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 further back than that, until 2000, when it was acquired by Bell Atlantic; the combined company took the name Verizon.
A Regional Bell Operating Company (RBOC) was a corporate entity created as result of the antitrust lawsuit by the U.S. Department of Justice against the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T) in 1974 and settled in the Modification of Final Judgment on January 8, 1982.
Sprint Corporation was an American telecommunications company. Before being acquired by T-Mobile US on April 1, 2020, it was the fourth-largest mobile network operator in the United States, serving 54.3 million customers as of June 30, 2019. The company also offered wireless voice, messaging, and broadband services through its various subsidiaries under the Boost Mobile and Open Mobile brands and wholesale access to its wireless networks to mobile virtual network operators.
Embarq Corporation was the largest independent local exchange carrier in the United States, serving customers in 18 states and providing local, long-distance, high-speed data and wireless services to residential and business customers. It had been formerly the local telephone division (LTD) of Sprint Nextel until 2006, when it was spun off as an independent company. Embarq produced more than $6 billion in revenues annually, and had approximately 18,000 employees. It was based in Overland Park, Kansas.
Qwest Corporation is a former Regional Bell Operating Company owned by Lumen Technologies. It was formerly named U S WEST Communications, Inc. from 1991 to 2000, and also formerly named Mountain States Telephone and Telegraph Company from 1911 to 1991. It includes the former operations of Malheur Bell, Northwestern Bell and Pacific Northwest Bell as well.
Dex One Corporation was an American marketing company providing online, mobile and print search marketing via their DexKnows.com website, print yellow pages directories and pay-per-click ad networks in the U.S.
Centel Corporation was an American telecommunications company, with primary interests in providing basic telephone service, cellular phone service and cable television service.
Nextel Communications, Inc. was an American wireless service operator that merged with and ceased to exist as a subsidiary of Sprint Corporation, which would later be bought by T-Mobile US and folded into that company. Nextel in Brazil, and formerly in Argentina, Chile, Peru, the Philippines, and Mexico, is part of NII Holdings, a stand-alone, publicly traded company not owned by Sprint Corporation.
Lumen Technologies, Inc. is an American telecommunications company headquartered in Monroe, Louisiana, that offers communications, network services, security, cloud solutions, voice, and managed services. The company was a member of the Fortune 500 and the S&P 500 index from 1999 until 2023. Its communications services include local and long-distance voice, broadband, Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS), private line, Ethernet, hosting, data integration, video, network, public access, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), information technology, and other ancillary services. Lumen also serves global enterprise customers across North America, Latin America, EMEA, and Asia Pacific.
Embarq Missouri, Inc. was a telephone operating company providing local telephone services in Kansas and Missouri owned by BrightSpeed.
Brightspeed of Eastern Kansas, Inc. is one of several Brightspeed companies providing local telephone service in Kansas. Kansas towns that Brightspeed of Eastern Kansas serves include Sterling, Lebo, Gardner, and Nortonville.
Central Telephone Company of Virginia is a telephone company owned by CenturyLink that provides a local telephone service within the commonwealth of Virginia, USA.
CenturyLink of Minnesota, Inc. is a telephone operating company providing local telephone services in Minnesota.
Brightspeed of Kansas, Inc., formerly United Telephone Company of Kansas, is one of several Brightspeed subsidiaries providing local telephone service in Kansas. Kansas towns that Brightspeed of Kansas serves include Junction City, Burlington, Hillsboro, Sterling and Garnett.
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.
CenturyTel of Colorado, Inc. is a telephone operating company owned by CenturyLink that provides local telephone service in Colorado, including Pagosa Springs. The company is separate from CenturyTel of Eagle and Qwest Corporation, the other telephone companies CenturyLink owns in Colorado.
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
Brightspeed of Texas, Inc. is a telephone operating company owned by Connect Holding that provides local telephone and internet service in Texas. The company serves communities in Texas such as Killeen, Copperas Cove, Athens, Gatesville, Harker Heights, Humble, Hutto, Kingwood, Porter, San Marcos, Stephenville, and Tyler.
CenturyTel of Eagle, Inc. is one of the CenturyLink operating companies in Colorado. The company was formed in 1928 as The Eagle Valley Telephone Company and originally served Eagle, Rio Blanco, and Routt counties in Colorado.
