History

Mr. Lane Leblanc created Delcambre's telephone system in 1945. On July 14, 1948 Delcambre Telephone Co. provided local and long distance service to approximately 52 customers. In June 1956 a new analog switch was purchased from Siemens Stromberg-Carlson that provided service for approximately 350 customers. In September 1989 a new Siemens digital switch was installed providing service for approximately 1100 customer. Today the Delcambre Telephone Co. provides service to approximately 1377 customers.

In July 1959 a Mobile radio system called IMTS was installed. This was the first mobile telephone system of its kind similar to what is now called cellular. Although not widely used any more, some business still use this service today.

In May 1960, a Ship-To-Shore Marine Service was established to provide communications for all vessels along the Louisiana gulf coast. To provide this service a one channel double side band radio was used. Eventually a single side band system was used to allow communication on each band, which doubled the number of conversations at one time. The single-side-band has a distance of a 100 mile radius and are used by boats traveling in the Gulf of Mexico and the Inter-Coastal Canal. In June 1972, two VHF channel radios were installed, which increased the ship-to-shore communications twofold. The VHF band are used by boats traveling in Vermilion Bay, the near by canals, marshes of South Louisiana, covering a radius area of approximately 50 miles.

Future

In February 1996, Congress passed and the president signed the 1996 Telecommunication Act, that will change the future of every utility company in the United States, and the Telephone Companies are no exception. In the past 40 years Delcambre Telephone Co. has gone through numerous changes to keep up with technology in order to provide better service to our customers. Irrespectively of all the changes, our goal has always been to keep our rates down so that everyone can afford what has become an essential service in today's complex world.

It is very difficult to predict what the total impact of the 1996 Telecommunication Act will have on the telephone industry, but one thing that we do know, there will be many changes in the next few years that will allow the consumer to make more choices in selecting their telephone/communication services provider. We hope that our dedicated service for the past 40 years has proven that even as a small company, we can to provide outstanding telephone service, and that we respond to your needs and problems as a person rather than a number, with employees that not only serve you as a customer, but also as a member of your community. In the future you as a customer will have to make many decisions regarding your telephone services and we hope that we can always play a major part in providing you with the best affordable communications service available.