Unalaska, AK – A North Carolina telecommunications company is buying TelAlaska, the rural phone, cable and internet provider with offices in Unalaska.

American Broadband Communications announced this week that it is acquiring the Anchorage-based company, which has been owned by the Rhyner family since it was founded in 1968.

Under the terms of the deal, TelAlaska will remain an independent subsidiary of American Broadband. TelAlaska CEO Jack Rhyner said that things will remain effectively the same for employees and subscribers in Unalaska and elsewhere in the state.

"In essence, the management team and the staff at TelAlaska will remain intact," he said. "It's essentially like a change in the board of directors. Everything else will remain the same."

American Broadband is a privately owned holding company that deals exclusively in rural telecom providers. Rhyner said that the Charlotte-based firm's experience in the rural market, combined with its size, made it a logical buyer for his family's company.

"We're hoping that being in the family of a larger company, we'll be able to achieve some benefits of scope and scale," he said.

TelAlaska provides landline and cable services to Unalaska, and accounts for a large percentage of local cell phone and internet services as well. Neither company is saying how much American Broadband paid for TelAlaska.

Rhyner said he expects the deal to be approved by government regulators in the next seven to nine months.