More than 45 years of North Carolina technology, in one local team.
Local Business VoIP is the small-business brand of Carolina Digital Phone, founded in Greensboro in 2000 by Nicky Smith. But the story starts long before that, in the 1970s, with a founder who has spent his whole career bringing the next wave of technology to North Carolina businesses, schools, and families, and staying long enough to support it.
Most phone companies are faceless and far away. We are the opposite. We are a North Carolina business with deep roots in this state and a founder whose career maps the entire modern history of business technology, from the first personal computers to today's AI. That experience is the reason we can promise something rare: we will help you adopt what is new, and we will still be here to support it.
Built on a simple belief
Technology should make a business easier to run, not harder. Across five decades, that belief has shown up the same way every time, by meeting people where they are, explaining the options in plain language, and standing behind the work. The tools have changed completely. The commitment has not.
Today that means cloud voice, business texting, and an AI receptionist delivered to small and mid-sized businesses by a local team. It is the latest chapter in a much longer story.
From the first Apple store to the AI era
Nicky Smith's work in technology began in the 1970s, just as personal computing was being born. In the early 1980s he founded the first Apple computer store in North Carolina, helping bring computers into classrooms and businesses long before that was common, and serving major organizations across the state.
In 1982 his company became the first Medallion Reseller for IBM's personal computer line in North Carolina, and in the years that followed he stayed close to the leading edge of the industry during the birth of the modern PC and the Macintosh. Every step since has followed the same pattern: see what is coming, learn it deeply, and bring it home to North Carolina.
More than 45 years later, that same instinct now points at cloud communications and artificial intelligence, the tools that are reshaping how every business answers the phone.
Milestones
- 1970s A career in technology begins as personal computing takes shape
- Early 1980s Founds the first Apple computer store in North Carolina
- 1982 Becomes the first IBM Medallion Reseller in North Carolina
- 1985 Launches MCR Computer Services in Greensboro
- 1994 Starts one of the area's first internet providers, growing to 20,000+ users
- 2000 Founds Carolina Digital Phone, a hosted communications pioneer
- Today Delivers cloud voice, texting, and AI to businesses statewide
Meet the founder, Nicky Smith
Born in Chapel Hill, raised in Winston-Salem, and settled in Greensboro, Nicky Smith has built his life and his businesses in the Piedmont Triad. He is a lifelong Eagle Scout who still lives by those principles, an active member of his church and the Crescent Rotary Club of Greensboro, and a family-first entrepreneur who has spent decades giving back to the community that raised him.
After building and growing an internet company through the 1990s, he founded Carolina Digital Phone in 2000 and has led it ever since. His goal has stayed constant: to give North Carolina businesses world-class communication tools with the personal, local service that only a community-focused company can offer.
What drives Nicky
- Be the very best at everything you do
- Bring new technology home to North Carolina
- Serve customers as neighbors, not numbers
- Invest in the local community and economy
- Keep learning, from COBOL to AI
Engineered in North Carolina to stay up
Five decades of hard-won experience are built into infrastructure most small businesses could never build alone.
Geo-redundant network
Carrier-class data centers in downtown Greensboro, in Research Triangle Park, and in Dallas keep your service running even if one site has trouble, so your calls keep flowing through storms and outages.
Carrier-grade backbone
Multiple synchronous fiber connections with full BGP routing mean we are over-engineered for peak demand on purpose. Quality does not drop when call volume spikes.
Security and compliance
We maintain strict security and meet standards like STIR/SHAKEN to fight spam and robocalls, with compliant options for healthcare, schools, and government.
Rooted in the community
Carolina Digital Phone is not part of a faraway conglomerate. Based in Guilford County in the heart of North Carolina, we are committed to our customers and to our community, and we believe that giving back to our neighbors helps everyone grow. In 2022, the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce recognized that work with its Community Contributor Small Business Award.
VoIP is not something we dabble in. It is all we do, for thousands of businesses, schools, and government agencies across the state. That focus, paired with local support that answers when you call, is what turns a vendor into a long-term partner.
Why this matters for your business
The world of business communication is changing faster than ever, and it is easy to feel left behind. You do not have to keep up alone. With Local Business VoIP, you get tools that were out of reach a few years ago, set up and supported by a North Carolina team with 45 years of perspective on what lasts and what is just hype. We adopt the next innovation so you do not have to chase it, and we stay to support what we sell. That is the whole idea, and it always has been.
Put 45 years of experience to work for you
Talk with one of our pre-sales engineers about your business. They will map your call flow, recommend what actually fits, and show you how a local partner makes modern communication simple. No pressure, just a clear plan.
Call (502) 576-3500