Washougal, Washington

Cory Schruth

Seeking adventures. Building ventures.

Est. 1978
Cory Schruth splicing fiber for the NocTel Fiber network
Splicing fiber in the Pacific Northwest woods

Seeking Problems. Building Solutions.

I've been connecting things and solving problems since I was a kid. Networking Apple IIe computers in elementary school. Running a BBS in high school. A food delivery service before apps existed. Television and racetrack software in my twenties. Broadcast tools because the "professional" solutions weren't user-friendly. Now telecommunications because too many communities and businesses get ignored by the big providers.

The thread connecting all of it is pretty simple: find people who are stuck with something that doesn't work well for them, and build something better. I've done it across industries for over 30 years now. Racetracks, radio stations, schools, rural communities, enterprise clients. Different problems, same approach.

These days I run NocTel Communications out of Washougal, Washington. VoIP, contact centers, panic buttons, digital signage, fiber Internet. But I'm always working on the next thing too. If you've got a problem nobody else is solving, that's usually where I get interested.

30+ Years of Building

A timeline of ventures, products, and problems solved

1980s

First Networks

Elementary & High School · Roseburg, OR

Started connecting things before the Internet was mainstream. In elementary school, I was linking Apple IIe computers via serial ports. In high school, I ran a BBS on dialup modems and physically ran cable between buildings at Roseburg High School to connect the computer labs together. The instinct was always there.

Early 90s

CDS · Cory's Delivery Service

Food Delivery · Roseburg, OR

My first real business. Negotiated with local restaurants, walked around downtown Roseburg with paper order forms taking lunch orders, then delivered food for a $1 delivery fee. An early Uber Eats, decades before the app existed.

1994

Television Engineering Begins

KROZ TV · Roseburg, OR

Where it all started professionally. Learned to keep systems running when "live" meant there was no second take. That pressure taught me more about reliability than any certification ever could.

Campaign Networks

Gubernatorial Campaigns · 1994 & 1998

Built computer networks for gubernatorial campaigns and connected them to the "all new high tech Internet." Most people hadn't heard of it yet. I was already wiring it up for political operations.

1995

Peak

TV Automation & Traffic System · KROZ TV

Built a complete TV automation and traffic system for KROZ. Handled commercial scheduling, playback automation, and traffic management. My first real software product.

1996

Radio Begins

KRVM Eugene · KAYO & KFMY Olympia

Started as a DJ at KRVM, a non-profit station in Eugene. Also worked at KAYO and KFMY in Olympia. The beginning of a broadcast career that's still going today.

1997

TrackMaster

Racetrack Management System · Roseburg, OR

Built before systems like it existed. A complete racetrack management platform on Linux with dumb terminals and receipt printers. Scoring, payouts, gate sales, demographics, reporting. The whole operation from ticket booth to finish line in one integrated system. Also was a member of the pit crew for a sprint car team traveling between Edmonton, Alberta Canada to Las Vegas, Nevada over numerous seasons.

1998 Race team
1998

Major Market Radio

CBS · Viacom · AMFM · Clear Channel

Broadcast engineering for the big station groups. Wiring studios, climbing towers, transmitter maintenance, automation installs. Everything from the console to the top of the tower and back. Still supporting stations today across the US.

1999

Chief Engineer

Citadel/Cumulus · Eugene, OR

Ran technical operations for 6 radio stations: 4 FM, 2 AM, 10 transmitters, 3 translators, 6 on-air studios, 4 production rooms. Built a 95+ node network across two facilities and 4 transmitter sites. Supervised assistant engineers, managed daily repairs, construction projects, and studio upgrades.

UmpquaRiver.net

Wireless ISP

Built a wireless ISP serving the Umpqua River area. Sometimes that meant climbing trees to mount antennas. Connecting rural communities before fiber was an option.

Cory on top of tree building wireless ISP
2000

eSkimmer

First Web Aircheck System

The first digital web aircheck system. Stations could access recordings via Internet, listen back to what aired, and email clips in seconds instead of shipping tapes. Many copied it later. We did it first.

Cory at broadcast conference with eSkimmer and AiRemote
2002

AiRemote

Broadcast Control System

Short for "Air Remote," years before AI meant anything else. Easy-to-use industrial control for broadcasting before easy-to-use existed. Modular design, up to 768 cards across 64 chassis. Interfaced with everything: RDS encoders, automation, IBOC transmitters, audio processors.

AiRemote prototype Building AiRemote with the team Late night programming session
2005

NocTel VoIP

NocTel Communications · Enterprise VoIP

Conceived NocTel while working internationally. A full-featured business phone system that doesn't cost a fortune. The difference? We actually pick up when you call, and we don't charge extra for features that should be standard. This became the foundation for everything that followed.

→ Radio World Article (2016)
2007

SoundSpout & ForecastPhone

Schruth LLC · Portland, OR

SoundSpout: network-based customized interactive background music. ForecastPhone: custom telephony platform for broadcast stations. Built while running broadcast and network engineering services for stations across the US.

