Comporium is the nation's 18th largest Incumbent Local Exchange Company and the 36th largest cable TV provider in the United States. Based in Rock Hill, S.C., which is considered part of the Charlotte, N.C., metropolitan statistical area, the company was first established as Rock Hill Telephone in 1894. The company's name was changed in March 2001 to Comporium, representing the combination of "communications" and "emporium."

In addition to local telephone service and cable television, Comporium also offers long distance, wireless, Internet, and security systems. Its wireless service is in partnership with AT&T, although Comporium builds and manages its own wireless tower sites, markets the service, and maintains the customer accounts. In addition, the company also provides billing and collection services, provides directories for other telecommunications providers, and promotes a security dealership program.

In 1992, Comporium also established a local television station, Cable News 2, now known as CN2. The station specializes in local content and provides telecasts daily throughout the week; and also, it provides other local programming such as area high school football games, local church services, and featured men's basketball games from Winthrop University located in Rock Hill. The station has won a long string of Golden Palmetto Awards for its local origination programming.

Comporium also has earned a reputation for its technological advances throughout its history. Most recently, it claimed to be the first to offer the "quintuple play" by bundling a discount plan that incorporated local telephone and long distance with its four other core services on a consolidated bill. Further, it was the first hybrid fiber coax cable TV operator to offer ESPN HD (high definition) in the country. It also was one of the first to provide Caller ID on TV, which allows its customers with digital cable TV and caller ID on its wireline telephone service to see the number of the calling party on the television screen.

Comporium's primarily service area is the majority of York County and all of Lancaster County in South Carolina's Upstate Region, although the Comporium Group also includes PBT, which is based in Gilbert, S.C., near Columbia. It also has a majority interest in Home Telephone, which is located in Moncks Corner, S.C., near Charleston. The company is widely respected in its industries and is highly active in various trade associations; as well as, in the communities in which it operates.

For more information, visit the company's website at www.comporium.com.