Abbeville government switches phone services

The Abbeville City Council made the decision last week to switch from its current phone provider, AT&T, to Kaplan Telephone Co. for phone service to all city government buildings.

Carl Turnley, Vice-President of Pace Communications, presented a cost proposal to the mayor and council for their review.

Mayor Mark Piazza explained that the communications company is a local business and that a big part of the appeal come from the communication’s company being a local business.

“It is about doing business locally,” Mayor Piazza stated.

Although the cost savings is not extravagant it is still a reduction.

“We’re lucky to have a company like Kaplan Telephone in our area.”

He explained that one problem with conglomerates like the former phone provider AT&T can be service.

“We feel good about the local service,” he added.

All city phones used by the governmental entities such as the water and sewage plants and police and fire stations will be affected. The change should take place within the next month.

Turnley reported that his company has service with several governmental entities in the parish including the School Board, the Vermilion Parish Sheriff Office and the Vermilion Parish Police Jury.

According to the Kaplan Telephone company website, The Kaplan Telephone Company was formed in 1916. The company was built and operated by Mr. M.I. Ramsey of Gueydan.

Mr. Ramsey held the company for only two years before he sold it to Mr. Elliot J. Hebert in 1923. Mr. Hebert and his family operated the company until 1952.

In March of 1952, Mr. Lytle C. Turnley, originally of Baton Rouge, bought the Kaplan Telephone Company.

On April 20, 1952, Mr. Turnley began ownership and management of the company. At the time of the takeover, there were 407 telephones in Kaplan and 70 farmer-owned lines.

Between 1952 and 1953, the telephone system was improved by changing from the old Magneta Switchboard to a more modernized common battery or “Flash” Switchboard. At this time, customers could pick up their phones rather than crank them. Subscribers increased to 800.

In 1955, the telephone office moved to its present location on Irving Avenue. Also, another change took place; the company converted to the dial system. The operator now located a party by number rather than name.

By November 1956, the conversion was completed and rural lines were built as far as Forked Island. 90% of farmer owned lines had been converted to company-owned lines. Kaplan was one of the first smaller towns to convert to the dial system. Telecommunications service expanded to 1,243 telephones in the area. A modernized telecommunications industry in central Vermilion Parish was no longer an obscure vision - it was a reality.

During the years of 1957 through 1959, telephone service was completed in Pecan Island. The introduction of the first “mobile” car telephone took place. At the end of 1964, there was a complete central office and switching system in Forked Island. Telecommunications service had been expanded to 300 telephones in that area.

The beginning of the 1970s ushered in many improvements in both telecommunications equipment and services. By 1974, interest revived in the mobile car telephone and other types of services for the Kaplan Telephone Company. Also, the company instituted the currently popular paging system.

The decision was made in 1979 to convert the entire phone system to a digital system. With the “new” digital system numerous features were added such as: Call Waiting, Call Forwarding, and Hot Lines. The digital conversion was complete by the end of 1981 in the Forked Island and Pecan Island area.

In 1985, telecommunications service was extended to Freshwater City, on the Louisiana Gulf Coast. The 1990s have brought tremendous change to the telecommunications world. In early 1990, Kaplan Telephone Company entered into the wireless communications world with a new company called; PACE Cellular Communications. PACE serves the entire parish of Vermilion with numerous products such as: cellular communications, beepers, and voice mail. PACE has grown to over 6,000 customers in 1997.

The 1990s have been called the Information Age because of the tremendous popularity of the Internet. In August 1996, Kaplan Telephone began its Internet service called KaplanTel.net. In July of 2000, KaplanTel.net subscribers had the option of switching from their current dial-up accounts to new High Speed Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) accounts and serves many customers throughout Vermilion Parish with access to the Information Superhighway.

The company recently completed the first fiber optic service for schools at Maltrait in Kaplan.