Will add Cyber- and Residential Security Services to Watch’s Portfolio
LIMA, Ohio — Watch Communications announced today that it has acquired West Central Ohio Internet Link (WCOIL), a Lima, OH based company providing broadband and related services. This acquisition expands the company’s operation in central Ohio and furthers its commitment to providing high-quality solutions to rural Americans.
“We are excited to welcome WCOIL employees and customers into the Watch Communications family,” said Watch Communications President and CEO Chris Daniels. “We will build on the strong foundation of value-added services WCOIL has established in the Lima region and use that to expand offerings to all of our customers. The WCOIL team exemplifies our mission to deliver an excellent customer experience based on high-quality and reliable broadband and excellent customer service. We look forward to adding their expertise to our operation.”
WCOIL started in 1995 in the basement of Mike and Barb O’Connor, who provided Internet service through modems mounted to their basement walls. Over the years, they have built-out the company to more than 2,000 customers. WCOIL, through its founders’ entrepreneurial spirit, offers its customers traditional Internet services, business telephone service, managed IT services, business and residential security and fire systems, cybersecurity, and other technology services.
Mike O’Connor will join Watch to lead a new Services Division that will build out residential and enterprise services portfolios that include the above solutions that will eventually be offered to Watch’s entire customer base.
“We look forward to expanding the services of WCOIL to the entire Watch customer base and realizing the synergies of merging the two organizations,” O’Connor said.
Watch Communications has recently acquired Beyond Media Networks, an Illinois-based wireless internet service provider for eastern Illinois and western Indiana; Sit-CO, a fiber and fixed-wireless broadband solutions provider based in Evansville, Indiana; and Q Wireless, an Internet Service Provider in Kentucky that includes ConnectGRADD, Owensboro Online, QKY, and Community Connect.
Watch Communications partners with Microsoft Airband to leverage multiple technologies to deliver broadband solutions to areas of Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio that are unserved or underserved.
About Watch Communications
Founded in 1992, Watch Communications is an Internet Service Provider (ISP) using a combination of fixed wireless and fiber technologies to serve residential and business customers throughout Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky. Watch Communications began as a wireless cable TV provider and expanded service offerings in 1998 to include the Internet. Since its creation, Watch Communications has focused on unserved and underserved small and rural markets. Watch Communications is a subsidiary of Benton Ridge Telephone. The Benton Ridge family of companies also includes Community Fiber Solutions in Indiana and Q Wireless in Kentucky and Indiana.