Donald R. Horsley

Don Horsley
President and CEO
SouthernLINC Wireless and Southern Telecom

Don Horsley was named president and CEO of SouthernLINC Wireless last August. He serves in the same capacity for Southern Telecom, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SouthernLINC Wireless.

Before assuming leadership at SouthernLINC Wireless, Horsley was Mississippi Power’s vice president of customer services for the past five years. Prior to that, Horsley held several positions within the Alabama Power organization. These include vice president of transmission, general manager of transmission lines for power delivery, Birmingham division manager, human resources general manager and assistant to the executive vice president of customer services.

Throughout his career, Horsley has taken an active role in community service. Past appointments include: chairman of the Shelby County Economic and Industrial Development Authority, membership on the Jefferson County (Alabama) School Board, the Public Education Foundation, and the Engineering Foundation Council at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Engineering.

In addition, he was a member of the Bagley College of Engineering Diversity Advisory Council at Mississippi State University and the Mississippi Energy Policy Institute Board, chairing the energy efficiency and smart grid committee. He also previously served on the Power Delivery and Utilization Council of the Electric Power Research Institute and as board chairman for the United Way of South Mississippi

A native of Birmingham, Ala., Horsley holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and an MBA from the University of Alabama.

SouthernLINC Wireless is an Atlanta-based regional wireless carrier with network coverage in the major metro and rural areas of Alabama, Georgia, southeast Mississippi and northwest Florida. The company combines multiple communication options, including Push To Talk two-way radio (PTT), cellular service, wireless Internet access, wireless data, and text and picture messaging, into one hand-held device. In addition to regional network coverage, the company offers nationwide access through roaming agreements for cellular, PTT, data, and text and picture messaging services in more than 540 cities throughout the U.S.

Southern Telecom provides long-haul and metropolitan dark fiber that connects Atlanta with smaller cities throughout the Southeast. The company also provides network elements such as rights of way, conduit, co-location and other related maintenance services. Southern Telecom was formed in 1997 as an Exempt Telecommunications Company pursuant to the Telecommunications Act of 1996.