By Paul McNamara – It was 30 years ago yesterday – Jan. 8, 1982 – that AT&T agreed under extreme antitrust duress to divest itself of seven Regional Bell Operating Companies, the so-called Baby Bells.
The bust-up would take effect two years later, and the telecommunications industry would never be the same, despite the fact that a fully grown Baby Bell, SBC, went on to acquire AT&T in 2005 and three others would be returned to the nest. In exchange for agreeing to divest, AT&T was allowed to enter the computer business through AT&T Computer Systems, products of which you’ll have a hard time finding at your local Best Buy today.
Having been under Justice Department pressure since 1974, AT&T on that date in early ’82 finally agreed to divest its local telephone service companies: Ameritech, