Kansas Independent Telecommunications Fund Established with KRCF: Charitable Fund to Preserve the Rich History of Independent Telephony

(June 7, 2010) Wamego KS – Several independent telecommunication companies from Kansas and Oklahoma established a charitable fund with the Kansas Rural Communities Foundation, Wamego, to preserve the rich history of independent telephony. The Kansas Independent Telecommunications Fund (KIT Fund) will benefit communities served by rural independent telephone companies and help create and sustain projects, programs or activities that best support initiatives of rural independent telephone companies.

In 1876 the original patents granted to Alexander Graham Bell included exclusive rights to make and distribute telephone instruments and components for a period of 17 years. It was barely enough time to establish a foothold in major U.S. cities. By the time the patents had expired, people in small cities, towns and rural areas were also clamoring for telephone service. As a result, nearly 6,000 non-Bell telephone companies, known as "Independents," came into being.

These Independents continue to serve half of the geographical area of the United States and about one out of five of the nation's telephones. The Museum of Independent Telephony and Telecommunications Hall of Fame, located in Abilene, KS, was established in 1973 in honor of those men and women whose early efforts on behalf of Independent telephony continue to contribute to the social, political and economic health of today's suburban America. The KIT Fund will also help preserve the history of the telephone industry in Kansas by supporting the Museum.

The Kansas Telecommunications Industry Association (KTIA) and the State Independent Telephone Association of Kansas (SITA) decided to create a joint long-term charitable endowment fund to educate the public about the roles rural independent telephone companies play in their communities, recognize both past and present industry leadership, and enhance the rural independent telephone company image by helping to sustain projects and activities that best illustrate the impact these companies have on our rural communities.

Many rural independent telephone companies donate their time and efforts to improving their communities. They donate money to community projects such as building neighborhood parks for the youth and renovating/updating old buildings to help the communities bring in new businesses to these areas. The KIT fund can accept charitable donations from telecommunication companies, associations and individuals interested in donating to the fund.

“The proliferation of wireless technology now spreading across rural areas is making people become untethered to their landline telephones,” said the KTIA/SITA Joint Committee. “The advent of broadband technology is opening up the world to rural youth, and the trend is for them to seek greater opportunities in larger cities. It is a challenge to maintain the population in rural communities.

“In an age of exploding technology in the telecommunications business, many people do not realize that rural independent telephone companies are also at the forefront of this boom,” the joint committee noted. This is a wonderful opportunity to showcase telephony trends, and help educate visitors about the technological, regulatory, and demographic challenges rural independent telephone companies face.”

For more information about the Kansas Independent Telecommunications Fund,
contact Mark Caplinger at mark@caplinger.net or David Rosenthal at drosenthal@kstelecom.com or visit the KRCF website at www.thekrcf.org.

About the Kansas Rural Communities Foundation
The formation of the Kansas Rural Communities Foundation in 2006 as 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation created an efficient mechanism through which individuals, families, communities, corporations, nonprofit organizations, and private foundations have been able to create funds and make gifts to benefit their communities.

Donated dollars have established scholarships, built new community playgrounds, assisted families who have children with disabilities, and aided historical preservation, just to name a few. Some of the communities that have benefited from the services provided by the KRCF include Admire, Alma, Belvue, Havensville, Lenora, Norton, Olsburg, Onaga, Shawnee Mission, St. George, St. Marys, Wamego, Westmoreland, and Wheaton.

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For more information, please contact:
René Eichem, executive director
Kansas Rural Communities Foundation
P.O. Box 25
Wamego, KS 66547
P: 785-456-8444 | F: 785-456-8443
E-mail | http://www.thekrcf.org