Canby Telephone History
- 1904: Macksburg Mutual Telephone Company formed on January 14. Membership was $24.00 or $9.00 if the customer had their own phone. Members were paid 25 cents for each pole furnished and a four-line switchboard was placed into service.
- 1905: a motion was passed to move the switchboard from Macksburg to Canby.
- 1906: a used 50-line switchboard was ordered for $150.00 and equipped for 15 lines as the need increased to connect to other companies like Molalla, Oregon City, Marquam and New Era. The switch tender (operator) received 3 cents per social call and 5 cents per business call when connecting to other companies.
- 1907: income for the switch tender was stabilized. The "Central" or switch tender was to receive $2.00 per year per customer.
- 1907: according to the Macksburg minutes, a new company was being formed called "Canby Exchange of Mutual Companies".
- 1908 was a year of firsts: first long-distance agreement with North Western Long Distance Telephone Company; first time a customer was given permission to add on an extension; first connection completed to Beavercreek.
- 1909: a meeting was held in Molalla to have all companies get some uniform code of rules in regards to connecting and ringing requirements.
- 1909: linemen wages were stabilized at 25 cents per hour.
- 1911: the Macksburg minutes indicate a complete inventory was made and sold to Canby.
- 1916: "Canby Co-operative Telephone Association" filed with the State of Oregon on April 19. The following farmer lines, or companies, formed the Canby Co-operative Telephone Association; Macksburg, New Era, Central Point, Mundorf, East Canby, Barlow, Union Hall, Riverside, Mill Creek, and Oak Grove.
- 1929: the first minutes for the Canby Co-operative Telephone Association began. J.W. Smith was President of Macksburg from 1904 to 1923 and Canby from 1929 to 1938.
- 1930s: complaints grew from people talking too long on party lines, and 240 complaints were received for bad operator services.
- 1936: Directors were paid $1.00 per month.
- 1937: the first PUC hearing was held. They did not like the telephone companies giving discounts to those who paid early and wanted books kept in accordance to PUC wishes.
- 1939: Canby Co-operative Telephone Association had four employees.
- 1940: the "Canby Exchange of Mutual Telephone Companies" became known as "Canby Telephone Association" and had 515 telephone lines.
- 1941: Canby Telephone Association joined the Oregon Independent Telephone Association. The dues were $5.00
- 1943: rates were:
- One party: $2.00 (residential); $2.50 (business)
- Multi party: $1.50 (residential); $2.00 (business)
- Extension: $1.00 (residential and business)
- 1946: rates went up 50 cents per month.
- 1949: joint directories were utilized by Colton, Monitor, Aurora, Marquam, Needy, Canby, Mt. Angel and St. Paul. This included a 10% increase in rates. There were eighteen employees. Canby cut over its first phase to dial and everyone continued to use central to call long distance.
- 1950: Canby Telephone Association had 722 customers with dial service and 417 customers with magneto service.
- 1956: Citizens Mutual Telephone Company of Needy, along with their 304 customers, merged into Canby Telephone Association.
- 1959: Needy was cut to dial and with the conversion, new EAS (extended area service) routes were established to Woodburn, Canby, Molalla, Aurora, Monitor and Colton. Canby now had 1898 customers and 100 extensions. They raised board members pay to$10.00 per meeting.
- 1962: the Columbus Day storm put 80% of customers out of service. Most were back in service by November 2. There were now 2,068 customers.
- 1963: protectors were placed on houses.
- 1968: systems converted to ANI (automatic number identification) and operators were no longer needed to ask for numbers on long distance calls.
- 1976: local rates increased 40%
- 1979: Canby Telephone Association was the first company cut to digital - the first digital to digital toll route in the USA (Bell) and was among the first companies, in the Northwest, to have placed the majority of its facilities underground. Canby Telephone was the first company to successfully join an existing Stromberg XY Switch with a Stromberg Digital Switch.
- 1980: Canby Telephone had 6,297 customers, 91.6 % were one-party, and 36 employees.
- 1980 saw the retirement of patron equity in the amount of $400,000.
- 1981: REA (Rural Electrification Administration) agreed to give Canby Telephone Association a cable TV loan for$3,100,000 at a 5% interest rate. In July, the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) granted Canby Telephone "Cable Television Cross Ownership" waiver.
- 1983: 911 was placed in service for Canby. The city of Canby granted a cable TV franchise to Canby Telephone. CTA Communications formed to sell phones, key systems, PBX (private branch exchange) systems, burglar and fire alarms, card lock systems and Radio Shack franchise.
