Wikipedia

GTE

For other uses, seeGTE (disambiguation).

GTE Corporation,formerlyGeneral Telephone & Electronics Corporation(1955–1982),[2]was the largestindependent telephone companyin the United States during the days of theBell System.The company operated from 1926, with roots tracing further back than that, until 2000, when it was acquired byBell Atlantic;with the combined companies formed under the currently operatingVerizonbanner.

GTE Corporation
Company typePublic
NYSE:GTE
IndustryTelecommunications
Founded1934;90 years ago(1934)
DefunctJune 30, 2000;24 years ago(June 30, 2000)
FateAcquired byBell Atlantic
SuccessorVerizon Communications
HeadquartersStamford, Connecticut,U.S.
ProductsTelephone, internet, television
Subsidiaries
WebsiteGTE.com
Footnotes / references
[1]

TheWisconsin-basedAssociated Telephone Utilities Companywas founded in 1926; it went bankrupt in 1933 during theGreat Depression,and was reorganized as General Telephone in 1934.[3]In 1991, it acquired the third largest independent,Continental Telephone(ConTel).[4]It ownedAutomatic Electric,a telephone equipment supplier similar in many ways toWestern Electric,andSylvania Lighting,the only non-communications-oriented company under GTE ownership. GTE provided local telephone service to many areas of the U.S. throughoperating companies,much asAmerican Telephone & Telegraphprovided local telephone service through its 22Bell Operating Companies.

The company acquiredBBN Planet,one of the earliest Internet service providers, in 1997. That division became known as GTE Internetworking, and was later spun off into the independent companyGenuity(a name recycled from another Internet company GTE acquired in 1997) to satisfyFederal Communications Commission(FCC) requirements regarding the GTE–Bell Atlantic merger that created Verizon.[5]

GTE operated in Canada via large interests in subsidiary companies such asBC TelandQuebec-Téléphone.When foreign ownership restrictions on telecommunications companies were introduced, GTE's ownership wasgrandfathered.When BC Tel merged with Telus (the name given to the privatizedAlberta Government Telephones(AGT)) to createBCT.Telus,GTE's Canadian subsidiaries were merged into the new parent, making it the second-largest telecommunications carrier in Canada. As such, GTE's successor, Verizon Communications, was the only foreign telecommunications company with a greater than 20% interest in a Canadian carrier, until Verizon completely divested itself of its shares in 2004.[6]

In the Caribbean, CONTEL purchased several major stakes in the newly independent countries of theBritish West Indies(namely inBarbados,Jamaica,andTrinidad and Tobago).[7][8][9]

Prior to GTE's merger with Bell Atlantic, GTE also maintained an interactive television service joint-venture calledGTE mainStreet(sometimes also called mainStreet USA) as well as an interactive entertainment and video game publishing operation,GTE Interactive Media.[10][11][12]

History

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General Telephone

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In 1934, General Telephone Corporation was established with John Winn as president. The following year, the company created General Telephone Directory Company as a division. During World War II, General Telephone helped install phone service for military facilities. From 1946 to 1950, General Telephone obtained over 100,000 telephone lines and bought out Leich Electric Company.

General Telephone's holdings included 15 telephone companies across 20 states by 1951, whenDonald C. Powerwas named president of the company under chairman and long-time GT executive Morris F. LaCroix, replacing the retiring Harold Bozell (president 1940 – 1951). Power proceeded to expand the company through the 1950s principally through two acquisitions.

In 1955,Theodore Gary & Companybecame a part of General Telephone and allowed the company to hold over 2 million telephone lines after the companies merged. It also had a subsidiary, named the General Telephone and Electric Corporation, formed in 1930 with theTransamerica Corporationand British investors to compete against ITT.[13]

In 1959,Sylvania Electric Productsmerged into General Telephone and was renamed to General Telephone & Electronics Corporation (GT&E). Power also obtained the purchases of multiple companies. such as Lenkurt Electric Company, Inc and Peninsular Telephone Company. In 1960, GT&E International Incorporated was created as a branch company. Power was named C.E.O. and chairman in 1961, making way for Leslie H. Warner, formerly of Theodore Gary, to become president. Simultaneously, GT&E went on to buyCommunity Antenna Televisionproviders.

In 1964,Western Utilities Corporationbecame part of GT&E. Additional purchases during the 1960s includedHawaiian Telephone Companyand Northern Ohio Telephone Company. At the end of the decade, ten million GT&E phones were active.

KarTrakAutomated Car Identification system on a caboose in Florida

In the late 1960s, GT&E joined in the search for a railroad carAutomatic Car Identificationsystem. It designed theKarTrakoptical system, which won over other manufacturer's systems in field trials, but ultimately proved to need too much maintenance. In the late 1970s the system was abandoned.

After a 1970 bomb attack to the company's headquarters in New York City, the company relocated to Stamford, Connecticut for their new headquarters. In 1971 GT&E undertook an identity change and became simply GTE, while Sylvania Electric Products became GTE Sylvania.[14]The same year, Donald C. Power retired and Leslie H. Warner became chairman of the board.Theodore F. Brophywas brought in as president.

In 1974, GTE worked withAmerican Telephone & Telegraphin a project to create satellite stations. A few years later, the company's international branch was replaced by a GTE products company in 1976. Their products company remained until 1979. In 1979, GTE purchasedTelenetto establish a presence in the growingpacket switchingdata communicationsbusiness. GTE Telenet was later included in theUS Telecomjoint venture.

1980s

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In December 1983 Vanderslice stepped down as the company's president and chief operating officer.

