FORT WAYNE, Ind. (Oct. 28, 2008) -Smithville, Indiana’s largest privately owned telecommunications company, will join more than 600 telecommunications professionals from throughout the Midwest Oct. 28 – 30 at the Grand Wayne Convention Center in Fort Wayne to discuss industry advancements and the innovations being driven by some of its more progressive members.

Smithville has garnered recent national attention for its own progressive achievements here in Indiana. The company announced earlier this year an investment of $90 million over 36 months to build an entirely new communications platform bringing real fiber-based broadband to 29,000 customers in 17 counties in the south-central and southern part of the state. This investment in high-speed fiber optics is giving Smithville a major advantage over its competitors. The advantage is this: Smithville is one of the first companies in the Midwest to begin bringing fiber directly to the homes of all of its customers—even the rural ones.

―The new Smithville fiber-optic system will bring a whole host of new services to our customers, but as important, it will help Indiana rural business compete on a global scale,‖ said Darby A. McCarty, president and CEO of Smithville. ―It’s amazing to think that rural residents and businesses in the South and south-central part of Indiana can soon boast about a new technology development that is not yet widely available, even in urban settings.

Smithville’s new FTTH service will set a new standard of digital communication with the complete rebuild of its existing system. When complete, none of Smithville’s customers will use existing copper or hybrid (copper, fiber or coaxial cable) systems which possess significant limitations and cannot achieve the higher speeds available only with fiber-based systems.

Jointly sponsored by the telecommunications associations in Indiana, Michigan and Ohio for the past 25 years, the Expo draws attendees from a five-state Midwest region - Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, and Kentucky. The Expo is a highly-praised exposition and conference. The Grand Wayne Convention Center's exhibit hall has more than 140 exhibits for this event. For more information, visit www.midwesttelecomexpo.com.

About Smithville Digital
Smithville Digital was formed in 2003 to offer the highest technological services for businesses and networking throughout the state of Indiana. Smithville Digital provides a fiber-optic means of digital data transmission to its customers. Fiber-optic technology allows for “last mile” connectivity as well as network management solutions to help customers meet their data transmission needs. For more information about Smithville Digital visit Smithville Digital.

Smithville Digital was formed as a spin-off of Smithville Telephone Company. Founded in 1922, Smithville Telephone has grown to be Indiana’s largest independent telecom company. Smithville Telephone Company has expanded its services to include Smithville Digital as well as DSL services. The headquarters are located in Ellettsville, Ind. For more information please visit Smithville.