OCOSA: The Beginnings of a Locally Owned & Operated Communications Company
From Concept to Reality
OCOSA Communication, LLC had its initial start as OCOSA Communications in 2003 founded by Otis Surratt, Jr. OCOSA Communications, operated by a group of individuals, offered web hosting, e-mail, domain name service (DNS) hosting, computer solutions, and network consulting. OCOSA Communications was a small business locally owned and operated by a minority family with a 30+ year residency in North Tulsa. The company name OCOSA, originated from combining the first letters of the following names: Otis Surratt, Sr., Cheryl Surratt, Otis Surratt, Jr., Shernell Surratt, and Angela Surratt, in which the letter "A" represents a communications tower. Since the Surratt family resides on Victor Avenue, Victor Communications was going to be the company name. However, Shernell Surratt decided to incorporate the first letters of our names into the company’s name bringing into existence OCOSA.
The Beginning Years of Growth and Professional Development
In 2003, OCOSA operated out of the den of the Surratt family home with the following equipment: Telco rack with three servers, high speed broadband Internet connection, and an uninterruptable power source (UPS) as a fail-safe component. As mentioned above, we offered web hosting, e-mail, domain name service (DNS) hosting, computer solutions, and network consulting.
In 2004, we decided that OCOSA needed to operate within a facility rather than solely in the den of the Surratt residence. We negotiated with a local real estate firm and relocated our business to the Kennedy Building, one of Tulsa’s historical Class A facilities, which is located at 321 S. Boston Avenue. OCOSA acquired about 1000 sq. ft. of space which originally was the management office for the Kennedy Building. The space was transformed into a data center and a small sales office.
Formation of Legal Structure and Expansion of Offered Services
In 2005, OCOSA Communications filed to be incorporated as a Limited Liability Company (LLC) with the state of Oklahoma. Our company’s legal name is OCOSA Communication, LLC albeit we do business as OCOSA Communications. We began offering Internet access and server collocation to the Kennedy Building and 320 Building. We built a fiber optic ring to the 320 Building, directly across the street from the Kennedy Building, to provide private and Internet connectivity services.
In 2006, OCOSA Communication, LLC provided additional small business Ethernet services and private line services that were completely on network in the Kennedy and 320 Buildings. We continued to add products and services for our wide range of solutions.
In 2007, OCOSA Communication, LLC built redundant gigabit Ethernet rings over our high speed fiber optic network. OCOSA plans to become a competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC). OCOSA offers an integrated control panel for customers to dominant their hosting experience and web presence. OCOSA plans to launch high speed digital subscriber line (DSL) and fiber to the home (FTTH). OCOSA also plans to add more buildings on network via our high speed redundant gigabit Ethernet network.
Emerging Future in the Growing Industry of Telecommunications
In 2008, OCOSA Communication, LLC will celebrate five years (counting our initial start years) serving Tulsans and standing the test of time. In addition to our Internet connectivity plans, we plan to offer Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) services to become a triple play provider. OCOSA Communication, LLC is a young, innovative and emerging company that is focused on providing Oklahoma with private line services and Internet connectivity over our high speed Internet backbone and network peering points with Tier-1, Tier-2, and local data providers in Oklahoma.
