My Time for 14 cents a minute and no monthly charge. We introduced these plans to help our customers cut through the clutter and hype surrounding long distance service so they could receive good service at competitive prices. 
