1927 – W.G. Brorein, owner and founder of the Peninsular Telephone Company, placed the first transatlantic telephone call from Tampa to London on this date. Brorein spoke with an American Telephone and Telegraph Company representative. When Brorein started the company in 1901, they had only 100 lines, and were restricted to the immediate Tampa area, but they soon bought out the interests of Bell Telephone Company in the Tampa area and occupied six counties and manage 500,000 lines by 1963.