Centel

Central Telephone Company of Illinois (Centel-Illinois) is an operating unit of Centel Corporation, the parent company of Central Telephone Company, headquartered in Chicago.

In Des Plaines, Centel serves approximately 71,000 customers and employs 800 persons. Centel provides approximately 55,000 customer lines in Des Plaines.

In 1983, an estimated $2.5 million was invested in capital improvements for the Des Plaines area.

The corporation's operating units include telephone companies in 10 states, which together comprise one of the largest telephone systems in the nation. Taken together, these operations provide service for customers with more than 1.2 million telephone lines.

Centel also is involed with cable TV services, communications systems for business, and the production and marketing of phone booths and electronic test equipment.

Centel's civic involvement

Centel's continues to play an active role in many of Des Plaines' civic organizations.

William J. Nesbit, Jr., vice president of Central Telephone Company of Illinois, currently is serving as chairman of the Economic Development Committee.

The previous vice president of Centel in Illinois, Wayne Norris, served as president of the Des Plaines Chamber of Commerce. Ray Fiddelke and Vincent Ralph, retired Centel employees and residents of Des Plaines, also served as presidents of the Des Plaines Chamber of Commerce.

Short history of Centel

In 1897 Chicago Bell Telephone Company (part of emerging Bell system) received a Franchise to build and operate a telephone system in Des Plaines.

F.E. Bell (no relation to Alexander Graham Bell) started an independent telephone company in 1900 to compete against Chicago Bell.

He sold controlling interest in the company in 1901 and the name of the company changed to Des Plaines Telephone Company.

In 1938 Central Electric and Telephone Co. acquired Middle States Telephone Co. under the title of the parent company--Western Power & Gas. The merger was known as Central Telephone and Utilities and Subsidiaries.

The first dial telephones were introduced to the Des Plaines-Park Ridge area in 1949. Western Power and Gas Company changed its name to Central Telephone Company of Illinois in 1967, followed by installation of new telephone equipment to improve service for Des Plaines customers.

Recent years have seen the automation of Directory Assistance; opening of Pick-a-Phone Center; and a new logo for Centel.

A customer ownership program was initiated in 1983 as telephone companies prepared for a deregulated environment and divesiture of American Telephone & Telegraph.

Written by the Chamber of Commerce in 1984