Consolidated Communications was founded as the Mattoon Telephone Company in 1894 by Dr. Iverson A. Lumpkin in Mattoon, Illinois. In 1924, the company became the Illinois Consolidated Telephone Company and began acquiring telephone companies in the region over the next several decades, including telephone companies in Christian County, Montgomery County, the Illinois Southeastern Telephone Company and the Effingham, Illinois exchange from Illinois Bell. In 1984, Consolidated Communications, Inc. was formed as the parent company of ICTC, Consolidated Communications Directories and Consolidated Market Response.
In 1997, CCI merged with McLeodUSA, but was purchased back in 2002 by ICTC Chairman and President Richard A. Lumpkin and investors. The company name was then changed to Consolidated Communications.
In March 2020, Consolidated Communications announced that employees and the company have pledged $80,000 to support United Way organizations in communities across the company's service area.
