Ace Telephone Association, doing business as Acentek (stylized as AcenTek), is a telephone cooperative based out of Houston, Minnesota. It is a

telephone A telephone is a telecommunications device that permits two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most efficiently the human voice, into e ...

company which also offers local and long distance phone service through VoIP, as well as

internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...

services,

e-mail Electronic mail (email or e-mail) is a method of exchanging messages ("mail") between people using electronic devices. Email was thus conceived as the electronic (digital) version of, or counterpart to, mail, at a time when "mail" meant ...

services, and

digital TV Digital television (DTV) is the transmission of television signals using digital encoding, in contrast to the earlier analog television technology which used analog signals. At the time of its development it was considered an innovative adva ...

service; it operates in small towns and rural areas throughout the upper

midwestern The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. It serves parts of

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

, Fillmore, and Winona Counties in

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

; in

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...

, it serves parts of Allamakee, Winneshiek, and Fayette Counties. It also owns and operates Ace Telephone Company of Michigan, Inc., in

Mesick, Michigan Mesick ( ) is a village in Wexford County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 397 at the 2020 census. The majority of the village is located within Springville Township with a very small portion extending east into Antioch Townsh ...

serving northwestern

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

in the

Wexford Wexford () is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the island of Ireland. The town is linked to Dublin by the M11/N11 ...

, Manistee and

Benzie County Benzie County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 17,970. The county seat is Beulah. The county was initially set off in 1863 and organized in 1869.

region, along with

South Boardman, Michigan South Boardman is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Kalkaska County, Michigan, Kalkaska County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, the CDP had a popula ...

. It also operates in

Allendale, Michigan Allendale is a census-designated place (CDP) in Ottawa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 17,579 at the 2010 census. It is located within Allendale Charter Township, occupying approximately the northern two-thirds of th ...

serving

in the Ottawa region. In addition, it also operates Ace Link Telecommunications, Inc., which serves the city of Caledonia, Minnesota. As an

internet service provider An Internet service provider (ISP) is an organization that provides services for accessing, using, or participating in the Internet. ISPs can be organized in various forms, such as commercial, community-owned, non-profit, or otherwise privat ...

, it also has non-telephone customers within its local dialing area. For internet service, in some parts, especially rural ones, it is the only ISP available. In addition, it provides internet and VoIP services to select areas through a fiber-optical network. In many areas, Ace still operates digital subscriber lines (DSL) over old copper phone lines. It was formed in 1950 as a rural

cooperative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-contro ...

to improve telephone service in

Fillmore County, Minnesota Fillmore County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 21,228. Its county seat is Preston. Fillmore County is included in the Rochester metropolitan area. History Fillmore County was created on ...

. It subsequently absorbed a number of other small providers. In 1956 it adopted the "Ace" name, however in 2014, the cooperative changed their consumer-facing name to "AcenTek", a combination of the words ascending and technology. Ace, however, is still used as a nickname from time to time. Currently, it has over 24,000 subscribers. AcenTek also has a

non-profit foundation A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

, the AcenTek Foundation, which exists to provide funds for various purposes.

Service area

Iowa

Castalia Castalia ( grc, Κασταλία), in Greek mythology, was a naiad-nymph, a daughter of Achelous who inhabited the Castalian spring in Delphi. In older traditions, Castalian spring already existed by the time Apollo came to Delphi searching f ...

* Clermont * Fort Atkinson *

Harpers Ferry Harpers Ferry is a historic town in Jefferson County, West Virginia. It is located in the lower Shenandoah Valley. The population was 285 at the 2020 census. Situated at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers, where the U.S. stat ...

* Highlandville * New Albin * Ossian * Waterville

Michigan

Buckley Buckley may refer to: Businesses and organizations * Buckley's, a Canadian pharmaceutical corporation * Buckley Aircraft, an American aircraft manufacturer * Buckley Broadcasting, an American broadcasting company * Buckley School (California), ...

* Copemish * Hoxeyville * Mesick * South Boardman * Thompsonville * Old Mission * Allendale * Coopersville *

Grand Haven Grand Haven is a city within the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Ottawa County. Grand Haven is located on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Grand River, for which it is named. As of the 2010 census, Grand H ...

* Hudsonville * Jenison * West Olive *

Zeeland , nl, Ik worstel en kom boven("I struggle and emerge") , anthem = "Zeeuws volkslied"("Zeelandic Anthem") , image_map = Zeeland in the Netherlands.svg , map_alt = , m ...

Minnesota

* Brownsville * Canton *

Dakota Dakota may refer to: * Dakota people, a sub-tribe of the Sioux ** Dakota language, their language Dakota may also refer to: Places United States * Dakota, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Dakota, Illinois, a town * Dakota, Minnesota, ...

* Eitzen *

Granger Granger may refer to: People *Granger (name) *Hermione Granger, a fictional character in Harry Potter United States * Granger, Indiana * Granger, Iowa * Granger, Minnesota * Granger, Missouri * Granger, New York * Granger, Ohio * Granger, Te ...

* Hokah *

* La Crescent * Lanesboro * Ostrander * Peterson * Rushford * Caledonia

References

External links

Official websiteAcenTek service area map
{{coord, 43, 45, 48.1, N, 91, 34, 1.36, W, region:US, display=title Cooperatives based in Minnesota Economy of the Midwestern United States Telecommunications companies of the United States Internet service providers of the United States