Our Story

We are you.

Farmers Mutual Telephone Company (FMTC) is a member-owned organization. Our customers always come first because customer-members like you decide how our cooperative is run. Everything we do is designed to bring you world-class telecommunications services and connectivity.

A Birds Eye View of FMTC, With over 30 employees working locally to provide you with the best in Internet and phone service, FMTC is THE premier Internet provider in Fruitland, Payette County and Malheur County. Thank you for choosing the local provider for fast, reliable Internet. Not yet a customer? Call 208-452-2000 or stop by our office, Monday-Friday 8am-5pm at 319 SW 3rd St in Fruitland, Idaho.

FMTC started in the early 1900’s, when local Fruitland residents recognized the need for more effective communications. They established a telephone cooperative, working together to install telephone poles, lines and a manual telephone switchboard. This cooperative effort has been the guiding theme of FMTC since the beginning — we’ve always worked together to keep up with the latest technology and we’ve done it independently.

In 1956 FMTC made the leap to dial, installing a switching system that allowed customers to place their own calls. As a result, we retired the need for a manual switchboard and central operator who had, up to that point, made every connection between telephone customers.

By 1979, we became the first telecommunications company in Idaho with a digital switching system, and not long after were able to discontinue the need for party lines.

More recently in 2017, we became a residential Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) provider, once again leading the way to new technology in our area. VoIP brings a quality telephone voice connection as an Over the Top (OTT) service through our customers’ internet connection. This provides a cost savings for customers and enables us to offer free calling features, which includes making the first 500 minutes of long distance in the Continental United States free each month.

Also in 2017, as part of our Fiber to the Home (FTTH) expansion project, we rolled out Gig Internet — (1,000 megabits per second), which is offered in locations we have fiber available to residential and business customers. This project is well underway and we expect coverage to reach over 90 percent of the area by the end of 2019. Fiber optics provides our customers with the broadband speed they need while ensuring a world-class internet user experience.

The Conference Center can be utilized free of charge to Members who are having a meeting. It is also utilized for local Toastmasters speaking group, SREDA (Snake River Economic Development Alliance) HOA groups, 4-H groups, as well as being a polling location.

1908

First began providing telecommunications services in Fruitland

1956

Changed to dial and installed a switch system that let customers place their own calls

1979

Became Idaho’s first telecommunications company with a digital switching system

1998

Began providing telecommunications services in Nu Acres

2017

Rolled out Gig internet (1,000 megabits per second)

2019

Fiber coverage expected to cover 90 percent of our area by year’s end

Our Mission

It is the mission of Farmers Mutual Telephone Company to provide dependable, viable, and affordable communication services: to pursue new ideas, new services and educate its customers as to all services provided by the company: and, to establish new markets in an innovative manner that will benefit the company and its customers.

We pursue new ideas and innovative services to provide our customers with world-class technology and connectivity.

Community Involvement

Doing good in
the Community.

We want to make the world a better place starting with Fruitland, Nu Acres and the surrounding area. FMTC is a catalyst for building community and connecting people through more than just technology.

Helping others isn’t just what we do —
it’s who we are:

We provide services and technical expertise to local schools
We offer free basic computer classes to help community members understand basic computing, applications, etc.
We provide sponsorship to nearly all Fruitland sports teams and technology groups
We send two high school junior students each year to Washington, D.C. on the Foundation for Rural Service (FRS) youth tour, where they meet with other students from rural communities and visit with congressional representatives
We participate in local parades and county fairs
We purchase animals from local 4H and FFA clubs at the fair
We support many community events and charities