In early 1948, the citizen-owned & operated Equality Telephone Company made the transition into a fully-fledged corporation. Over the next several years, advances in technology led the way for Equality Telephone to repair and upgrade much of their infrastructure. One of the key improvements allowed Equality Telephone to evolve from a 14-party operator-handled service to a single-party rotary-dial service. Equality Telephone Company acquired Hardin County Telephone Company in 1966. Like Equality Telephone in the 1940â??s, the newly acquired system was in need of facility repair and upgrades.