2008

CopWire

Emergency Call Mapping · KEX Newsroom

Aggregated emergency call data from multiple jurisdictions onto a single Portland-area map for the KEX newsroom. Real-time situational awareness across agencies that didn't normally talk to each other.

ICANN

Network & Systems Engineer · Global

Joined ICANN as network and systems engineer. High-sensitivity traffic for ICANN and IANA. 24/7/365 emergency response to global cyber intrusions. Built remote participation services for multi-language international conferences.

With Vint Cerf at ICANN
2010

NocTel Communications Scales

National Telecom · 13 States

Took NocTel from concept to company. Found a niche in education and government. When we needed to grow, we built more products to serve existing customers better. That philosophy still drives everything we do.

2017

NocTel Flow

Contact Center Platform

Web-based contact center that supervisors and agents can manage from anywhere. Built because our customers needed it.

NocTel Alert

Paging & Intercom

Born from frustration with dying analog paging systems. IP-based paging with HD sound, zone management, strobe lights. Schools love it.

2018

NocTel Fiber

Fiber to the Forgotten · Washougal, WA

Moved the company to Washougal and discovered nobody would provide decent Internet. Comcast quoted $300k. Frontier said impossible. So we built our own network. Started with 10 neighbors, then 40, now expanding as fast as we can. During COVID, prioritized getting teachers and students online first.

First link to mountain Splicing fiber Trenching in fiber Fiber installation in snow
→ noctelfiber.com → Post-Record Article → Read the Full Story

NocTel Insight

Analytics Platform

Reporting that actually tells you something useful. Pulls data from all NocTel services into user friendly, easy to digest, customizable dashboards.

2019

NocTel Go

Mobile Extension

Your business extension on your smartphone. Make and receive calls from your work number without giving out your personal cell.

2024

NocTel Now

Emergency Response · IoT Monitoring

Wireless panic buttons and action devices for when seconds matter. 900MHz signals that penetrate walls and cover entire campuses. One press can trigger calls, unlock doors, sound alarms, send messages. But it's not just safety: Now can monitor any IoT sensor. Restaurants tracking refrigeration temps and beer keg status. Retail stores counting foot traffic. Anywhere you need to know what's happening in real time.

→ noctelnow.com
2025

NocTel Dex

Digital Signage

Anywhere there's a sign being manually updated, we automate it. Restaurants, meeting rooms, conferences, airports, lobbies, hallways. Web-controlled, easy to update, works with standard hardware. If you're still changing signs by hand, there's a better way.

Orbitly

Social Platform

A connection platform I built because I needed it. Entrepreneurs need hiking buddies too. Helps you keep track of your people, business and personal, in one place.

→ orbitly.us
2026

NocTel Warden Coming Soon

Network Access Control

Enterprise NAC that actually makes sense. Centralized RADIUS and LDAP authentication as a ready-to-deploy virtual appliance. Certificate auth, TOTP 2FA, vendor-specific attributes, real-time visibility. Deploy in minutes, not months. Built because legacy NAC solutions are overcomplicated, overpriced, and over-engineered.

→ warden.noctel.com
Next

What's Next?

This isn't even everything. IoT hardware development, integrations, system deployments, internal tools, and ideas that haven't shipped yet. I'm just getting started. Looking for partners and collaborators to build the next wave. If you see problems worth solving, let's build more stuff together.

Community & Industry

Keeping local traffic local

Northwest Access Exchange

Volunteer Network Engineer

NWAX is Oregon's top Internet exchange with over 100 members exchanging 560+ Gbps daily. I volunteer as a network engineer, helping set up ports, perform maintenance, and support members. The whole idea is simple: regional traffic should stay on direct paths instead of bouncing across the country. Better performance, lower costs, more resilient networks for everyone in the Pacific Northwest.

NWAX switch install crew

→ nwax.net

Willamette Internet Exchange

Founding Supporter

When folks in Eugene wanted to bring peering infrastructure south of Portland, I was glad to help get it off the ground. Same philosophy as NWAX. Local traffic should stay local.

→ thewix.net

Port of Camas-Washougal

Featured Tenant & Infrastructure Partner

We partnered with the Port to bring fiber to their tenants and moved our headquarters to their industrial park. During COVID, the NocTel Fiber team prioritized high-speed Internet to Washougal and Camas teachers and students. The Port named us Featured Tenant of the Year in 2024. It's a good example of what happens when local organizations work together instead of waiting for big carriers to care.

→ portcw.com

Reflection Plaza

Park Sponsor · Since 2022

NocTel adopted Reflection Plaza in downtown Washougal as a community outreach project. We help keep it clean and ready for events like the Washougal Community Market and Christmas tree lighting. Other providers don't do this. We think being part of the community means actually showing up.

NocTel Adopt-a-Park sign at Reflection Plaza NocTel team at Reflection Plaza cleanup

The Team

The people who make it happen

2025 Fiber Crew Fiber Crew Safety Meeting NocTel at Washougal Christmas Tree Lighting 2024 NocTel Team Holiday Postcard

Get In Touch

Whether you've got a project, want to talk networking, or just want to connect, drop me a line. I do my best to respond to everything.

Email LinkedIn