Contel
{{Short description|Former US phone company}}
{{Infobox company
| name = ConTel Corporation
| logo = File:C31311f83e38dea25d346f3434249521e3a2ea17 cropped.jpg
| type = Public
| fate = Acquired
| successor = GTE
| location = Atlanta, Georgia
| foundation = {{start date and age|1958}}
| defunct = {{end date and age|1991}}
| industry = Communications Services
| products = Internet access, Local wireline and wireless telecommunication services
}}
ConTel Corporation (Continental Telephone) was the third largest independent phone company in the United States prior to it being acquired by GTE in 1991.
History
Contel was founded in 1961 by Charles Wohlstetter, Philip J. Lucier, and one other partner. Continental was formed with the acquisition of the 2,000‐station Millstadt Ill., telephone. exchange. Philip J. Lucier was the company’s president until his death in July 24, 1970, after a bomb exploded in a company auto mobile on the parking lot of the Pierre Lacleve Center in Clayton. Mr. Lucier was in the driver’s seat at the time of the explosion.
In 1980, Contel purchased Network Analysis Corp, then the largest information technology consulting company in the world.{{Cite web |title=UM's new business dean has vision of technology College: Howard Frank, who helped build an early version of the Internet, wants to build the first technology-oriented business school in the nation. |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1997-06-20-1997171003-story.html |access-date=2022-04-03 |website=Baltimore Sun |date=20 June 1997 |language=en}} As a result of this purchase, future Internet Hall of Fame Pioneer Howard Frank served as president and CEO of Contel Information Systems, a subsidiary of Contel Corporation from 1969 until 1985.{{Cite web |title=Howard Frank Obituary|url=https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/atlanta-ga/howard-frank-7391551 |access-date=2022-04-03 |website=Dignity Memorial |language=en}}
In 1986 ConTel of Indiana broke precedent and rescinded a 25¢ increase in their rates after a large protest. The vice president Merle Buck stated the protests were not about the decision, but for a decrease in interest rates and an abnormally good year in revenue for the company offset the costs the increase would have offset.
Subsidiaries
Subsidiaries of Contel included:
- Contel of the South (Georgia)
- Contel of California (including lines in Arizona and Nevada)
- ConTel of Illinois
- ConTel of Indiana
- Contel of Kentucky
- Contel of Minnesota
- Contel of Missouri
- Contel of New Hampshire
- Contel of New York
- Contel of North Carolina
- Contel of the Northwest (Idaho, Oregon and Washington)
- ConTel of Pennsylvania
- ConTel Quaker State
- Contel of South Carolina
- Contel of Vermont
- Contel of Virginia
- Contel of the West (Arizona and Utah)
References
{{more citations needed|date=September 2008}}
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20110725042730/http://www.vii.org/papers/cari.htm ConTel's History in the West Indies]
- [http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/GTE-Corporation-Company-History.html GTE Corporation's History]
- [https://www.nytimes.com/1995/05/25/obituaries/charles-wohlstetter-85-founder-of-contel-dies.html#:~:text=TimesMachine%20is%20an%20exclusive%20benefit%20for%20home%20delivery%20and%20digital%20subscribers Charles Wohlstetter, 85, Founder of Contel, Dies].
- [https://www.nytimes.com/1970/07/25/archives/head-of-continental-telephone-is-killed-by-a-bomb-in-his-car.html Head of Continental Telephone Is Killed by a Bomb in His Car]
Category:Telecommunications companies of the United States
Category:Companies based in Atlanta
Category:1991 mergers and acquisitions
Category: Companies formerly listed on the New York Stock Exchange