Vista-United Telecommunications was the telecommunications company created to service all Disney resorts in Florida and Disney-planned communities such as
Celebration, Florida
Celebration is a master-planned community (MPC) and census-designated place (CDP) in Osceola County, Florida, United States. A suburb of Orlando, Celebration is located near Walt Disney World Resort and originally developed by The Walt Disney C ...
and the Disney Vacation Clubs in
Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Hilton Head Island, sometimes referred to as simply Hilton Head, is a South Carolina Lowcountry, Lowcountry resort town and barrier island in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. It is northeast of Savannah, Georgia, and southwest of C ...
and
Vero Beach, Florida
Vero Beach is a city in and the seat of Indian River County, Florida, United States. Vero Beach is the second most populous city in Indian River County. Abundant in beaches and wildlife, Vero Beach is located on Florida's Treasure Coast. It is thi ...
.
The company was created to manage the new telephone and data communications for
Walt Disney World
The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando and Kissimmee. Opened on October 1, 1971, th ...
. Vista-United was the first company to use underground cabling, the first to use fiber optic cable to provide service to customers, and the first company in
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 ...
to activate
9-1-1
, usually written 911, is an emergency telephone number for the United States, Canada, Mexico, Panama, Palau, Argentina, Philippines, Jordan, as well as the North American Numbering Plan (NANP), one of eight N11 codes. Like other emergency nu ...
emergency dialing.
Vista-United was, in fact, an independent telephone company for
Walt Disney World
The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando and Kissimmee. Opened on October 1, 1971, th ...
, however the company was created through a partnership between Vista Communications, Inc., an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
and United Telephone Company of Florida, which later became a part of
Sprint.
In 2001, telephone company Smart City Telecom purchased Vista-United, and created an agreement with Disney to ensure telecommunications service for the resort over a long period of time.
US Cable Group
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References
{{Disney
Defunct telecommunications companies of the United States
Walt Disney Parks and Resorts
Companies based in Orlando, Florida
Defunct companies based in Florida
Technology companies disestablished in 2001
Sprint Corporation
American companies disestablished in 2001
2001 disestablishments in Florida