A manhole cover featuring the company logo inHillsboro, Oregon

In April 1988, after the retirement of Theodore F. Brophy, James L. "Rocky" Johnson was promoted from his position as president and chief operating officer to CEO of GTE; he was appointed chairman in 1991.[15]

Under Johnson's leadership, GTE divested its 50% ownership of U.S. Sprint, the nation's third largest long-distance company. He also orchestrated the sale of Sylvania and the merger with Contel, creating the 2nd largest telephone company in the United States. In 1989, GTE reorganized into six operating groups, focusing on its core businesses of telephone operations, information services, and publishing of telephone directories. With previous job cuts and announced future job cuts, Johnson was able to return GTE to profitability. Other new services provided under his leadership were GTE Mobilenet cellular telephone operations, Airfone air-to-ground telephone services, and the first voice, video, and data services community in Cerritos, California to test home banking, at-home shopping, home security, and pay-per-view television in 16,000 homes and 2,000 businesses.[16][17]

1990s

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In April 1992, James L. "Rocky" Johnson retired after 43 years at GTE, remaining on the GTE board of directors as chairman emeritus. Charles "Chuck" Lee was named to succeed Johnson. In 1994, Lee sold the company's satellite provider,Spacenet,toGeneral Electricand Contel of Maine toOxford Networks,which placed the company into a newly created subsidiary,Oxford West Telephone.[18]

Merger with Bell Atlantic

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Original Verizon logo introduced at the time of the acquisition

Bell Atlantic merged with GTE on June 30, 2000, and named the new entityVerizon Communications.The GTE operating companies retained by Verizon are now collectively known asVerizon Westdivision of Verizon (including east coast service territories). The remaining smaller operating companies were sold off or transferred into the remaining ones. Additional properties were sold off within a few years after the merger toCenturyTel,Alltel,andHawaiian Telcom.On July 1, 2010, Verizon sold many former GTE properties toFrontier Communications.[19]Other GTE territories in California, Florida, and Texas were sold to Frontier in 2015 and transferred in 2016, thus ending Verizon's landline operations outside of the historic Bell Atlantic footprint.[20]Verizon still operates phone service in non-Bell System areas in Pennsylvania underVerizon North,and in non-Bell System areas in Virginia and Knotts Island, North Carolina underVerizon South.

Operating companies

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Prior to the merger with Bell Atlantic, GTE owned the following operating companies in the US:[21]

Following the merger of GTE and Bell Atlantic, some of these companies and/or access lines have been sold off to other companies, such asAlltel,ATEAC,[22]The Carlyle Group,CenturyTel,Citizens/Frontier Communications,andValor Telecom.

References

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  1. ^"FORM 10-K".
  2. ^"Bell Atlantic and GTE Pick Post-Merger Name".The New York Times.April 4, 2000.RetrievedMarch 15,2015.
  3. ^"GTE Corporation".Encyclopædia Britannica.RetrievedJanuary 2,2014.
  4. ^"Investor Relations – Verizon".Archived fromthe originalon September 18, 2008.RetrievedApril 15,2007.
  5. ^"Bell Atlantic and GTE Chairmen Praise FCC Merger Approval"(Press release). Verizon. Archived fromthe originalon January 10, 2014.RetrievedJanuary 10,2014.
  6. ^"Sale of 73.5 million TELUS shares by Verizon completed"(Press release). TELUS News Release. December 14, 2004. Archived fromthe originalon September 27, 2011.RetrievedSeptember 8,2008.
  7. ^Felipe M Noguera."Telecommunications in The Caribbean".Archived fromthe originalon July 25, 2011.RetrievedJune 8,2007.
  8. ^"Cable & Wireless Barbados: Early History".Archived fromthe originalon September 29, 2007.RetrievedJune 8,2007.
  9. ^"Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago – Corporate History".Archived fromthe originalon August 20, 2008.RetrievedJune 8,2007.
  10. ^Linda Haugsted (December 7, 1992)."Daniels Cablevision launches GTE Main Street. (package of interactive information services)".Multichannel News.Archived fromthe originalon May 16, 2011.
  11. ^"Creative Multimedia and GTE Main Street Strike Partnership; New agreement will deliver CD-ROMs over subscribers' TV sets"(Press release). Business Wire. May 30, 1995.
  12. ^Mike Farrell (May 24, 2004)."Sale of Cerritos Cable System Expected Soon".Multichannel News.
  13. ^"Business & Finance: Transamerica into Telephones",Time,October 20, 1930.
  14. ^"Company History".Vintage Sylvania.RetrievedAugust 28,2014.
  15. ^Ramirez, Anthony (December 13, 1991)."Business People; President of GTE Is Named Chairman".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.RetrievedNovember 29,2020.
  16. ^Richter, Paul (August 20, 1988)."GTE Put on a Diet: New Chief Pushes Once-Plodding Firm Onto the Fast Track".www.latimes.com.RetrievedAugust 21,2023.
  17. ^"GTE reorganizes into six operating groups".www.upi.com.UPI. January 9, 1080.RetrievedAugust 21,2023.
  18. ^"GTE Corporation – Company History".Fundinguniverse.com.RetrievedFebruary 24,2017.
  19. ^FCC Internet Services Staff."Corporate History – Verizon Communications (formerly GTE Corporation)".Fcc.gov.RetrievedMay 15,2012.
  20. ^"Verizon must slash $375M in costs to stay on even keel following Frontier sale, Jefferies says".FierceTelecom.Archived fromthe originalon June 15, 2016.RetrievedNovember 14,2020.
  21. ^"Affiliated Interest Agreement – Advice No. 26. Verizon Northwest, Inc. Exhibit 1"(PDF).Archived fromthe original(PDF)on June 7, 2013.RetrievedNovember 14,2020.
  22. ^"News Releases – Verizon News".Archived fromthe originalon July 11, 2012.
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