Dobson Telephone Company, Inc. is a privately owned telephone company founded by Mr. and Mrs. E.R. Dobson. Mr. and Mrs. Dobson became interested in rural telephone service in the middle of the 1930’s. In 1936, E.R. and Ruby Dobson founded and built Paradise Telephone Company serving Payne County with overland cable. Later in 1938 they purchased Meridian Telephone Company in Logan County. In 1941 Mr. Dobson acquired the Arcadia exchange.

Mr. Dobson did his own engineering and design work and converted Arcadia to dial in 1952, followed by the conversion of Paradise to dial in 1954 and Meridian in 1956. The Arcadia conversion to dial was one of the first for an independent owned exchange in Oklahoma. 

On January 12, 1956, the telephone company filed with the Secretary of State of Oklahoma for an application for incorporation and the name was changed to Dobson Telephone Company, Inc. 

In January of 1957, E.R.’s son Russell L. Dobson went to work for the company. In 1958, the Dobson’s made application for their first REA loan to expand and modernize the Arcadia, Meridian and Paradise exchanges. The project was completed the following year offering the latest telephone service to all subscribers. 

In April of 1959, Dobson Telephone Company acquired the Reydon exchange. Acquisition of Leedey Telephone Company followed in the early part of 1960. Again Dobson Telephone Company made application with REA to modernize and install dial telephone service in Reydon and Leedey. This project was completed in the early months of 1961 and the exchanges were converted to dial. 

Early in 1963, the Dobson’s purchased Cheyenne and areas including the communities of Roll, Crawford, Durham and Strong City. Construction on a new dial system began and was completed in May 1964. Cheyenne was then converted to dial. In late June of 1964, the now existing Roger Mills exchange went into operation. On July 23, 1964 the office building in Cheyenne was complete. The same year Mr. and Mrs. Russell L. Dobson moved to Cheyenne to manage and operate Dobson Telephone Company. Dobson Telephone was now operating nine contingent exchanges in the Anadarko basin area of Western Oklahoma. These exchanges include Erick, Vici, Cheyenne, Roger Mills, Leedey, Sweetwater, Reydon, Camargo and Taloga. 

In November of 1981 Dobson started a three million dollar expansion in Roger Mills County, installing computerized switching equipment and additional line service for all rural customers. New underground trunk lines were laid on the outskirts of Cheyenne providing one party service in all of Roger Mills County. On March 2, 1981 Leedey was cutover to one party service. 

On October 25, 1984 the Dobson’s acquired McLoud Telephone Company. McLoud Telephone Company's  boundary includes 140 square miles in four counties east of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. This acquisition brought the total number of exchanges to twelve operated by Dobson Telephone Company.

In January 1997, Dobson Telephone and McLoud Telephone restructured management, allowing the company to consolidate functions and to enhance its ability to strategically plan facility and network changes. The current strategy, as it relates to the consolidation of resources, will allow the company to integrate it's networks.

In 2003 Intelleq Communications was formed to provide expanded telecommunications services to the Dobson and McLoud Customers.The two local exchange companies have been the root system through which dynamic growth has occurred. Today, the three affiliated companies employ approximately 60 employees. Currently the company's switching equipment hosts off of the DMS 100 Intelleq Communications switch in Oklahoma City. This architecture allows the company to provide the same level of telecommunications service offerings that are available in the tier one markets throughout the United States.

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