GTE Corporation , formerly Public Phone & amp; Electronics Corporation (1955-1982), was the largest independent telephone company in the United States during the Bell System. The company operated from 1926, with roots tracing further than that, until 2000, when it was acquired by Bell Atlantic; the combined company takes the name Verizon.
The Wisconsin Connect Utility Phone Company was founded in 1926; it went bankrupt in 1933 during the Great Depression, and was rearranged as a Public Phone in 1934. In 1991, it acquired, the third largest Continental Telephone (ConTel). The company owns Automatic Electric, a supplier of similar phone equipment in many ways to Western Electric, and Sylvania Lighting, the only non-communications oriented company under GTE ownership. GTE provides local telephone service to a large number of US territories through operating companies, just like Telephones & Telegraph provides local telephone service through 22 Bell Operating Companies.
The company acquired BBN Planet, one of the earliest Internet service providers, in 1997. The division was known as GTE Internetworking, and later split into an independent company Genuity (a name recycled from a GTE Internet company acquired in 1997) to satisfy Federal Communications Commission (FCC) requirements regarding the GTE-Bell Atlantic merger that created Verizon.
GTE operates in Canada through major interests in subsidiaries such as BC Tel Tel and Quebec-TÃ © Ã… © lÃÆ'Â ©. When foreign ownership restrictions on telecommunication companies are introduced, GTE ownership is grandfather. When BC Tel joined Telus (the name given the privatized Government Government Phone (AGT)) to make BCT.Telus, a subsidiary of GTE in Canada merged into a new host, making it the second largest telecom operator in Canada. Thus, GTE's successor, Verizon Communications, is the only foreign telecommunications company with more than 20% ownership in Canadian airline, until Verizon completely released its shares in 2004.
In the Caribbean, CONTEL bought some big bets in newly independent countries from the West Indies of England (ie in Barbados, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago).
Prior to joining GTE with Bell Atlantic, GTE also maintained an interactive television service called GTE mainStreet (sometimes also called mainStreet USA) as well as interactive entertainment and video game publishing operations, GTE Interactive Media.
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History
The legacy of the GTE can be traced back to 1918, when three Wisconsin public utility accountants (John F. O'Connell, Sigurd L. Odegard, and John A. Pratt) raised $ 33,500 to purchase the Richland Center Telephone Company, serving 1,466 phones in the milk product belt. from southern Wisconsin. In 1920, three accountants formed a company, the Commonwealth Telephone Company, with Odegard as president, Pratt as vice president, and O'Connell as secretary. Richland Center Telephone became part of Commonwealth Telephone, which quickly purchased phone companies in three nearby communities. In 1922, Pratt resigned as vice president and was replaced by Clarence R. Brown, a former Bell System employee.
By the mid-1920s, the Commonwealth Phone had exceeded the Wisconsin limits and bought the Belvidere Telephone Company in Illinois. It also diversified into other utilities by acquiring two small Wisconsin power companies. The expansion was upgraded in 1926, when Odegard gained the option to purchase Long Beach, California Telephone Company and began drafting a plan for the parent company, to be named the Associated Phone Utility Company. An aggressive acquisition program is rapidly launched in eastern, middle west and western states, with companies using their own ordinary shares to complete transactions.
During the first six years, Associated Telephone Utilities acquired 340 telephone companies, consolidated to 45 companies operating more than 437,000 phones in 25 countries. By the time the stock market hit its lowest point in October 1929, the Associated Phone Utility operated around 500,000 phones with revenues approaching $ 17 million.
In January 1930, a new subsidiary, Associated Telephone Investment Company, was established. Designed to support its parent acquisition program, the new company's main business is to buy the company's stock to increase its market value. In two years, investment companies have suffered huge losses, and a $ 1 million loan should be negotiated. The Related Phone Investments were dissolved but not before the financial suffering of his parents had become irreversible, and in 1933, the Related Phone Utility entered the curator.
Telephone
The company was reorganized that same year and reappeared in 1935 as General Telephone Corporation, operating 12 newly consolidated companies. John Winn, 26-year veteran of Bell System, was appointed president. In 1936, General Telephone invented a new subsidiary, General Telephone Directory Company, to publish directories for all areas of the parent service.
