Consolidation Pressure Leading to Co-op Hostile Takeover?

Some people believe that programs such as the high-cost Universal Service fund, the broadband stimulus program and Rural Utilities Service grant and loan programs have insulated small telcos from market realities that have driven consolidation in the broader telecom market -- and proponents of this belief argue that small telcos could find themselves facing some harsh realities in the future, depending what reforms are made to some of these programs.

One small telco that isn't waiting around to find out if such predictions will come true is Oregon-based Molalla Communications Cooperative (MCC). Recently the company approached Colton Telephone & Cable TV, a neighboring telecom cooperative, about the possibility of combining operations to create a joint venture focused on a broadband-centric future.