Short Take: CenturyTel buys Ameritech Wis. phone lines

CenturyTel completed its purchase of Ameritech's telephone operations and directory publishing business, covering 21 communities in northern and central Wisconsin. The company said property and equipment acquired serves 69,000 customers, or some 89,000 telephone lines. CenturyTel's existing operations in Wisconsin are adjacent to the properties acquired from Ameritech. The transaction originally was announced last March.