Formerly called
|
The Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company of West Virginia (1917-1994) Bell Atlantic - West Virginia, Inc. (1994-2000) Verizon West Virginia, Inc. (2000-2010) |
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Subsidiary of Frontier | |
Industry | Telecommunications |
Predecessor |
C&P Telephone of Maryland Southern Bell |
Founded | 1917 |
Headquarters | Charleston, WV, USA |
Area served
|
West Virginia |
Products | Local Telephone Service |
Parent |
AT&T (1917–1983) Bell Atlantic/Verizon (1984-2010) Frontier (2010–present) |
Website | www.frontier.com/westvirginia |
Frontier West Virginia, Inc. is one of the original Bell Operating Companies and provides local telephone service in the U.S. state of West Virginia.
The Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company of West Virginia, originally part of the Bell System, was founded on January 1, 1917. C&P of WV took over telephone operations in West Virginia being served by Central District and Printing Telegraph Company, Southern Bell, and The Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company of Maryland.
Dial service was first introduced by C&P of West Virginia in 1925 to the Huntington central office.
In 1984, The Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company of West Virginia became a holding of Bell Atlantic, upon the divestiture of the Bell System by AT&T.
Charleston became the first city in the United States to have a choice of long distance companies. By dialing "1" plus the area code and number, they could choose their long distance carrier. Charleston was the nation's first test market for the service, allowing 34,000 customers to choose from one of eight long distance companies serving the area.
C&P Telephone Co. of WV was the last Bell Atlantic company to provide party line telephone service. The last party line was converted to "private line" service on October 30, 1989.
In 1993, C&P Telephone of West Virginia took its last analog switch out of service, becoming the first Bell Operating Company to have 100% digital switching
In 1994, Bell Atlantic standardized all of its Bell Operating Company names, resulting in C&P Telephone of West Virginia being renamed Bell Atlantic - West Virginia, Inc. In 2000, upon its purchase of GTE, Bell Atlantic became Verizon Communications, resulting in the new name Verizon West Virginia, Inc.