Pioneer Telephone Cooperative made waves on Feb. 10 when it announced it would be ceasing its cellular operations later this year.

The announcement said Pioneer Cellular was working with Verizon, with which it has held a roaming partnership for several years, “to ensure that our customers maintain their connectivity.”

Although cellular service is discontinuing, Pioneer will continue to expand its footprint in high-speed broadband while iVideo and telephone customers will remain unaffected.

The move will end more than 35 years in the cellular business, or more than half the cooperative’s existence.

Pioneer began its cellular services in 1987 in Enid and shortly after opened the areas of northwest Oklahoma.

In 1990, Pioneer combined each of the individual areas into a partnership in order to provide customers with a coverage strategy that was different than the larger carriers.

Throughout the years, Pioneer expanded into additional areas, most recently western Oklahoma and southern Kansas.

It moved from analog technology in the early years to LTE data technology and VoLTE in order to remain competitive with the larger carriers.

But the competition became almost one-sided, as Pioneer General Manager Blake Callaham told The Times & Free Press in an interview.

Callaham explains below why the move became necessary, what kind of transaction is taking place with Verizon, how it affects the cooperative’s cellular employees, what customers can expect and what the future holds for Pioneer: Q: Why was this move necessary? The public belief is/was that cellular was a major part of Pioneer’s business and success. How much light can you shed on what pushed you and the board of trustees to make this decision?

A: We have experienced the competitive nature of the wireless industry for quite some time now.

As a regional carrier with a national roaming footprint, Pioneer has had to compete with the aggressive device and plan promotions that larger carriers can afford to offer. The larger carriers also leave us little bargaining power on national roam rates for our customers using their network outside the home market.

Pioneer takes pride in our Oklahoma and Kansas coverage area, enabling customers to utilize their device where they live and work. In addition to continued pressures on revenues, increased expenses due to the cost of doing business has also played an integral part in leading us to the decision announced on Friday (Feb. 10).

Pioneer Cellular is a partnership and not wholly owned by Pioneer Telephone Cooperative, therefore, the decision was not only made by Pioneer and our board of trustees, but we also had the full support from our Cellular Network Partnership that includes three other general partners.

Q: Is Verizon purchasing Pioneer Cellular? If not, what would be the best way to describe that part of the transition/transaction?

A: We have reached a “Subscriber Referral Agreement” with Verizon. Pioneer Cellular will still maintain and operate our cellular network in northwest and southeast Oklahoma.

Q: What about Pioneer Cellular employees? What will Pioneer do to minimize the job loss due to this move?

A: We consider all our employees part of the Pioneer family. Our intentions are to do everything we can to provide opportunities for everyone affected by this transition.

Unfortunately, we do not have a firm answer to this question on how this will fully impact the employees, but the management team is working diligently to determine the human resource implications and we will communicate that answer to the employees as soon as we can.

Q: Is there a timetable for customers to start receiving information as to what their options will be for service outside of Pioneer Cellular?

A: The best answer that we have to this question currently is in the upcoming weeks. We anticipate that all the Pioneer Cellular subscribers would like to keep their number and Verizon is working on gaining the ability to receive all those numbers, which is causing the delay. We do know that there will be exclusive promotions for Pioneer Cellular in addition to the national promotions, so we believe the wait will be worth it to Pioneer Cellular subscribers.

Q: Does this move ensure the viability of Pioneer?

A: This decision was made in the best interest of the cooperative to ensure our mission of providing reliable high-speed broadband and continuing the expansion of our fiber to future proof our network.

Pioneer Telephone Cooperative is financially stable and with this decision in prioritizing fiber as our foundation, we will be here providing enhanced services and connecting what matters to our members for another 70 years just as we have since 1953.