William G. Brorein, president and founder of the Peninsular Telephone Company, was a beloved citizen of Tampa. He came to Tampa from his native Ohio in 1901 and started the firm from scratch with a subscribers list of 350.

Brorein obtained a 30-year franchise to provide telephone service to Tampa by promising that his new company – the Peninsular Telephone Company – would provide long-distance service and modern battery telephones that did not require hand-cranking. He kept his promises and more.

By obtaining franchises in neighboring cities, Brorein attracted over 2,000 customers by 1903, even though the Bell Telephone Company operated a competing service in many of the same cities. In 1906 Peninsular purchased the Bell operation in Tampa, the only instance of a local independent buying out the nationwide Bell System.

One of the greatest innovations since the invention of the telephone came to Florida in 1915. That year Tampa became the first city of its size to have all dial telephone service.

The Twenties were boom years in Florida, and Peninsular grew by leaps and bounds – up to 57,000 telephones by 1927. Then the boom grew silent. The depression reduced Peninsular’s operations by 18,000 telephones, and many customers who could not afford to pay their bills were extended credit until the economy improved. Despite bad times, Peninsular did not lay off any employees and the company survived.

Brorein was active in everything – president of the Florida State Fair and Gasparilla Association, the Rotary Club, Board of Trade (now known as the Chamber of Commerce), the YMCA, the Knights of Pythias, the First Christian Church, and a myriad of other organizations. The photo at the top of this page shows Brorein placing the cornerstone on the company’s headquarters building in Tampa in October 1936, commemorating the thirty-fifth anniversary of the founding of the firm. Brorein died December 12, 1937 at the age of 76. He was succeeded to presidency of the company by his faithful nephew, Carl D. Brorein, who also was for many years a prominent civic leader.

With World War II the economy improved, and Florida experienced a second boom. Material shortages caused Peninsular to recycle old telephones and put customers on multiparty lines. Manpower shortages caused the company to hire women to fill vacant positions. During the war, more than 70 percent of the workforce was female.

Following the war, Florida's population exploded, tourism improved and the demand for telephone service was released full force. The number of peninsular employees increased 50 percent, and by 1953 more than 200,000 telephones were in service.

The postwar years brought many exciting new developments. In 1948, Peninsular became the first large telephone company in the nation to have 100 percent dial operation. In 1953, the first microwave link for regular commercial telephone transmission in the nation was installed between Tampa and Bartow. And in 1955, color telephones were introduced. 

In 1957, Peninsular Telephone joined the General System and became General Telephone Company of Florida.

W.G. Brorein stands in the doorway of his company's first headquarters 1902

Elsie Hart, Peninsular Telephone Company's first operator 1902

W.G. Brorein places the first transatlantic telephone call from Tampa to London 27 FEB 1927

William G. Brorein w. g. brorein WG Brorein W. G. Brorein Peninsular Telephone Company florida telephone history tampa telephone history telephone history ma bell tampa history tampa bay history legend813 general telephone g.t.e. gte telephone operator elsie hart   William G. Brorein w. g. brorein WG Brorein W. G. Brorein Peninsular Telephone Company florida telephone history tampa telephone history telephone history ma bell tampa history tampa bay history legend813 general telephone g.t.e. gte telephone operator elsie hart   William G. Brorein w. g. brorein WG Brorein W. G. Brorein Peninsular Telephone Company florida telephone history tampa telephone history telephone history ma bell tampa history tampa bay history legend813 general telephone g.t.e. gte telephone operator elsie hart   William G. Brorein w. g. brorein WG Brorein W. G. Brorein Peninsular Telephone Company florida telephone history tampa telephone history telephone history ma bell tampa history tampa bay history legend813 general telephone g.t.e. gte telephone operator elsie hart   William G. Brorein w. g. brorein WG Brorein W. G. Brorein Peninsular Telephone Company florida telephone history tampa telephone history telephone history ma bell tampa history tampa bay history legend813 general telephone g.t.e. gte telephone operator elsie hart   William G. Brorein w. g. brorein WG Brorein W. G. Brorein Peninsular Telephone Company florida telephone history tampa telephone history telephone history ma bell tampa history tampa bay history legend813 general telephone g.t.e. gte telephone operator elsie hart   William G. Brorein w. g. brorein WG Brorein W. G. Brorein Peninsular Telephone Company florida telephone history tampa telephone history telephone history ma bell tampa history tampa bay history legend813 general telephone g.t.e. gte telephone operator elsie hart   William G. Brorein w. g. brorein WG Brorein W. G. Brorein Peninsular Telephone Company florida telephone history tampa telephone history telephone history ma bell tampa history tampa bay history legend813 general telephone g.t.e. gte telephone operator elsie hart   William G. Brorein w. g. brorein WG Brorein W. G. Brorein Peninsular Telephone Company florida telephone history tampa telephone history telephone history ma bell tampa history tampa bay history legend813 general telephone g.t.e. gte telephone operator elsie hart   William G. Brorein w. g. brorein WG Brorein W. G. Brorein Peninsular Telephone Company florida telephone history tampa telephone history telephone history ma bell tampa history tampa bay history legend813 general telephone g.t.e. gte telephone operator elsie hart   William G. Brorein w. g. brorein WG Brorein W. G. Brorein Peninsular Telephone Company florida telephone history tampa telephone history telephone history ma bell tampa history tampa bay history legend813 general telephone g.t.e. gte telephone operator elsie hart   William G. Brorein w. g. brorein WG Brorein W. G. Brorein Peninsular Telephone Company florida telephone history tampa telephone history telephone history ma bell tampa history tampa bay history legend813 general telephone g.t.e. gte telephone operator elsie hart   William G. Brorein w. g. brorein WG Brorein W. G. Brorein Peninsular Telephone Company florida telephone history tampa telephone history telephone history ma bell tampa history tampa bay history legend813 general telephone g.t.e. gte telephone operator elsie hart   William G. Brorein w. g. brorein WG Brorein W. G. Brorein Peninsular Telephone Company florida telephone history tampa telephone history telephone history ma bell tampa history tampa bay history legend813 general telephone g.t.e. gte telephone operator elsie hart   William G. Brorein w. g. brorein WG Brorein W. G. Brorein Peninsular Telephone Company florida telephone history tampa telephone history telephone history ma bell tampa history tampa bay history legend813 general telephone g.t.e. gte telephone operator elsie hart   William G. Brorein w. g. brorein WG Brorein W. G. Brorein Peninsular Telephone Company florida telephone history tampa telephone history telephone history ma bell tampa history tampa bay history legend813 general telephone g.t.e. gte telephone operator elsie hart