Like other businesses, the telephone industry was under government restrictions during World War II, and the Public Telephone was called to improve service at military bases and war production factories. After the war, the Public Telephone reactivated an acquisition program that had been active for more than a decade and bought 118,000 telephone lines between 1946 and 1950. In 1950, General Telephone purchased its first telephone equipment manufacturing subsidiary, Leich Electric Company, along with related Leich Sales Corporation.
The ownership of General Telephone included 15 telephone companies in 20 states in 1951, when Donald C. Power (attorney, utility commissioner and former executive secretary for Governor of Ohio John Bricker) was appointed company president under the leadership and executive of the old GT Morris F. LaCroix , replacing the retired Harold Bozell (president 1940 - 1951). Power began to expand the company through the 1950s primarily through two acquisitions.
In 1955, Theodore Gary & amp; The company, the second largest independent telephone company, which has 600,000 telephone lines, is combined into a Public Phone, which grows to be the largest independent outside of the Bell System. This merger gave the company 2.5 million connections. Theodore Gary's assets include phone operations in the Dominican Republic, British Columbia and the Philippines, as well as Automatic Electric, the second largest US phone equipment manufacturer. He also has a subsidiary, named General Telephone and Electric Corporation, formed in 1930 with Transamerica Corporation and a British investor to compete with ITT.
In 1959, General Telephone and Sylvania Electric Products merged, and the parent name was changed to General Telephone & amp; Electronics Corporation (GT & amp; E). The merger gave Sylvania - a leader in industries such as lighting, television and radio, and chemistry and metallurgy - the capital needed to flourish. For Public Telephones, mergers mean additional benefits from research and development of Sylvania's extensive capabilities in the field of electronics. Power also arranged other acquisitions in the late 1950s, including Peninsular Telephone Company in Florida, with 300,000 lines, and Lenkurt Electric Company, Inc., a major manufacturer of microwave and data transmission systems.
In 1960, a subsidiary of GT & E International Incorporated was formed to consolidate manufacturing and marketing activities of Sylvania, Automatic Electric, and Lenkurt, outside the United States. Power is named C.E.O. and chairman in 1961, made way for Leslie H. Warner, former Theodore Gary, to become president. Over the next few years, the scope of GT & E's research, development, and marketing activities is expanded. In 1963, Sylvania began producing color television picture tubes on a large scale, and within two years, Sylvania supplied color tubes for 18 of 23 US domestic television producers. Around the same time, Automatic Electric began supplying electronic switching equipment to the US Department of Defense's global communications system, and GT & E International began producing ground-based stations for overseas and domestic markets. The subsidiary of GT & amp; E, meanwhile, began acquiring the community-antenna television system (CATV) in their operating area.
In 1964, Warner arranged a deal that incorporated Western Utilities Corporation, the nation's second largest independent telephone company, with 635,000 telephones, becoming GT & E. The next year Sylvania introduced a revolutionary four-sided flashcube, enhancing its position as the world's largest flashbulb producer. The acquisition in telephone service continued under Warner during the mid-1960s. Purchases included Quebec Telephone in Canada, the Hawaiian Telephone Company and Northern Ohio Telephone Company and added a total of 622,000 telephone connections to GT & E operations. In 1969, GT & E has served ten million phones.
In the late 1960s, GT & E joined in a railroad car search, Automatic Car Identification system. It designed the KarTrak optical system, which won over other manufacturers' systems in field trials, but ultimately proved to require too much maintenance. In the late 1970s the system was abandoned.
In March 1970, the headquarters of GT & amp; E New York City was bombed by radical anti-war groups in protest at the company's participation in defense work. In December of that year, GT & amp; E agreed to move the company headquarters to Stamford, Connecticut. In 1971 GT & E changed identity and became only GTE, while Sylvania Electric Products became GTE Sylvania. That same year, Donald C. Power retired and Leslie H. Warner became chairman of the Board. Theodore F. Brophy was taken as president.
Having previously proposed to build a separate satellite system, GTE and rival telecommunications, American Telephone & amp; Telegraph, announced in 1974 a joint venture plan for the construction and operation of seven earth-based stations connected by two satellites. Also in 1974 Sylvania acquired the name and distribution rights for Philco television and stereo products. GTE International expanded its activities during the same period, acquiring television producers in Canada and Israel and phone manufacturers in Germany.
