Centel Corporation was an American telecommunications company, with primary interests in providing basic telephone service, cellular phone service and cable television service.
Early history
In 1900,
Max McGraw
Max McGraw (1 February 1883 – 26 October 1964) was an American entrepreneur who founded McGraw-Edison and Centel.
He financed marketing of the first domestic toaster, the Toastmaster.
He was also a conservationist and hunter.
Early years
Ma ...
took his savings from his
newspaper route to start an electrical repair and supply shop, the
McGraw Electric Company
The McGraw Electric Company was a US manufacturer of electric appliances founded by Max McGraw in 1900. It grew through mergers and acquisitions to become a major enterprise. The best known product may have been the Toastmaster pop-up toaster.
In 1 ...
, in
Sioux City, Iowa
Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury and Plymouth counties in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Iowa. The bulk of the city is in Woodbury County, ...
. Over the years, McGraw's company grew from residential wiring installation to include industrial wiring, electrical supply wholesaling, and electronics manufacturing. In 1922, McGraw entered the
telecommunications
Telecommunication is the transmission of information by various types of technologies over wire, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems. It has its origin in the desire of humans for communication over a distance greater than that fe ...
business with the purchase of Central Telephone and Electric Company of
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...
. McGraw's businesses grew rapidly, and in 1926 more than 20 separate electric and telephone companies were consolidated as Central West Public Service Company.
Through a series of mergers, acquisitions, purchases, sales, and re-purchases, the electrical supply and manufacturing side of the business would form the nucleus of
McGraw-Edison
McGraw-Edison was an American manufacturer of electrical equipment. It was created in 1957 through a merger of McGraw Electric and Thomas A. Edison, Inc., and was in turn acquired by Cooper Industries in 1985. Today, the McGraw-Edison brand is us ...
. Through similar processes, the telecommunications side would become Centel, which became the name of the company in 1982.
Centel
Centel provided telephone service through its
Central Telephone Company subsidiary. Its largest coverage areas by lines installed were Las Vegas, Chicago suburbs (Des Plaines, Park Ridge and unincorporated Cook County just outside the village limits of Northbrook, Glenview and Niles), Tallahassee, FL and Charlottesville, VA. It was, until the breakup of
AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile tel ...
in 1984, the fifth largest telephone company in the United States after
AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile tel ...
,
GTE
GTE Corporation, formerly General Telephone & Electronics Corporation (1955–1982), was the largest independent telephone company in the United States during the days of the Bell System. The company operated from 1926, with roots tracing furth ...
,
United Telecom and
Contel
ConTel Corporation (Continental Telephone) was the third largest independent phone company in the United States prior to the 1996 telecom deregulation. It was acquired by GTE in 1991.
History
In 1980, Contel purchased Network Analysis Corp, th ...
.
Centel also owned a stake in Keyfax, a
teletext/videotex
Videotex (or interactive videotex) was one of the earliest implementations of an end-user information system. From the late 1970s to early 2010s, it was used to deliver information (usually pages of text) to a user in computer-like format, typi ...
service operating in the Chicago area, alongside
Honeywell
Honeywell International Inc. is an American publicly traded, multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. It primarily operates in four areas of business: aerospace, building technologies, performance ma ...
and
Field Enterprises
Field Enterprises, Inc. was a private holding company that operated from the 1940s to the 1980s, founded by Marshall Field III and others, whose main assets were the ''Chicago Sun'' and ''Parade'' magazine. For various periods of time, Field Enter ...
. The service was discontinued by 1986.
Centel sold its cable operations in 1989. Centel sold its electric operations in 1991 to
UtiliCorp United
Aquila, Inc. was an electricity and natural gas distribution network headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri in the United States. The company also owned and operated power generation assets. It previously operated under the name UtiliCorp Uni ...
.
Centel had consolidated revenues of $1.2 billion in 1991.
Centel was purchased by
Sprint in 1993 for approximately $3 billion in Sprint common stock. Centel's stock was trading at $42.50 per share on the New York Stock Exchange just before the merger announcement in May 1992, but the cash value of the deal (commonly referred to as a “takeunder”) worked out to be only $33.50 per share of Centel stock. After a bitter battle with dissident shareholders who believed the company was worth more, the merger was ultimately approved by a very narrow majority, with 50.5% of the outstanding shares voting for the merger.
At the time of its 1993 purchase by Sprint, Centel provided local telephone service to 1.5 million telephone lines in seven states and was also the 10th largest cellular company with operations in 22 states. It had 9,300 employees.
