BATESVILLE – Watch Communications recently expanded its company’s coverage area to include Batesville by adding two towers in the city.

The company and many of its representatives celebrated with leaders of the Batesville Chamber of Commerce at a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The company is a subsidiary of the Benton Ridge Telephone Company founded in 1902 to provide telephone service to rural communities in Ohio, according to Chief of Staff Lindsey Gardner.

“Fast forward 80 or 90 years, Watch TV Company was formed,” Gardner said. “It actually means a wireless approach to home wiring. … Fast forward a few more years and we got into fixed wireless broadband, which is now our main part of the business.

Chief Revenue and Strategy Officer Tommy Della Rocco explained the importance of broadband coverage, which was realized by many when the pandemic hit and individuals had to work from home. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently awarded a $52 million grant to cover specific rural areas, including the Batesville area.

“One of the things we’re terribly proud of is that it’s our only company,” Della Rocco said. “Rural. That’s it. … We don’t go to cities, that’s what we do. We have over 20,000 customers and growing rapidly. We are the fourth to fifth largest operator county landline wireless…. But we’re also local and we keep a local focus.