In 1976, the newly elected chairman Theodore F. Brophy reorganized the company in five global product lines: communications, lighting, consumer electronics, precision materials, and electrical appliances. GTE International was removed during the reorganization, and GTE Products Corporation was formed to cover both domestic and foreign manufacturing and marketing operations. At the same time, GTE Communication Products are established to oversee the operation of Automated Information Systems, Lenkurt, Sylvania, and GTE. In 1979, another reorganization soon came under new president Thomas A. Vanderslice. The GTE Products Group is eliminated as an organizational unit and the GTE Electrical Product, which consists of lighting, precision materials, and electrical equipment, formed. Vanderslice also revitalized GT & E Telephone Operational Network in order to develop a competitive strategy to anticipate regulatory changes in the telecommunications industry.
In 1979, GTE bought Telenet to establish a presence in a growing package of data communications communications. GTE Telenet was later incorporated in a US Telecom joint venture.
1980s
GT & E; sold its consumer electronics business, including the Philco and Sylvania brand names to Philips in 1981, after watching television revenue and radio operations dropped dramatically with the success of foreign manufacturers. After the announcement of AT & amp; T 1982 that they will release 22 telephone companies, GT & E made a number of movement reorganization.
In 1982, the company adopted the GTE Corporation name and established GTE Mobilnet Incorporated to handle the company's entry into the new mobile phone business. In 1983 GTE sold its electrical equipment, broker information services, and cable television equipment business. In the same year, Automatic Electric and Lenkurt were incorporated as GTE Network Systems.
GTE became the third largest telephony company in 1983 through the acquisition of the South Pacific Communications Company. At the same time, the South Pacific Satellite Company was acquired, and the two companies were renamed GTE Sprint Communications Corporation and GTE Spacenet Corporation, respectively. Through an agreement with the Department of Justice, GTE acknowledges to keep Sprint Communications separate from other telephone companies and to limit other GTE subsidiaries in certain markets. In December 1983 Vanderslice resigned as president and chief operating officer.
In 1984, GTE formalized its decision to concentrate on three core businesses: telecommunications, lighting, and precision metals. In the same year, the company's first satellite was launched, and the GTE mobile phone service started to operate; Earnings of GTE exceed $ 1 billion for the first time. In 1986, GTE acquired Airfone Inc., a provider of telephone services for commercial and railroad aircraft, and Rotaflex plc, a UK-based lighting fixtures manufacturer.
Starting in 1986, GTE separated several operations to form a joint venture. In the same year, Sprint's long-distance subsidiary Sprint and United Telecommunication, US Telecom, agreed to merge and establish the US Sprint Communications Company, with each parent retaining a 50 percent stake in the new company. In the same year, GTE shifted its international transmission, the oversight of its overseas headquarters, and business system operations to a joint venture with Siemens AG Germany, which takes 80 percent of the new company's holdings. The following year, GTE transferred its business system operations in the United States to a new joint venture, Fujitsu GTE Business Systems, Inc., which was formed with Fujitsu Limited, which retains 80 percent ownership.
In April 1988, after retiring Theodore F. Brophy, James L. "Rocky" Johnson was promoted from his position as president and chief operating officer to CEO and chair of the GTE. Under its leadership, GTE divested its consumer communications product unit as part of its telecom strategy to place increasing emphasis on the service sector. The following year GTE sold most of its stake in Sprint USA to United Telecommunications and its interest in Fujitsu GTE Business Systems to Fujitsu.
In 1989, GTE and AT & amp; T formed a joint venture AG Communication Systems Corporation, designed to bring advanced digital technology to the GTE switching system. GTE retains 51 percent control over the joint venture, with AT & amp; T promises to take full control of the new company in 15 years.
With the increasing emphasis on telecommunications, in 1989 GTE launched a program to become the first mobile provider to offer national services and introduce the country's first rural service area, which provides cellular services on Kauai Island, Hawaii. The following year, GTE acquired the Providence Journal Company cellular property in five southern states for $ 710 million and became the second largest provider of cellular services in the United States.
1990s
In 1990, GTE reorganized its activities around three business groups: telecommunication products and services, telephone operations, and electrical products. In the same year, GTE and Contel Corporation announced a merger plan that will strengthen the telecom and telephony sector of GTE.
