Diversity & Inclusion 1

Who is TDS?

Maybe you’ve seen our trucks, spotted our ads, or read about us in your local paper—but those don’t really tell you who we are. Please, allow us to introduce ourselves.

Hi, we’re TDS. We are a 50-year-old, family-run, communications company.

We were founded in 1969 by LeRoy Carlson who had a simple but powerful idea: to bring modern communications technology to underserved communities across the country. Today, LeRoy’s son, Ted, runs our parent company and we’ve grown from a collection of small rural phone companies and co-ops, to one of the fastest-growing technology companies in the United States.

Even though we now provide 1.2 million service connections across the U.S., we think we’re a little old fashioned in the best of ways.

We’re committed.
Technology has certainly changed over the last 50 years, but our goal hasn’t wavered. We’re enhancing our existing network all across the country with leading-edge communications solutions. We’re also building state-of-the-art, future-proof fiber-optic networks in select communities. Heck, we grew our own CEO—he’s been with the company for 34 years

We’re dedicated.
Although we’ve grown in the last 50 years, we haven’t lost our community focus. We take a vested interest in the growth and success of areas we serve. That’s because, not only do our employees live and work in our communities, we plan to be around for another 50 years.

We’re all in.
TDS Inc. was named to several Forbes’ lists in 2018, including America’s Best Large Employers, The Best Employers for Diversity, and The Best Employers for Women. As a Fortune 1000® organization, we strive to make our employees, companies, and the communities we call home the best they can be today and in the future.

We’re a partner.
We support local arts, education, and families through sponsorships, volunteering, and donations. In fact, TDS employees receive 16 hours of paid time off each year to volunteer because being good citizens is an integral part of our company’s culture.

We’re looking forward to becoming part of your community and we can’t wait to get started! If you’re interested in coming along, we’re always looking for people to join our talented team.

About Missy Kellor

Missy works on the Corporate Communications team and reports stories to TDS employees and customers. This is right up her alley because she’s an extrovert and also a big fan of research (really, she’ll look up just about anything that strikes her interest). Missy is a native of Madison, Wis. with an undergraduate in Anthropology and a master’s degree in Life Sciences Journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her interest in the Internet as a mass media shaped her work towards a PhD in Journalism and Mass Communications. She’s also worked as an editorial assistant, copywriter, and production artist. In her off hours, Missy is a crafter, Pinterest addict, reader, wife, and mom of two kids.

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