GTE

GTE was a major American telecommunications company whose roots extended to the Associated Telephone Utilities Company, founded in Wisconsin in 1926. After Associated Telephone Utilities entered bankruptcy during the Great Depression, its business was reorganized in 1934 as General Telephone Corporation. Over subsequent decades, the company assembled a large network of independent local telephone operating companies and became the largest independent telephone company in the United States during the era when AT&T and its Bell Operating Companies dominated American telecommunications. General Telephone expanded through acquisitions, service-area growth, equipment manufacturing, directory publishing, data communications, cellular telephony, air-to-ground communications, and international investments. Its operating companies supplied local telephone service in many parts of the United States that were outside the Bell System footprint. The company also developed or acquired businesses that complemented its network operations, including Automatic Electric, a telephone equipment manufacturer, and GTE Telephone Directory Company. Its ownership of Sylvania Electric Products gave the group a substantial non-telecommunications business for part of its history. The corporate identity changed several times. Sylvania joined the organization in 1959, after which the parent became General Telephone & Electronics Corporation, commonly abbreviated GT&E. In 1971 the company adopted the shorter GTE identity, while Sylvania Electric Products became GTE Sylvania. In 1982 the legal corporate name became GTE Corporation. During the 1970s and 1980s, GTE pursued activities in satellite communications, packet-switched data services, cable and interactive television, cellular communications, and specialized communications equipment. The company acquired Telenet in 1979 to strengthen its position in packet-switching data communications and later operated data and Internet businesses under the GTE Internetworking name. GTE's most consequential expansion in the 1990s came through the acquisition of Continental Telephone, commonly known as ConTel, in 1991. The transaction made GTE the second-largest telephone company in the United States by access lines and broadened its local-service footprint. GTE also acquired BBN Planet in 1997, gaining an early Internet service provider and creating GTE Internetworking. Regulatory requirements connected with the later Bell Atlantic transaction led to the separation of that Internet business into Genuity. GTE also held important Canadian and Caribbean interests. Its Canadian investments included substantial positions in BC Tel and Quebec-Téléphone. In the Caribbean, companies associated with Continental Telephone acquired stakes in telecommunications operators in Barbados, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago. These interests made GTE more than a purely domestic operator, although its principal business remained regulated and increasingly competitive local telecommunications in the United States. On June 30, 2000, Bell Atlantic completed its merger with GTE. The combined company adopted the name Verizon Communications, ending GTE as an independent corporate brand. Verizon retained and operated many former GTE territories for a period, while later divestitures transferred numerous properties to companies including Frontier Communications, CenturyLink or CenturyTel, Alltel, and other operators. GTE therefore survives mainly as a historical identity attached to former independent telephone territories, operating companies, equipment businesses, and telecommunications assets that passed through Verizon and later owners.

GTE's corporate history began with Associated Telephone Utilities Company, established in Wisconsin in 1926. The company suffered bankruptcy in 1933 during the Great Depression and was reorganized the following year as General Telephone Corporation. Under John Winn and later executives, General Telephone grew by purchasing local telephone companies and related businesses. By 1951 it controlled telephone operations in numerous states, and acquisitions during the 1950s substantially increased its number of access lines. Theodore Gary & Company joined the organization in 1955, while the acquisition of Sylvania Electric Products in 1959 produced the General Telephone & Electronics identity. The expanded group combined local telephone operations with manufacturing and consumer-electronics capabilities. Automatic Electric supplied telephone equipment, functioning in a role broadly comparable to Western Electric within the Bell System. Sylvania remained the group's principal non-communications business until it was later divested. During the 1960s, GT&E acquired or expanded telephone properties including Hawaiian Telephone Company and Northern Ohio Telephone Company. It also experimented with businesses beyond conventional wireline service, including community antenna television and the KarTrak optical rail-car identification system. KarTrak performed well in trials but proved costly to maintain and was eventually abandoned. A 1970 bombing at the company's New York headquarters preceded its relocation to Stamford, Connecticut. In 1971 the organization simplified its public identity to GTE, and Sylvania became GTE Sylvania. The company continued to explore new communications technologies, participating in satellite-station projects with AT&T and maintaining international and product-oriented subsidiaries. Its acquisition of Telenet in 1979 gave it a foothold in packet-switched data communications. Telenet was subsequently associated with the US Telecom joint venture. GTE entered the 1980s as one of the largest independent telephone operators in the United States. In 1982 it adopted GTE Corporation as its legal name. Under chief executive James L. Johnson, appointed CEO in 1988 and chairman in 1991, the company reorganized around core telephone operations, information services, and directory publishing. It also divested non-core holdings, including its interest in US Sprint and Sylvania. Newer activities included GTE Mobilenet cellular service, GTE Airfone air-to-ground telephone service, and an experimental community network in Cerritos, California, which tested home banking, shopping, security, and pay television. The 1991 acquisition of Continental Telephone, or ConTel, was a defining expansion. It added a large independent telephone network and made GTE the second-largest US telephone company by access lines. GTE continued to dispose of selected assets, including Spacenet and Contel of Maine, while retaining a broad portfolio of local exchange, wireless, data, and international operations. In 1997, it bought BBN Planet and created GTE Internetworking. That Internet business was later separated and became Genuity as part of the regulatory arrangements for the Bell Atlantic transaction. GTE's international presence included major Canadian interests in BC Tel and Quebec-Téléphone and stakes in Caribbean operators associated with Continental Telephone. These holdings were affected by later corporate combinations and foreign-ownership rules. On June 30, 2000, Bell Atlantic merged with GTE and renamed the combined company Verizon Communications. Many GTE operating companies became part of Verizon's non-Bell territories, while subsequent sales moved numerous former GTE properties to Frontier, CenturyTel, Alltel, and other owners. The merger ended GTE as an independent company but left its network and operating legacy embedded in the North American telecommunications industry.

