About

Aristata Represents Resilience, Connectivity, and Community

Aristata (Pinus aristata) is the scientific term for the Rocky Mountain bristlecone pine, a native conifer that grows in communities throughout the South-Central Rockies. Known for its resiliency, it thrives in some of Colorado’s most rugged terrain.

The arrowhead incorporates the region’s historical roots—the first natives to the area were the Ute people—and the direction of the arrowhead points toward progress.

The combined logo mark is a nod to the region and the resilience of its people while tying in the importance of those who have come before us, community, and connectivity.

Mission

Providing the fastest and most reliable connectivity in the Central Rockies to maintain our unique, western independent lifestyle beyond the 21st Century.

Vision

We bridge the digital divide in the Central Rockies while transforming the relationships we have with our communities and customers to create a lasting, positive impact for generations ahead.

Born from Community, Dedicating to Serving the Community

Aristata Communications staff Aristata Communications was born from community. The residents within the town of Crestone banded together to bring broadband to town after realizing they were cut off from knowledge and access to resources without a solid internet connection. It was truly a grassroots effort when neighbors pitched in with start-up capital to get the company off the ground. When service reached Methodist Mountain, perched at over 11,000 feet along the Continental Divide, it became the catalyst for providing high-speed, reliable internet across the region. Over the years, service has expanded to reach underserved areas like Salida, Maysville, Chalk Creek Canyon, Twin Lakes, Cotopaxi, and Westcliffe in the Wet Mountain Valley. Today, Aristata Communications works diligently to bridge the digital divide between urban and rural America and provides internet and communications services to nearly 5,000 customers throughout five counties in the Central and South-Central Rocky Mountains including Lake, Chaffee, Fremont, Custer, and Huerfano Counties.
Aristata Communications was born from community. The residents within the town of Crestone banded together to bring broadband to town after realizing they were cut off from knowledge and access to resources without a solid internet connection. It was truly a grassroots effort when neighbors pitched in with start-up capital to get the company off the ground. When service reached Methodist Mountain, perched at over 11,000 feet along the Continental Divide, it became the catalyst for providing high-speed, reliable internet across the region. Over the years, service has expanded to reach underserved areas like Salida, Maysville, Chalk Creek Canyon, Twin Lakes, Cotopaxi, and Westcliffe in the Wet Mountain Valley. Today, Aristata Communications works diligently to bridge the digital divide between urban and rural America and provides internet and communications services to nearly 5,000 customers throughout five counties in the Central and South-Central Rocky Mountains including Lake, Chaffee, Fremont, Custer, and Huerfano Counties.
Meet the Team

Field Technicians

Mike V.
Mike Volke

Field Technician Manager

Dan
Dan Willey

Field Technician

Wesley Curtis
Wesley Curtis

Field Technician

Senior Leadership

Brian Worthen

CEO

Carlin with family
Carlin Walsh

Former CEO

Carissa
Carissa Branch

Chief of Staff

Johnathon Shaffer

Tower and Safety Manager

Jesse Bowers

Field Project Manager and Business Development

Yuwipi Tsunka
Yuwipi Tsunka

Director of Field Operations

David Sheffield

Network Operation Engineer

Stephanie
Stephanie Mullet

Purchasing Manager

Liz
Elizabeth Rees

Customer Care Manager

Brian Worthen

Brian Worthen

Brian Worthen, CEO of Visionary Broadband

Ask Brian Worthen what it takes to run a successful company and he’ll answer three things: A passion for the challenge, a love for the place you do it, and respect for your employees and customers.

Brian, the CEO of Visionary Broadband, ticks all those boxes.

Put another way, Brian has no desire for the corner office in New York or Los Angeles. He doesn’t want a view or an urban skyline. Instead, he’ll take vistas of the eastern Wyoming prairie, or the towering cliffs and mountains of the American West.

The rural west is where he grew up, where he raised his family, and where he is growing Visionary Broadband, making it one of the premier broadband providers in all of rural America.

Armed with a degree in small business management from the University of Wyoming, Brian joined the founders of Visionary in 2001 and immediately started working on a new Internet product – broadband.

In 2004, a white-board session at the office produced a eureka moment. Under Brian’s leadership, Visionary was soon wholesaling service to ISPs in Montana, Utah, Colorado, Idaho, Wyoming and Washington state.

By 2014 Worthen was running a company that was selling services to 220 wholesale customers—ISPs, wireless ISPs, CLECs, small telephone companies, small cable companies, utilities, and national carriers.

Virtually all of his customers lived and worked in small towns in the western United States. Small towns much like Orofino, Idaho, where Brian grew up.

It’s easy, in communities like that, to get to know your customers and your employees and be responsive to their needs.  You see, in rural America, you bump into customers and employees at the gas station, at the grocery store and at sports events.

Work is important and Brian is rightly proud of Visionary, and the team he put together to build the company.

When time permits, he can be found road racing cars on a closed course, or skiing, or even paintballing. Or perhaps reading. His favorite business books: Henry Knox: Visionary General of the American Revolution, by Mark Puls and How to Castrate a Bull, by Dave Hitz.

He also travels. One of his favorite adventures happened on an overnight train he and his wife took from Singapore to Bangkok. “At one point in the evening,” he said, “a man came by and asked us to stand. He proceeded to fold our seats into beds. At each stop, vendors would come up and down the cars and offer eggs, chicken and other food and drink. I felt like I was crossing the Plains on the trains of the 1800s.”

The people who built those railroads nearly two centuries ago were really the forerunners of the people who today build internet infrastructure across the Plains and mountains of the West. Much like the men and women who work for Brian Worthen at Visionary Broadband.

Brian can be reached at BWorthen@VisionaryBroadband.com. Learn more about Visionary at vcn.com.

 

Aristata Communications - a Visionary Broadband company
Friendly reminder: Aristata Communications is now a Visionary Broadband Company. Your credit card charges and ACH payments for Internet services will state Visionary Broadband.
Aristata Communications
We bridge the digital divide in the Central Rockies while transforming the relationships we have with our communities and customers to create a lasting, positive impact for generations ahead.

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Aristata Communications

Additional Information

  • Aristata Communications Voice included
  • Unlimited local and long-distance calling to the US and Canada
  • Over 35+ calling features, like voicemail, call waiting, and call forwarding
  • Add a second line for $29.95* per month
* Pricing does not include taxes. surcharges, and fees, which are subject to change