Ironically, Sprint did not end up keeping either of Centel's businesses (cellular and local telephone service) that it acquired. The cellular operations were spun off in 1996 so Sprint could instead focus on providing Sprint PCS cellular service. The local telephone operations were spun off (after being combined with Sprint's own local telephone operations) in 2006 (see below).
Former subsidiaries
*Remaining network and assets are operated and maintained by Centurylink/Lumen Technologies.
*Central Telephone Company: In 2006, Sprint spun off the former Centel telephone subsidiaries (which Sprint merged with its own United Telephone operations) as part of the formation of
Embarq
Embarq Corporation (stylized as EMBARQ) was the largest independent local exchange carrier in the United States (below the Regional Bell Operating Company, Baby Bells), serving customers in 18 states and providing local, long-distance, high-spee ...
.
Embarq
Embarq Corporation (stylized as EMBARQ) was the largest independent local exchange carrier in the United States (below the Regional Bell Operating Company, Baby Bells), serving customers in 18 states and providing local, long-distance, high-spee ...
was acquired by
CenturyTel
Lumen Technologies, Inc. (formerly CenturyLink) is an American
telecommunications company headquartered in Monroe, Louisiana, that offers communications, network services, security, cloud solutions, voice, and managed services. The company is ...
(then
CenturyLink
Lumen Technologies, Inc. (formerly CenturyLink) is an American
telecommunications company headquartered in Monroe, Louisiana, that offers communications, network services, security, cloud solutions, voice, and managed services. The company is ...
, currently
Lumen Technologies
Lumen Technologies, Inc. (formerly CenturyLink) is an American
telecommunications company headquartered in Monroe, Louisiana, that offers communications, network services, security, cloud solutions, voice, and managed services. The company is a ...
) in 2009.
Central Telephone
Central Telephone Company is a telephone operating company owned by Lumen Technologies that provides local telephone service in Florida, Nevada, and North Carolina. Its largest market is Las Vegas
History
The company was established in 1971 as ...
,
Central Telephone Company of Virginia
Central Telephone Company of Virginia is a telephone company owned by CenturyLink that provides a local telephone service within the commonwealth of Virginia, USA.
History
The company was founded in 1971 under the ownership by Centel. The latter ...
, and
Central Telephone Company of Texas
Brightspeed of Texas, Inc. is a telephone operating company owned by Brightspeed that provides local telephone service in Texas. The company serves communities in Texas such as Killeen, Copperas Cove, and Cranfills Gap.
History
Brightspeed o ...
are still active
CenturyLink
Lumen Technologies, Inc. (formerly CenturyLink) is an American
telecommunications company headquartered in Monroe, Louisiana, that offers communications, network services, security, cloud solutions, voice, and managed services. The company is ...
subsidiaries.
**Earlier, in 1997, Sprint sold the Chicago area phone operations (Des Plaines and Park Ridge) to
Ameritech
AT&T Teleholdings, Inc., formerly known as Ameritech Corporation (and before that American Information Technologies Corporation), is an American telecommunications company that arose out of the 1984 AT&T divestiture. Ameritech was one of the se ...
(now
AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile tel ...
). Additionally, operations in Iowa and Minnesota were sold to
Frontier Communications
Frontier Communications Parent, Inc. (known as Citizens Utilities Company until May 2000 and Citizens Communications Company until July 31, 2008) is an American telecommunications company. The company previously served primarily rural areas and s ...
in 1991, and in Ohio to CenturyTel in 1992, thus the Ohio operations, by this point
CenturyTel of Ohio
Brightspeed of Northcentral Ohio, Inc., is a telephone operating company owned by Brightspeed that provides local telephone service in Ohio, including Amherst, Lorain, and Vermillion.
The company was established in 1977 as the Lorain Telephon ...
, would reunite with most of the other Centel operating companies in 2009.
*Centel Cellular Company: In 1993, Centel Cellular Company changed its name to Sprint Cellular Company when Sprint acquired Centel. It was subsequently spun off as 360 Communications Company in 1996.
Alltel
Alltel Wireless was a wireless service provider, primarily based in the United States. Before acquisitions by Verizon Wireless and AT&T, it served 34 states and had approximately 13 million subscribers. As a regulatory condition of the acquisition ...
acquired 360 Communications Company in 1998 for $4.1 billion.
Verizon Wireless
Verizon is an American wireless network operator that previously operated as a separate division of Verizon Communications under the name Verizon Wireless. In a 2019 reorganization, Verizon moved the wireless products and services into the divi ...
acquired
Alltel
Alltel Wireless was a wireless service provider, primarily based in the United States. Before acquisitions by Verizon Wireless and AT&T, it served 34 states and had approximately 13 million subscribers. As a regulatory condition of the acquisition ...
in 2008.
