Verizon Florida

Verizon Florida LLC

Verizon logo
Formerly called	Peninsular Telephone Company General Telephone Company of Florida GTE Florida Incorporated
Type	Private (Subsidiary of Verizon)
Industry	Telecommunications
Founded	1901
Key people	William G. Brorein, Founder
Products	Local Telephone Service
Parent	GTE (1957-2000) Verizon (2000-present)
Website	Verizon Florida

Verizon Florida LLC is a Verizon operating company providing telephone service in Florida to former GTE regions.

History

Verizon Florida was founded as the Peninsular Telephone Company by William G. Brorein in March 1901. Brorein, a politician from Ohio, arrived in Tampa in 1901. Noticing the boom in the South, he was convinced by friends to get in the telephone business. Peninsular Telephone began with only 100 telephone lines.

In 1957, the company was sold to General Telephone and Electronics (later GTE) and the name was changed to General Telephone Company of Florida.

The company was later renamed GTE Florida, Incorporated.

In 2000, GTE Florida was renamed "Verizon Florida", upon GTE's buyout by Bell Atlantic.

It serves the Tampa Bay Area.

Sale to Frontier

On February 5, 2015, Verizon Communications announced a sale of its wired telecom operations in California, Florida, and Texas to Frontier Communications. Verizon Florida is included in the sale. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2016.

Sources

• Verizon Florida, Inc.

References

http://www.tampapix.com/brorein.htm