After action or review by more than 20 government agencies, in March 1991 the merger of GTE and Contel was approved. More than half of the $ 6.6 billion purchase price of Contel, $ 3.9 billion, is assumed to be debt. In April 1992, James L. "Rocky" Johnson retired after 43 years at GTE, remaining on the board of directors of GTE as Chairman Emeritus. Charles "Chuck" Lee was named to replace Johnson. Lee's first business order is to reduce that obligation. He sold GTE's North American Lighting business to Siemens affiliates worth more than $ 1 billion, shaved local exchange properties in Idaho, Tennessee, Utah and West Virginia to generate another $ 1 billion, and released his interest in Sprint in 1992. In 1994 , he sold his GTE Spacenet satellite operations to General Electric and sold Contel of Maine to Oxford Networks, which put the company into a new subsidiary, Oxford West Telephone.
The Telecommunications Act of 1996 promises to encourage competition among local phone providers, remote services, and cable television companies. Many leading telecommunications are prepared for the realities of new competition by aligning themselves with entertainment and information providers. GTE, on the other hand, continues to focus on its core operations, trying to make it as efficient as possible.
Among other goals, the GTE plan seeks to double revenues and cut costs by $ 1 billion annually by focusing on five key areas of operation: improvements in wireline and wireless systems technology, expansion of data services, global expansion and diversification into video services. GTE hopes to cross-sell a large wireline subscriber base on wireless services, data and video, launching Tele-Go, a user-friendly service that incorporates cordless wireless telephony features. The company purchased a broadband spectrum mobile license in Atlanta, Seattle, Cincinnati and Denver, and established a joint venture with SBC Communications to upgrade its mobile capabilities in Texas. In 1995, the company conducted a 15-state video conferencing service test, as well as a proposed dialtone video (VDT) experiment to offer cable television programs for 900,000 homes in 1997. GTE also established a joint venture and video program with Ameritech Corporation, BellSouth Corporation , SBC, and The Walt Disney Company in the fall of 1995.
Overseas efforts include affiliation with telephone companies in Argentina, Mexico, Germany, Japan, Canada, Dominican Republic, Venezuela and China. The reorganization of the early 1990s included a 37.5 percent reduction in workforce, from 177,500 in 1991 to 111,000 in 1994. Lee's fivefold strategy began to bear fruit in the mid-1990s. While conglomerate communications sales remained somewhat flat, about $ 19.8 billion, from 1992 to 1994, its net profit increased 43.7 percent, from $ 1.74 billion to a record $ 2.5 billion, over the same period.
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Acquisition by Bell Atlantic
Bell Atlantic acquired GTE on June 30, 2000, and named the new entity Verizon Communications. The operating company GTE held by Verizon is now collectively known as Verizon West (Verizon West) division of Verizon (including the east coast service area). The remaining smaller operating companies are sold or moved to the remaining ones. The additional properties were sold within a few years after the merger to CenturyTel, Alltel, and Hawaiian Telcom. On July 1, 2010, Verizon sold many of its former GTE properties to Frontier Communications. Other GTE areas in California, Florida and Texas are sold to Frontier in 2015 and transferred in 2016, ending Verizon's ground operations beyond the historic trail of the Atlantic Atlantic. Verizon still operates telephone services in the non-Bell System area of ​​Pennsylvania under Verizon North, and in the non-Bell System area of ​​Virginia and Knotts Island, North Carolina under Verizon South.
Company operations
Prior to the acquisition with Bell Atlantic, GTE had the following operating companies in the US:
- Contel of Minnesota, Inc.
- Contel of the South, Inc. (Alabama, Indiana, Michigan)
- GTE Alaska Incorporated
- GTE Arkansas Incorporated
- GTE California Incorporated (Arizona, California, Nevada)
- GTE Florida Incorporated
- GTE Hawaiian Telephone Company, Inc.
- GTE Midwest Incorporated (Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska)
- GTE North Incorporated (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin)
- GTE Northwest Incorporated (Idaho, Oregon, Washington)
- GTE South Incorporated (Illinois, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Wisconsin)
- GTE Southwest Incorporated (Arkansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas)
- GTE West Coast Incorporated (California)
After the acquisition with Bell Atlantic, some of these companies and/or access points have been sold to other companies, such as Alltel, ATEAC, The Carlyle Group, CenturyTel, Citizens/Frontier Communications, and Valor Telecom.
References
External links
- GTE.com (Archive)
- 'Marker of GTE Birthplace history' in Richland Center, Wisconsin
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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