1. 2000GTE merges with Bell Atlantic

   The merger creates Verizon Communications and ends GTE as a standalone company.

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2. 1997BBN Planet is acquired

   GTE acquires the early Internet provider BBN Planet and develops GTE Internetworking.

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3. 1991Continental Telephone is acquired

   The ConTel transaction significantly expands GTE's local telephone footprint and operating scale.

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4. 1982The legal name becomes GTE Corporation

   The company formally changes its name to GTE Corporation.

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5. 1979Telenet is acquired

   GTE purchases Telenet to establish a position in packet-switched data communications.

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6. 1971The GTE identity is adopted

   The company shortens its corporate identity to GTE, while its Sylvania business becomes GTE Sylvania.

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7. 1959Sylvania becomes part of the group

   Sylvania Electric Products merges into General Telephone, leading to the General Telephone & Electronics identity.

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8. 1955Theodore Gary & Company joins General Telephone

   The acquisition expands General Telephone's network to more than two million telephone lines.

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9. 1934General Telephone Corporation is formed

   The reorganized business adopts the General Telephone name.

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10. 1933Bankruptcy during the Great Depression

    Associated Telephone Utilities enters bankruptcy amid the Depression and is subsequently reorganized.

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11. 1926Associated Telephone Utilities is founded

    The Wisconsin-based Associated Telephone Utilities Company is established, providing the corporate roots of the later GTE organization.

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A large independent American local telecommunications operator serving territories outside the traditional Bell System, with additional businesses in equipment, data networking, wireless, directories, and communications media.

• Local telephone serviceWireline telecommunications

  GTE's central business was local exchange telephone service delivered through a large collection of operating companies across the United States. These companies served communities outside the traditional Bell System footprint and supplied basic voice connections, access lines, maintenance, and related exchange services.

• GTE InternetworkingInternet and data communications1997

  GTE Internetworking grew out of the acquisition of BBN Planet in 1997. It represented GTE's effort to participate in Internet access and network services during the rapid expansion of commercial data communications. The business was later separated as Genuity in connection with the Bell Atlantic merger.

• GTE MobilenetMobile telecommunications

  GTE Mobilenet was the company's cellular telephone operation. It extended GTE's communications portfolio beyond fixed local service and formed part of the company's broader push into wireless and emerging personal communications markets.

• GTE AirfoneAir-to-ground communications

  GTE Airfone provided telephone communications from aircraft to ground networks. The service was one of GTE's specialized communications businesses during the period when the company was diversifying beyond conventional local exchange operations.

• GTE mainStreetInteractive television and digital services

  GTE mainStreet, also referred to as mainStreet USA, was an interactive television and entertainment venture. Its broader experimental service model combined communications infrastructure with proposed applications such as home banking, shopping, home security, and pay-per-view television.

• Automatic Electric equipmentTelecommunications equipment

  Automatic Electric was GTE's telephone-equipment supplier and manufacturing business. It produced switching and other telecommunications equipment for the company and external markets, giving GTE a vertically integrated capability comparable in broad strategic role to the Bell System's Western Electric.

• Telephone directoriesDirectory publishing1935

  Through General Telephone Directory Company and related operations, GTE published telephone directories associated with its local exchange territories. Directory publishing supported the company's regulated telephone business and remained one of the operating areas emphasized in its later corporate organization.

• GTE mainStreet

  United States

  GTE mainStreet was an interactive television and communications initiative designed to explore consumer and community applications of a broadband network, including home banking, shopping, security, and pay television.

  Outcome. The initiative remained an experimental venture and was discontinued.

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• 2000Merge with Bell AtlanticM&A

  The transaction combined two major American telecommunications operators during the transition from regulated local telephone monopolies toward broader, competitive communications companies.

  What changed. Bell Atlantic merged with GTE on June 30, 2000, and the combined company adopted the Verizon Communications name.

  Aftermath. GTE ceased to operate as an independent company. Verizon retained many former GTE territories before later selling or transferring numerous properties to other operators.

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• 1997Acquire BBN PlanetM&A

  GTE wanted a stronger position in the rapidly developing Internet service and data-networking markets.

  What changed. GTE acquired BBN Planet and incorporated it into GTE Internetworking.

  Aftermath. The Internet business was later separated as Genuity to meet regulatory requirements associated with the GTE-Bell Atlantic merger.

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• 1991Acquire Continental TelephoneM&A

  GTE sought to expand its independent local telephone network and strengthen its position against the large Bell System operators and other competitors.

  What changed. GTE acquired Continental Telephone, commonly known as ConTel.

  Aftermath. The transaction made GTE the second-largest telephone company in the United States at the time and added substantial operating territories.

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• 2010Verizon begins divesting former GTE properties

  Verizon sold many former GTE telephone properties to Frontier Communications, continuing the post-merger reshaping of GTE's former operating territories.

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• 2000GTE merges with Bell Atlantic to form Verizon Communications

  Bell Atlantic completed its merger with GTE on June 30, 2000. The combined company changed its name to Verizon Communications, ending GTE's existence as an independent company.

  M&A
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• 1997GTE acquires BBN Planet

  GTE acquired BBN Planet, an early Internet service provider, and incorporated it into the GTE Internetworking business.

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• 1991GTE acquires Continental Telephone

  GTE acquired Continental Telephone, also known as ConTel, expanding its local telephone operations and making it the second-largest telephone company in the United States at the time.

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1. GTE