*Centel Cable Television (was the nation's 22nd largest cable company): In 1989, Centel sold all of its cable operations in 6 separate transactions. Southeast
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
operations were sold to
Adelphia Communications
Adelphia Communications Corporation was an American cable television company with headquarters in Coudersport, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1952 by brothers Gus and John Rigas after the pair purchased a cable television franchise for US$300. C ...
, which later sold to Time Warner Cable, which later sold the properties to
Comcast
Comcast Corporation (formerly known as American Cable Systems and Comcast Holdings),Before the AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corpora ...
,
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
operations to
Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable, Inc. (TWC) was an American cable television company. Before it was acquired by Charter Communications on May 18, 2016, it was ranked the second largest cable company in the United States by revenue behind only Comcast, opera ...
(then
Time Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable, Inc. (TWC) was an American cable television company. Before it was acquired by Charter Communications on May 18, 2016, it was ranked the second largest cable company in the United States by revenue behind only Comcast, operat ...
, later to
Charter Communications
Charter Communications, Inc., is an American telecommunications and mass media company with services branded as Spectrum. With over 32 million customers in 41 states, it is the second-largest cable operator in the United States by subscribers, ...
), Central
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
operations to American Television and Communications Corporation (a subsidiary of
Time Inc.
Time Inc. was an American worldwide mass media corporation founded on November 28, 1922, by Henry Luce and Briton Hadden and based in New York City. It owned and published over 100 magazine brands, including its namesake ''Time'', ''Sports Illu ...
, then
Time Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable, Inc. (TWC) was an American cable television company. Before it was acquired by Charter Communications on May 18, 2016, it was ranked the second largest cable company in the United States by revenue behind only Comcast, operat ...
, later to be spun off as
Bright House Networks
Bright House Networks, LLC also simply known as Bright House, was an American telecom company. Prior to its purchase by Charter Communications, it was the tenth-largest multichannel video service provider and the 6th largest cable internet provi ...
, and ultimately acquired by
Charter Communications
Charter Communications, Inc., is an American telecommunications and mass media company with services branded as Spectrum. With over 32 million customers in 41 states, it is the second-largest cable operator in the United States by subscribers, ...
),
Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...
operations to Simmons Communications (later to Frontiervision, then
Adelphia, then
Time Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable, Inc. (TWC) was an American cable television company. Before it was acquired by Charter Communications on May 18, 2016, it was ranked the second largest cable company in the United States by revenue behind only Comcast, operat ...
, and ultimately
Charter Communications
Charter Communications, Inc., is an American telecommunications and mass media company with services branded as Spectrum. With over 32 million customers in 41 states, it is the second-largest cable operator in the United States by subscribers, ...
),
Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
operations to C-TEC (later Michigan Cable, then Avalon Cable, then
Charter Communications
Charter Communications, Inc., is an American telecommunications and mass media company with services branded as Spectrum. With over 32 million customers in 41 states, it is the second-largest cable operator in the United States by subscribers, ...
) and
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
operations to
Jones Intercable
Jones Intercable was a cable television company founded by Glenn R. Jones in 1970. Jones, already a cable television veteran, had bought his first cable system in Georgetown, Colorado after taking a $400 loan on his Volkswagen. The company expand ...
(then taken over by
Comcast
Comcast Corporation (formerly known as American Cable Systems and Comcast Holdings),Before the AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corpora ...
) for a combined total of $1.4 billion. The price yielded a net gain of over $500 million to Centel.
*Centel Electric: In 1991, Centel sold its electric utility holdings in
Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...
and
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...
to UtiliCorp (later known as
Aquila, Inc.
Aquila, Inc. was an electricity and natural gas distribution network headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri in the United States. The company also owned and operated power generation assets. It previously operated under the name UtiliCorp Uni ...
) for $345 million. In 2006, Aquila sold the Kansas electric properties to Mid-Kansas Electric Company (a cooperative). In 2008, the Colorado electric properties were acquired by
Black Hills Corporation
Black Hills Corporation is a Rapid City, South Dakota diversified energy company that is an electric and gas utility in South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Arkansas, Kansas, Nebraska, and Iowa. The company sells power throughout the America ...
.
Notes
{{CenturyLink
Sprint Corporation
Lumen Technologies
Charter Communications
Telecommunications companies disestablished in 1993
Defunct companies based in Chicago
Defunct telecommunications companies of the United States
Telecommunications companies established in 1900
American companies established in 1900
1900 establishments in Iowa
1993 disestablishments in Illinois