Central Virginia Telecom Lineages — Genealogy Trees (Monochrome)

1) Verizon Communications (Bell System → Bell Atlantic → Verizon)

• 1875–1899

  Bell Patent Association → Bell Telephone Co. → American Bell

  Origins of Bell System; 1885 long‑distance arm created as AT&T.
  • 1899–1984

    AT&T (parent of the Bell System)

    Monopoly era; C&P Telephone of Virginia under Bell.
    • 1984

      Divestiture → Bell Atlantic

      Baby Bell for Mid‑Atlantic (incl. Virginia C&P).
      • 1997

        Bell Atlantic + NYNEX

        Expands to NY/NE.
      • 2000

        Bell Atlantic + GTE → Verizon

        Takes GTE Virginia lines; becomes largest ILEC; "Verizon" name adopted.
        • 2005–2006

          Acquires MCI (UUNET)

          Adds major Ashburn backbone; Verizon Business formed (2006).
        • 2017

          Acquires XO fiber

          Nationwide metro & long‑haul fiber folds into Verizon.

Wireless (2000 JV with Vodafone; 2014 buy‑out) noted but excluded from fiber lineage diagram.

2) AT&T Corporation / AT&T Inc. (Ma Bell's other branch)

• 1885–1984

  AT&T (Bell System long‑distance → parent)

  Runs U.S. long‑distance; Bell Labs.
  • 1984–2005

    AT&T Corp. (post‑divestiture)

    Standalone LD & equipment company.
    • 2005

      SBC acquires AT&T → AT&T Inc.

      Name retained by SBC; legacy AT&T Corp. folded under.
      • 2006

        AT&T Inc. acquires BellSouth

        Reunites SE Baby Bell (not VA local); gains full Cingular.
      • 2024

        AT&T Corp. dissolved into AT&T Inc.

        Historic LD entity fully merged; AT&T active in VA via wireless/enterprise.

3) CenturyLink → Lumen / Brightspeed (CenturyTel, Embarq, Qwest, Level 3)

• 1930–2000

  Century Telephone → CenturyTel

  Rural telco roll‑up; 2000 purchase of Verizon divested rural lines.
  • 2006

    Embarq (Sprint local spin‑off)

    Includes former Centel exchanges in central VA.
    • 2009

      CenturyTel + Embarq → CenturyLink

      CenturyLink becomes ILEC for those VA territories.
      • 2011

        CenturyLink + Qwest

        Adds western Baby Bell; national scope grows.
      • 2017

        CenturyLink + Level 3

        Absorbs Level 3 long‑haul incl. Transco route in VA.
      • 2020

        Rebrand to Lumen

        Enterprise/fiber‑oriented parent; CenturyLink consumer name persists.
      • 2022

        Lumen sells 20‑state ILEC to Brightspeed

        All VA local exchanges → Brightspeed; Lumen retains Level 3 backbone.

4) Lumos Networks / Segra (wireline spin from nTelos; later paired with NorthState)

• 1990s

  CFW & R&B → nTelos (wireless + wireline)

  Western/central VA operations under nTelos.
  • 2011

    nTelos spins off wireline → Lumos Networks

    Public company owning regional fiber & rural ILECs.
    • 2017–2019

      EQT buys Lumos; combines with Spirit → Segra

      Creates large independent fiber platform in VA/Carolinas.
      • 2020

        EQT adds NorthState

        Century‑old NC operator joins platform.
      • 2021

        Cox acquires Segra enterprise; EQT retains FTTP

        Retained business rebrands back to Lumos (incl. NorthState).
      • 2025

        T‑Mobile + EQT JV (50/50) in Lumos

        Capital to accelerate fiber; "T‑Mobile Fiber" branding potential.

Parallel: nTelos wireless sold to Shentel (2016) → later to T‑Mobile; not shown in this wireline tree.

5) Shentel (Shenandoah Telecommunications)

• 1902–1980s

  Farmers' Mutual → Shenandoah Telephone → Shentel

  Independent telco in Shenandoah Valley; adds cable & early cellular.
  • 2010

    Acquires JetBroadband (southern VA cable)

    Brings Altavista/Brookneal/Appomattox/Farmville systems into Shentel.
    • 2016–2021

      Buys nTelos Wireless → later sells wireless to T‑Mobile

      Exits cellular; focuses on broadband.
    • 2018→

      Launches Glo Fiber

      FTTH overbuilds & upgrades across footprint incl. Central/Southside VA.

6) Comcast (Adelphia → Comcast in Lynchburg)

• 1990s–2006

  Local cable consolidation → Adelphia (Lynchburg)

  City systems aggregated under Adelphia by early 2000s.
  • 2006

    Adelphia split → Comcast takes Lynchburg/Amherst

    Comcast integrates & upgrades; remains incumbent cable ISP.

7) Williams / WilTel / WorldCom / Level 3 — Transco Pipeline Long‑Haul Route

• 1985

  Williams (WilTel)

  Begins fiber along gas pipelines (incl. Transco across VA).
  • 1995

    Sells wholesale business to WorldCom (retains an IRU)

    Later re‑enters fiber post non‑compete.
    • 1998–2002

      Williams Communications → bankruptcy → WilTel

      Network continues under WilTel (Leucadia).
      • 2005

        Level 3 acquires WilTel

        Consolidates pipeline route with Level 3's railroad routes.
        • 2017 → 2020

          CenturyLink acquires Level 3 → rebrands Lumen

          Backbone in VA now under Lumen; distinct from Brightspeed local plant.
  • 1998 → 2006

    WorldCom → MCI → acquired by Verizon

    Adds separate MCI/UUNET long‑haul paths into Verizon Business.

8) Mid‑Atlantic Broadband (MBC)

• 2004–2013

  MBC formed → builds open‑access fiber → BTOP expansion

  Publicly funded backbone interconnecting Southside VA; neutral carrier.
  • 2012 → present

    Non‑profit corporation; ongoing interconnects

    Leases to carriers (AT&T, Verizon, local ISPs); key regional nexus.

9) Other Notable Lineages

Windstream (via Cavalier / PAETEC)

• 1990s–2011

  Cavalier → PAETEC → Windstream

  Richmond/NOVA CLEC fiber folds into Windstream routes.

PEG Bandwidth → Uniti

• 2009–2017

  PEG → CS&L/Uniti → (adds Southern Light & Hunt)

  Rural cell‑site fiber, incl. VA; Uniti owns, Windstream often tenant.

National LambdaRail (NLR)

• 2003–2014

  NLR build‑out → private takeover → shutdown

  Research fiber; regional connectors fed VA universities; superseded by Internet2/regionals.