Around 1906, farmers in southern Tulare County, California joined forces to create a small telephone network with a single telephone line. This early and determined effort to meet the communication needs of the region was the beginning of the Ducor Telephone Company, a precursor to a locally-owned California firm that today focuses on bringing high-speed fiber internet, WiFi, phone, video, and other telecommunication services to rural areas that have struggled with a lack of connectivity.
Operating as Varcomm, the Ducor Telephone Company and VARCOMM Broadband Inc. headquartered in Ducor, California is an incumbent local exchange carrier, competitive local exchange carrier and internet service provider operating in four areas in central and northern California and in Oregon with the potential to reach 5,000 homes. Over the past five years, the company has undergone significant changes and expansions including a new name and rebranding, new broadband offerings and other technology, an addition of six employees, and a transfer of ownership in 2021 to long-time executive managers Eric Votaw and Jennifer Vellucci.
The acquisition of key assets during this time was made possible through State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) guarantees provided by Small Business Development Corporation of Orange County (SBDC-OC). Financing to facilitate ownership transfer from the founding family estates was aided by a Small Business Loan Guarantee, also administered by the development corporation.
The loan guarantee-based financing allowed the company to refinance and provided cash for building out its products, Votaw said. “Our finances are secured by everything Jim and Mike have done for us,” he said, referring to Jim Ely, SBDC-OC’s president and Michael Ocasio, its chief executive officer.
“It is inspirational to witness the growth of this company and to be able to assist in helping its plans unfold,” Ely said. “Eric and Jennifer are true entrepreneurs who are committed to their communities and are excellent examples of the types of businesses we most want to support.”
Varcomm executive managers Eric Votaw, left, and Jennifer Vellucci.
Varcomm’s name and brand evolved over the years from the telephone offerings of Ducor, which incorporated in 1956 under Virgil A. Roome, the son of the company’s founders, to Varnet Inc. in 1993 which introduced the company’s internet services. The venture became Varcomm in 2018 using an incorporation of the first letters of Roome’s name, and began to rollout broadband and other technology. Varcomm is the only broadband provider in Ducor, its home base, and currently connects all of the small community’s homes to the internet. The company continues to deploy more fiber throughout its territories.
“I named the company out of respect to the man who got us here,” said Votaw.
Varcomm is now expanding its wireless services into Terra Bella, a census-designated area of Tulare County, and is awaiting the outcome of a federal grant application toward building out its fiber network throughout the community. The company’s goal is to become the premier fiber broadband provider in the county.
As it seeks to move forward and broaden its reach into additional rural, internet-bereft regions, Varcomm continues its employee-focused operational ethos that treats staff like family. Because it hires and trains individuals from local, low-income census tract communities where most K-12 students receive government subsidized school lunches, the company assists its families when needed during pivotal, and costly, life moments -- the birth of a child, weddings, and funerals.
“I absolutely care about my employees,” Votaw said, noting that like many in the area serviced by his company, he also grew up in a predominantly Mexican community and as the child of a Mexican mother. The company hires its workers from Ducor and the surrounding agricultural fields and offers them training to become certified fiber optics splicers, opening the door for employment opportunities with telecommunications companies around the country.
Varcomm maintained its employee and community focus during the trying days of the Covid-19 pandemic and its inherent closures – Varcomm ensured that every student in Ducor had access to free internet and that no Varcomm employee lost their jobs. The organization maintained good financial standing during this difficult time. Said Votaw, “We listen to our community’s needs and then we act.”
