Bell System

The Bell System is an informal name given to the US telecommunications company American Telephone & Telegraph Company (AT&T) before AT&T divested its local exchange telephone service operating companies on January 1, 1984. The divestiture was the result of a lawsuit alleging illegal practices by AT&T to stifle competition in the telecommunications industry; the lawsuit was brought against it by the United States Department of Justice. The lawsuit originated in 1974, and was settled on January 8, 1982.

Related Topics:
Name - US - Telecommunications - Company - American Telephone & Telegraph Company - Local exchange - Telephone - January 1 - 1984 - Divestiture - Lawsuit - Competition - Industry - United States Department of Justice - 1974 - January 8 - 1982

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Of the various resulting spinoffs, only BellSouth and Cincinnati Bell continue to actively use and promote the Bell name and logo. The others have only used the marks on rare occasions to maintain their trademark rights, even less now that they have adopted names conceived long after divestiture. (In 1984, each company was assigned a set list of names they were allowed to use in combination with the Bell marks. Again, aside from BellSouth and Cincinnati Bell, and to a limited extent SNET, none of these names are currently in use.)

Related Topics:
BellSouth - Cincinnati Bell - SNET

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The Bell System consisted of the following 24 companies (including Cincinnati Bell and SNET, in which AT&T held minority investments). They are organized according to the current owners of the companies (or their successors); as shown, the companies are presently split among five different independent firms.

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• BellSouth
• South Central Bell Telephone Company
• Southern Bell Telephone and Telegraph Company
• Cincinnati Bell
• Cincinnati Bell Telephone Company
• Qwest Communications International
• US West
• Mountain States Telephone and Telegraph Company
• Pacific Northwest Bell Telephone Company
• Northwestern Bell Telephone Company
• SBC Communications
• Ameritech
• Illinois Bell Telephone Company
• Indiana Bell Telephone Company, Inc.
• Michigan Bell Telephone Company
• The Ohio Bell Telephone Company
• Wisconsin Telephone Company
• Pacific Telesis
• Bell Telephone Company of Nevada
• The Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Company
• Southern New England Telephone Company
• Southwestern Bell Telephone Company
• Verizon Communications
• Bell Atlantic
• The Bell Telephone Company of Pennsylvania
• The Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company
• The Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company of Maryland
• The Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company of Virginia
• The Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company of West Virginia
• The Diamond State Telephone Company
• New Jersey Bell Telephone Company
• NYNEX
• New England Telephone and Telegraph Company
• New York Telephone Company
 
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