PROVO, Utah – August 13, 2012 – FirstDigital, a leading Utah telecommunications provider for both residents and businesses, is celebrating its 25th anniversary this month.
“During the last 25 years, we’ve definitely seen many ups and downs as the market and technology itself has changed,” said Drew Peterson, CEO of FirstDigital. “I’m amazed at how far we’ve come and how we continue to grow. Our customers are loyal to us because we’re loyal to them in providing personalized services.”
FirstDigital began in 1987 as Off Campus Telecommunications and provided local and long-distance calling to off-campus student housing at Brigham Young University, Utah State University, Utah Valley State College and Southern Utah University. In the mid-1990’s, the company integrated an ISP service resulting in one of the first wireless networks in Provo to connect the off-campus housing complexes to the internet.
In 2002, the company changed its name to FirstDigital Communications and expanded its services to small businesses in Utah County. Two years later, FirstDigital became a CLEC (Competitive Local Exchange Carrier) and successfully launched facilities-based services. Through another merger in 2009, FirstDigital Communications became FirstDigital and began offering telecom services to both residential and commercial customers. FirstDigital helped complete an overhaul of the fiber optic network in Provo, increasing its efficiency by 1,000 percent by expanding its core internet connection. Today, FirstDigital offers internet speeds of up to 100Mbps to its residential customers (both upload and download).
What started as a two-man company has now grown to employ more than 120 local residents in both Utah County and Salt Lake County. “I’m so proud of the success we’ve seen over the last two decades,” said Peterson. “I’m looking forward to the next 25 years and where new technology will lead us. Receiving the Best of State Awards two out of the last three years tells us that we are on the right track and we will continually strive to reach our goal of being the best telecommunication service provider in the state.”
As a local leader in Utah’s market for internet, TV and phone services, FirstDigital is the only telecom company to win Best of State, the Utah Business Fast 50 and the MountainWest 100 – all in the same year. FirstDigital has redefined the telecommunications industry in Utah and operates one of the country’s fastest fiber-optic networks.
In 2011, FirstDigital was chosen as an international finalist for the Stevie Award for Customer Service Department of the Year in telecommunications, which listed FirstDigital equal to companies such as OnStar. FirstDigital was also awarded by Utah Valley BusinessQ as one of the fastest growing companies in the 2011 UV50 awards.