FAMILY PLAN: A High Point clan led by Royster Tucker III dials up a strategy to remain independent among the giants.

AuthorPomeranz, Jim

It was a much simpler world during the quarter-century in which Royster Tucker II led North State Telephone Co, From 1980 to 2008, the Duke University engineering graduate was a CEO overseeing periodic rate filings, investing in cellular partnerships and improving the business* network in a regulated market focused on local telephone service. BellSouth ruled over Greensboro, while North State had its niche in High Point.

A dozen years later, the pace has quickened, as evidenced by the changing scene at the company's headquarters offices and the increased complexity of its business. Three men have served as North State CEO in that period, including Tucker's son, Royster Tucker III, w ho has held the post since 2014. A new team of senior executives arrived in the last 18 months. And since 2006, the company has expanded its scope and geography, laying thousands of miles of fiber and offering technology services used by clients in 31 states. By investing more than $200 million in that period and retaining family control of a nominally public company, North State has beaten the odds by developing a locally owned telecom business that retains a healthy market share in parts of Davidson, Forsyth, Guilford and Randolph counties.

"I spend a lot of time coming up with ideas to make us bigger and better, ideas about the core products we concentrate on and new offerings so we can please our customers," the younger Tucker, 59, says.

The company is a rarity in North Carolina, where few locally owned telecoms exist, most much smaller than North State. An exception is Rock Hill, S.C.-based Comporium Inc., which has been family-owned since 1894, does business in Mecklenburg County and employs nearly 1,200 people. While consolidation has sliced competition in many sectors, shrinkage in telecommunications is particularly striking. AT&T, Verizon, Comcast and a few other giants dominate the U.S. phone, broadband and cable TV business, having rolled up or overrun regional companies that played key roles in the industry for decades.

Before 2006, North State Communications was delivering telephone service and internet access through copper wire to homes and businesses in a defined area, mostly in Guilford County. Since then, the company has installed more than 400 miles of fiber around the Triad to stay competitive with AT&T, Charter Communications Inc. and other rivals that provide internet access and digital-television service. The company is planning to invest...

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