Ponderosa Broadband General Manager Greg Andreas, center, listens to new customers and Marketing Coordinator Kim Dornsife speak during a launch event at Ak Chin Elements Center on Sep. 9, 2025. [Monica D. Spencer]

In the age of ChatGPT, even rural Hidden Valley residents demand lightning-fast internet. 

And while those residents tend to resist Californians moving into their neighborhood, the arrival of O’Neals, Calif.-based Ponderosa Broadband was a welcome one for dozens of locals who attended a launch event at the Elements Center this morning.  

There, between cake and appetizers, General Manager Greg Andreas and other members of the Ponderosa team introduced themselves to the community and offered up a message they hoped everyone would take home. 

“I hope we got across to everybody that this is a family-owned company … operating for over 100 years that was able to come in and help a local company that had an unfortunate situation,” Andreas told InMaricopa. 

That unfortunate situation was the sudden death of CommunityLTE’s CEO Jeff Christensen last fall.

A sign for the Ponderosa Broadband launch event sits outside the Ak Chin Elements Center on Sep. 9, 2025. [Monica D. Spencer]

“They needed some help, so they reached out to us and expressed an interest in selling their business. So, the timing worked out because we were already looking at ways to bring Ponderosa Broadband to Arizona,” Andreas said. 

The purchase was finalized Aug. 1. Customers were notified last week through a press release and signs posted around Hidden Valley and Thunderbird Farms. 

Ponderosa focuses on bringing internet and telephone services to rural communities in central and southern California, and now Arizona. It also owns and operates Table Top Telephone, a company that phone services to several rural communities in Arizona, including Ajo and Gila Bend. 

Kim Dornsife, a marketing coordinator for Ponderosa, started working with CommunityLTE when the Maricopa-based company launched in 2023. She said was excited to join Ponderosa amid the acquisition, adding that it invigorated their mission to bring high-speed internet to unincorporated Maricopa.

“I’m excited about having a larger company backing us up and being able to help us grow our infrastructure, bring better services and still keep the prices low,” she said. 

A woman cuts a cake for the Ponderosa Broadband launch party on Sep. 9, 2025 at the Ak Chin Elements Center. [Monica D. Spencer]

For the most part, things will remain the same for current customers.  

“Same price, same service, same employees they’ve known all along,” Andreas said.  “When you call, you’re going to get a local person. You’re not getting a call center in Iowa or India or somewhere else.” 

Ponderosa Broadband has already started investing in upgraded infrastructure and looking at ways to expand its services. In a press release issued last week, CommunityLTE co-founder Morey Bang said customers could anticipate seeing faster speeds and expanded coverage in the near future. 

But in the meantime, Andreas said he’s just looking forward to “growing the business and getting the support from the community.” 

“We’re bringing a lot of energy and excitement to our work,” he said.