The Carolina Digital Phone story: 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.
Quick answer: who founded Carolina Digital Phone, and when?
Carolina Digital Phone was founded in Greensboro, North Carolina in 2000 by Nicky Smith, a technologist whose career began in the 1970s. Before starting the company he founded the first Apple computer store in North Carolina, became the state's first IBM Medallion Reseller, and built one of the area's first internet providers. Today the company delivers cloud voice, business texting, and an AI receptionist to businesses, schools, and government agencies. Local Business VoIP is its small-business brand.
- Founded
- 2000, in Greensboro, North Carolina
- Founder
- Nicky Smith, who still leads the company
- Headquarters
- 301 S Elm Street, 6th Floor, Greensboro, NC 27401
- What we do
- Hosted VoIP phone systems, business texting, and an AI receptionist, supported by local engineers. See why organizations choose Carolina Digital Phone.
- Recognition
- Greensboro Chamber of Commerce Community Contributor Small Business Award, 2022. BBB Accredited Business since 2006.
Published July 1, 2026. Last updated October 7, 2026. Reviewed by Nicky Smith, founder.
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.
What belief is Carolina Digital Phone built on?
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.
How did the first Apple store in North Carolina lead to an AI-era phone company?
By following the same pattern for more than 45 years: see what is coming, learn it deeply, and bring it home to North Carolina.
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.
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
- 2022 Receives the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce Community Contributor Small Business Award
- Today Delivers cloud voice, texting, and AI to businesses statewide
Who is Nicky Smith?
Nicky Smith is the founder of Carolina Digital Phone and a lifelong North Carolinian. Born in Chapel Hill, raised in Winston-Salem, and settled in Greensboro, he 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.
Read more about Carolina Digital Phone on our main site, or how we think about doing business locally in North Carolina.
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
How is the network engineered to stay up?
With three data centers and a backbone that is over-built on purpose. 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. Read about our geo-redundant VoIP service.
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. See how we build for uptime.
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. Use our VoIP security checklist.
How is Carolina Digital Phone 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. Here is what it means to be a trusted business communications partner.
Why does this history matter for your business?
Because experience is what tells you which new tools will last. 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.
What do people ask about Carolina Digital Phone's history?
Who founded Carolina Digital Phone?
Carolina Digital Phone was founded by Nicky Smith, a North Carolina technologist whose career began in the 1970s and spans more than 45 years. He has led the company since its first day and still leads it today.
When and where was Carolina Digital Phone founded?
Carolina Digital Phone was founded in 2000 in Greensboro, North Carolina, where it is still headquartered. It grew out of earlier companies Nicky Smith built in the same city, including MCR Computer Services in 1985 and one of the area's first internet providers in 1994.
What did Nicky Smith do before Carolina Digital Phone?
In the early 1980s he founded the first Apple computer store in North Carolina. In 1982 his company became the first IBM Medallion Reseller in the state. He launched MCR Computer Services in Greensboro in 1985, and in 1994 he started one of the area's first internet providers, which grew to more than 20,000 users.
Is Local Business VoIP the same company as Carolina Digital Phone?
Yes. Local Business VoIP is the small-business brand of Carolina Digital Phone. The network, the engineers, and the support team are the same North Carolina people. Read why organizations choose Carolina Digital Phone.
What does Carolina Digital Phone do today?
Carolina Digital Phone delivers cloud voice, business texting, and an AI receptionist to businesses, schools, and government agencies, supported by local engineers in North Carolina. Hosted communications is the only thing the company does.
Has Carolina Digital Phone been recognized in the community?
Yes. In 2022 the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce gave Carolina Digital Phone its Community Contributor Small Business Award. The company has also been a BBB Accredited Business since 2006.
Where are Carolina Digital Phone's data centers?
The network runs in carrier-class data centers in downtown Greensboro, in Research Triangle Park, and in Dallas. If one site has trouble, the others keep calls flowing. Read more about our geo-redundant VoIP service.
Next: why Carolina Digital Phone is the best qualified local VoIP provider for your business.
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 (336) 544-4000 Request a quick callback