- 1984: North Willamette Telecom (NWT) began cable TV operation. Canby Telephone also began a data processing company called "Western Data Pro", of which we were a one-third owner.
- 1986: Canby Telephone Association became a deregulated company along with other cooperatives under OR 86-1159, and Eugene (Larry) Cole was named President and General Manager.
- 1988: 98% of Canby Telephone Association customers were one party. The board voted to offer one party service only.
- 1989: Canby Telephone deployed voice mail service. CTA donated $10,000 to Canby Kids for lighting of Empey Field, $15,000 to Canby Police for their DARE program, $15,000 to Canby Community Swim Center and $175,000 to Canby Rotary Scholarship foundation to establish a perpetual scholarship fund.
- 1990: Canby Telephone Association had 6,512 customers. It donated an enhanced 911 system for use by the City of Canby Police and Fire & Rescue.
- 1993: Canby Telephone Association donated $10,000 to the Canby Chamber of Commerce to produce a business opportunity report. They also, in conjunction with North Willamette Telecom, engaged in a four-year project for Canby High School that included a $10,000 grant for the review of distance learning across the U.S. and Canada.
- 1994: Canby Telephone Association and NWT provided a grant of $187,000 to Canby Schools.
- 1995: Canby Telephone Association donated $10,000 to the Public Library.
- 1996: Public Launch of Dial Up Internet Service.
- 1996: Canby Telephone Association donated free internet to the Canby Public Library. We also placed fiber to connect Clackamas Community College to connect local schools and the college for distance learning. Canby Telephone Association donated $25,000 to the Canby Adult Center for the purchase of computers and volunteer training. CTA also provided free internet service to these entities.
- 1998: Richard D. Ares became President.
- 2005: Keith Galitz became President.
- 2006: CTA sells NWT.
- 2006: CTA begins offering television service with a triple play bundle, providing a discount for purchasing Internet, Video, and Voice services.
- 2006: Canby Telephone Association rebrands to dba (doing business as) Canby Telcom.
- 2007: Canby Telcom purchases Mt. Angel Telephone Association.
- 2007: Canby Telcom named one of “Fierce 15” IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) innovators for groundbreaking TV distribution.
- 2013: Canby Telcom wins the National Telcovision Award for Innovation for EZVideo Classic product.
- 2013: Canby Telcom launches EZVideo Classic and becomes the first in the nation to offer live, local broadcast TV via a Roku channel.
- 2013: Paul Hauer became President.
- 2013: Consolidated Business Services (CBS) forms as a shared services resource between DirectLink, Beaver Creek Cooperative Telephone Company, and Stayton Cooperative Telephone Company. CBS is the second in the nation to form a shared services model.
- 2014: Canby Telcom commits to a multi-phase plan to bring a fiber optic network to entire service area
- 2014: Canby Telcom becomes one of the first companies in Oregon to launch 1 Gigabit (1,000 Mbps) symmetrical high-speed Internet service.
- 2015: Canby Telcom wins the North American 2015 Gimme Fiber Award from the Fiber to the Home Council
- 2016: Canby Telcom formally rebrands to dba (doing business as) DirectLink.
- 2018: Mt. Angel Telephone Association merges with Canby Telephone Association Cooperative. All customers become members.
- 2018: DirectLink launches its new app-based digital TV solution EZVideo.
- 2018: DirectLink develops plan to bring free WiFi connections to four Canby city parks.
- 2018: DirectLink develops fiber optic Master Plan for Mt. Angel service area.
- 2019 - Smart Rural Community GIG Certified Provider status from NTCA: The Rural Broadband Association for select areas of Canby and Mt. Angel.
- 2020 - Smart Rural Community Grant Award from NTCA: The Rural Broadband Assocation to complete the partnership project with the City of Canby to provide free WiFi year-round to all users of three Canby City Parks (Canby: Wait, Locust and Legacy parks).
- 2022 - DirectLink ends TV services (IPTV and EZVideo) after nearly 40 years of providing the area with entertainment.
- 2023: DirectLink revamps Internet and WiFi service to a new product called OMNI. OMNI offers a single subscription that includes internet access, whole-home WiFi equipment managed by the company, built-in online security, and unlimited data.
- 2023: DirectLink launches OMNI IQ, their new network management mobile app. OMNI IQ gives members control and insight into their home network settings.
The Canby newspaper put together 2,000 directories at 5 cents each. They were stapled together by board members at Buchanan Cellar's office in one evening and delivered by the lineman and president the next day to save money.