Featured Vendor - Williams Communications

After more than 45 years at the forefront of the communications technology business (WCI was the first to provide paging services to Tallahassee, the first to bring mobile phone service to Leon County, the first to do 800 Megahertz testing in North Florida, among other innovations), Williams has earned a solid reputation for outstanding customer service. Now headed by a solid management team, the company offers a broad array of interrelated communications products and services targeting the southeastern United States, from a variety of radio systems to depot-level repair to custom installation.

WCI also serves as the Southeastern hub for M/A-COM, one of the country’s leading wireless communication companies, and plays a key role in the interoperability movement sweeping the country. In this capacity, Williams has helped protect Florida citizens during and after hurricanes and made the work of law enforcement officers across the state both safer and more effective.

In 2004 Williams moved into a new location in Tallahassee nearly 10 times larger than its first home. The facility supports the company’s implementation, on behalf of M/A-COM, of Florida’s Statewide Law Enforcement Radio System (SLERS), an interoperable communications network for public safety and law enforcement agencies. Working closely with more than a dozen state entities, Williams distributes, maintains and services SLERS’ vast network of public safety equipment, spanning more than 200 sites and thousands of user radios. WCI’s new location houses administrative offices, a technical support and installation center and a laboratory featuring specialized equipment that ensure that M/A-COM radios can stand up to punishing conditions. The modern facility also positions Williams to act as the disaster recovery facility for M/A-COM’s headquarters in Lynchburg, Virginia.

In addition to SLERS, Williams offers a variety of other radio solutions to communications problems. The company is a dealer for several leading manufacturers of public safety communications equipment and accessories, and designs custom communications systems tailored to clients’ needs. In the company’s installation center, technicians install everything from antennas to public safety lighting systems, and from GPS systems to satellite radios. Williams also offers emerging emergency communications tools and assists customers with the nationwide 800 Megahertz rebanding mandated by the Federal Communications Commission.

Despite the vast menu of innovative products and services, WCI, an authorized dealer for Nextel and Alltel, continues to sell traditional cellular and paging products and accessories out of its original Tallahassee storefront. Williams also stays true to its roots by remaining, throughout all the growth, a family business. In addition to Ken Williams, who has been at the helm since 1974, WCI counts on its valued team of more than 40 employees.

“I think the secret of our success over the past 45 years has been a combination of staying ahead of the industry’s curve and retaining good people,” says Ken Williams. “Also, forming and fostering strong partnerships, such as the relationship with M/A-COM, is extremely important.

“We strive for the same kinds of relationships with our customers,” Williams continued. “Building on the foundation of innovative service, the stronger and more respected our sales and support people are, the stronger our company is.”

For more information on Williams Communications, Inc., visit www.wmscom.com or call 1-800-649-5783.

WCI Headquarters:
5406 Tennessee Capital Boulevard
Tallahassee, FL 32303
1-800-649-5783 1-850-385-1121