Cavalier Telephone is an American Local Exchange Carrier (NRCLEC) company, owned by parent company

Windstream Communications Windstream Holdings, Inc., also doing business as Windstream Communications or Windstream, is a provider of voice and data network communications (broadband, VoIP, MPLS), and managed services ( virtual servers, managed firewall, data storage, clou ...

operating in 16 states and DC throughout the eastern US. Cavalier founded in 1998, is an internet and telecommunications service provider, currently it provides voice, data services to businesses, residential, and government customers on a private network.

Services

Telephone

Cavalier offers a number of different business telephone service plans for both local and long-distance calling. Rates vary based upon the number of optional features added to supplement basic telephone service. Residential services are provided, but the company does not accept new residential customers.

Internet

Cavalier offers high speed internet service through digital subscriber lines. In 2008, Cavalier announced that they were partnering with Google to offer a telephone and high speed internet subscription package called "C2". The package included unlimited local and long-distance calling, 12 calling features, and DSL internet for $50 per month. However, use of the term "partnering" may have been misleading, as Google had no direct role in the internet or telephone service provided through C2, but rather the service was supplemented by Google Aps - a service offered free to individuals by Google itself.

Television

Cavalier partnered with

DirecTV DirecTV (trademarked as DIRECTV) is an American multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary service is a digital satellite service serving the United States. I ...

in March 2009 and is offering discounted rates on satellite television service.

Acquisition

Acquired by PAETEC Holding Corp.

On September 13, 2010, PAETEC Holding Corp. of Perinton, New York, announced its acquisition of Cavalier Telephone for $460 million in cash. The merger was finalized in December, 2010, adding nearly 17,000 fiber-route miles to Paetec's existing service footprint. PAETEC was in turn, acquired by

in December 2011.

End of new residential service

On December 7, 2011, Paetec announced that it would stop accepting new residential customers, and instead focus on its business customers. Approximately 70 Cavalier employees would lose their jobs because of this change. They will continue to service existing residential customers.

Relationship with Verizon

Cavalier has had a particularly rocky relationship with

Verizon Verizon Communications Inc., commonly known as Verizon, is an American multinational telecommunications conglomerate and a corporate component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is headquartered at 1095 Avenue of the Americas ...

. In 2001, Cavalier brought a lawsuit against Verizon alleging antitrust violations and violations of the

Telecom Act of 1996 The Telecommunications Act of 1996 is a United States federal law enacted by the 104th United States Congress on January 3, 1996, and signed into law on February 8, 1996, by President Bill Clinton. It primarily amended Chapter 5 of Title 47 of th ...

. The suit was dismissed by

United States District Court The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district co ...

Judge James R. Spencer in March 2002. The dismissal was upheld on appeal in May 2003. In 2007, Cavalier sued Verizon in federal court again, alleging misuse of Virginia's 911

database In computing, a database is an organized collection of data stored and accessed electronically. Small databases can be stored on a file system, while large databases are hosted on computer clusters or cloud storage. The design of databases s ...

References

External links

Cavalier Telephone official site

Cavalier Telephone company profile on Monster.com

Cavalier Telephone company profile on Linkedin.com

Paetec Holding Corp. official site
Companies based in Richmond, Virginia Communications in Virginia Telecommunications companies of the United States Windstream Communications American companies established in 1998 Telecommunications companies established in 1998 1998 establishments in Virginia {{US-telecom-company-stub