Designed specifically for AT&T by Matthew Carter at Mergenthaler to replace Bell Gothic with a typeface that made effective use of digital typesetting technology, Bell Centennial gets several more lines per page than Bell Gothic, reduces calls to information because of its significantly higher legibility under adverse printing conditions, saving AT&T many millions of dollars per year.

Although intended for use at small sizes, Mazda UK used Bell Centennial at huge sizes to striking effect in a mid-1990s ad campaign.