Christensen Communications Company is a local exchange carrier which also owns the Madelia Theater. CCC’s service area includes the cities of Madelia, LaSalle, Lewisville, St. James and the rural areas in between.
- CCC traces its roots back to 1903; 48 local citizens formed the Madelia Telephone Company.
-- These citizens approached C.S. Christensen, then owner of the local flourmill, and asked him to purchase 25 percent of the original stock.
-- Over the years the C.S.’s descendants acquired the remaining telephone company stock.
- Since 1903 there have been many advances in technology:
-- December of 1903 MTC begins serving 110 town and 4 rural customers.
-- Toll line connections with Minnesota Valley Telephone and Telegraph Company make the new Madelia Telephone Company full-service.
-- 1954 – Customers can direct dial for the first time.
-- 1972 – MTC buries 243 miles of new underground cable making Madelia and the surrounding rural areas totally underground.
-- 1983 – MTC employs digital technology.
-- 1985 – First use of fiber optic cable.
-- 1986 – MTC begins selling and servicing telephone systems in St. James.
-- 1991 – MTC purchases and re-opens the Madelia Theater for the first time in 5 years.
-- 1998 – The Madelia Telephone Company becomes the Christensen Communications Company to highlight both a service area outside the Madelia
exchange and the fact that CCC offers more than telephone services.
-- 1999 – CCC and Blue Earth Valley Telecom partner to provide dialup internet service.
-- 2000 – CCC completes a second fiber route to Mankato providing a redundant route for toll traffic and special circuits.
-- 2000 – Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) service becomes available. This gives customers high-speed digital access to the Internet.
-- 2003 – CCC buries a fiber optic cable route to LaSalle; LaSalle Citizens Bank branch becomes the first customer.
-- 2006 – CCC begins offering high speed internet service in St. James.
-- 2006 – Watonwan County and CCC establish a public-private partnership to facilitate economic development in northern Watonwan County.
-- 2012 – CCC initiates fixed wireless service in St. James which later expanded to provide broadband internet to unserved and underserved areas in
northeastern Watonwan County.
-- 2013 – CCC begins a fixed wireless expansion program to ensure broadband internet capability for unserved and underserved areas in northeastern
Watonwan County.
-- 2016 – CCC begins replacing all 1972 buried copper lines with fiber optic cable.
-- 2023 – CCC provides fiber optic broadband internet to the entire City of Lewisville.
-- 2026 – CCC completes Madelia fiber optic rebuild.
Today, CCC’s professional, creative and dedicated staff, backed by the most talented board of directors in the company’s 120-year history, remains focused on serving the community and stewarding the company well into the next generation. As a local provider, CCC strives to make the Madelia area a place to live and work. The team at CCC firmly believes “Service is our Most Important Product.”
