SLO company Digital West sold to broadband provider. What does that mean for customers?
Prominent San Luis Obispo-based telecommunications company Digital West has been sold to Wave Broadband, a cable, broadband internet and telephone provider that boasts the sixth largest network in the country.
Digital West started out in 1998 as a handful of servers in a closet, and grew to become one of San Luis Obispo County’s largest commercial providers of fiber optic connectivity for small-to-medium sized businesses. The company currently provides phone, internet and cloud computing services to thousands of customers across the Central Coast.
Neither Digital West nor Wave Broadband would disclose the terms of the sale, which they said in a news release Tuesday is effective immediately.
The merger will allow the local company to expand its operations through Wave’s “robust” fiber optic network, and will operate within the region as part of Wave Business Solutions.
The news release said that all existing Digital West services, products and customer support will continue without interruption.
“During the past two decades, Digital West’s team has established a strong local heritage of providing exceptional broadband and connectivity services for thousands of businesses of all sizes, at every stage of growth, in a wide variety of industries,” Tim Williams, Digital West founder and CEO, wrote in the release. “With our new partners, we look forward to accelerating our growth, adding new offerings, and continuing to provide the high levels of service that business customers have come to expect from Digital West.”
Neither party would say for certain Monday that the sale wouldn’t result in the loss of any local jobs, but both said an expansion of Digital West would be more likely.
Mary Verdin, president of Verdin Marketing and spokeswoman for Digital West, said the company currently has about 50 employees as well as several open positions.
Verdin referred Tribune questions about employee retention to Wave Broadband, but said the West Coast-based business anticipates that adding services and capacity will expand Digital West’s network and “more than likely its workforce.”
Wave Broadband spokesman Mark Peterson, wrote in an email that, from Wave’s perspective, the deal is intended to accelerate Digital West’s growth throughout the Central Coast.
“The local Digital West team (Including leadership) remains, there are job openings that will continue to be filled and there will most likely be additional job openings tied to the company’s growth,” Peterson wrote. “This deal is structured to build on the company’s success to date, as well as its localized expertise, and to support its continued growth.”
Digital West customers will continue to receive billing statements and communication directly from Digital West, the company said in the news release. Customers can continue to call 805-548-8000 for 24/7 customer service, billing or technical support inquiries.
This story was originally published January 26, 2021 at 10:55 AM.
