HOUSTON, Texas and SMITHVILLE, Texas (Jan 22, 2023)

Rural Telecommunications of America, Inc. (RTA) finalized the acquisition of local Internet Service Provider SCT Broadband. RTA will now begin launch plans to upgrade its local services with RTA’s gigFAST ® INTERNET, VOICE, and streaming TV services in Smithville, Flatonia, LaGrange, Schulenberg, Bastrop and the surrounding areas.

RTA’s mission is to bring gigFAST INTERNET ® to the underserved rural communities across America. Co-founded by Texas native Jim Edwards and US Air Force veteran Don Workman both with deep roots in rural America and the telecom industry, began RTA with a mission to connect rural America with affordable and reliable internet service options that are comparable or better than urban areas.

For RTA’s CEO, Jim Edwards, growing up on a farm in East Texas and now living in Houston, he recognized the Digital Divide between rural and urban America and how it was increasingly impacting the rural communities in America.

For Don, RTA Chairman and COO his “aha!” moment was while visiting a small town in Kentucky and seeing school children go to McDonalds to access WiFi to complete their homework assignments. Knowing today, reliable affordable internet access is a must for our education, work, and entertainment, Don decided to partner with Jim and form RTA.

In the past, government funding and subsides for internet did not always filter down to the smaller towns. As part of RTA’s expansion to address this concern and other problems in connecting rural America, RTA began expanding from the Bolivar Peninsula near Galveston and now reaches to Midland and Odessa. In fact, RTA now operates more than 13,000 Fiber route miles across America with its gigFAST NETWORK ® .

Smithville based SCT Broadband is one of the most recent WISPs to join RTA’s growing family. The Smithville team is very excited about the ability to bring affordable gigFAST internet and services to their local communities. RTA has named Christine Hodges to be the Business Manager and to lead RTA’s efforts in Smithville and the South-Central areas of Texas. Please visit www.rtatel.com or call RTA’s Smithville office at 1 512-360-4273 and sign-up today for RTA’s gigFAST INTERNET, VOICE, and TV. RTA looks forward to earning your trust and being your local Internet provider of choice.

About Rural Telecommunications of America, Inc.
RTA’s gigFAST NETWORK™ provides affordable gigFAST ® INTERNET, VOICE, and TV to rural
America; enabling businesses and residents gigFAST INTERNET ® for their entertainment, e-
learning, telemedicine and telework. Visit us at https://www.rtatel.com