Verizon Northwest was founded in 1928 as the New West Coast Telephone Company. It later changed its name to West Coast Telephone Company, General Telephone Company of the Northwest, Inc., and GTE Northwest, Inc.

GTE, unlike the Bell Operating Companies, transferred states from operating company to operating company. GTE Northwest changes are as follows:

• In 1993, GTE acquired Continental Telephone (ConTel); as a result, ConTel operations in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho were placed under control of GTE Northwest.
• In 1994, GTE sold ConTel of Idaho to Citizens Communications.
• In 1995, GTE sold operations in Montana to Citizens Communications, and absorbed ConTel of Oregon into GTE's existing Oregon operations.
• In 2000, Bell Atlantic acquired GTE, forming Verizon. As a result, GTE Northwest is renamed "Verizon Northwest, Inc."

Verizon Northwest, Inc. continues to provide local telephone service to former GTE regions and some ConTel regions in Idaho, Washington, Oregon, and West Coast California, the latter of which the company does business as "Verizon West Coast, Inc.".

Sources

• Verizon Northwest, Inc.