This continued until 1961 when Reynolds got it’s first taste of the future. An automated mechanical “step-switch” was installed, replacing the operator and allowing subscribers to dial other users directly.

Conversion to direct dial was completed in 1962.

Again in 1990, the company went through a major technical overhaul with the replacement of the step-switch with a “Digital Switch”. The digital switch occupied less than half the area of the mechanical switch and increased both efficiency and reliability by a significant factor when it went live on December 1st of that year. The digital switch remained in service and near-continuous operation for almost 30 years until it was replaced in 2018 by an IP switch less than 5% of its size.

In 1996 Reynolds saw the first glimpse of the company’s future with the introduction of the very first Internet Service. Dial-Up Internet was introduced as part of a partnership with 7 other independent telephone companies in the area, forming a consortium known as Western Illinois Network Services (WINS). Boasting speeds of up to 56Kbps, dial-up was about 1,800 times slower than our lowest fiber package offered today.

In 2002 new technology ushered in an entirely new era for the company when we began offering “High Speed, Always On” DSL Internet service. While Internet speeds at the time were very limited and adoption rates low, just 2 years later we started offering a product with ubiquitous appeal.

Cable Television, or more accurately IP television, was first offered in 2004 through a new partnership with the same 7 companies that formed WINS just 8 years prior.

In 2006 we made our first ever venture outside of our 54 Square mile exchange boundary. We established 2 access point sites, and began offering fixed wireless broadband to subscribers outside our exchange marketed as “Wireless DSL”.

Shortly thereafter in 2009, we began the massive undertaking of converting our entire exchange to fiber-to-the-home, utilizing zero outside resources. The process took 10 years to complete, during which time we also added Satellite Broadband to our portfolio of services. However, before we had even completed our fiber-to-the-home project, we had an eye toward the future.

In 2017 we broke ground on our first fiber overbuild project, extending fiber coverage from the northwest corner of our exchange 2.8 miles to the Big River Resources, Edgington Facility.

Over the next 3 years, we added another 17 Miles to our fiber coverage route while simultaneously completing a project to connect the Rockridge School District.

In 2022 Reynolds Communications as a whole has over 200 miles of fiber route and offers service to over 1400 Locations with additional coverage being added constantly. We continue to offer a wide array of Internet service options including Fiber, Fixed Wireless, Satellite, and most recently LTE.