Established in 1959, Williams Communications, Inc. (Williams) remains on the front line of the technological progression in the communications industry. Ken Williams was six years old when his father, Leslie, started Radio Telephone Communications, Inc. Williams’ father had a role in local telecommunications history when his 1961 lawsuit against Southeastern Telephone Company helped establish the right of small, independent pager companies. In 1973, Williams’ father sold Radio Telephone Communications, and Williams continued in the industry starting, Williams Metro Communications, and later bought back his father’s original company.

The company sold and rented pagers when the only customers who could afford the $300 luxury item were doctors. Back then, “the revolution in technology included pagers that could send, as well as receive messages,” as stated in a 1995 Tallahassee Democrat article featuring Williams Metro Communications.

In that same article, Williams predicted, “there’s always the chance that some new development will upset the industry’s good fortune. A new communications product could come along, or the pager fad among young people could pass.” Those early predictions came to pass, as Williams followed new developments and technological advances which led the company in becoming a key player in the public safety radio communications industry.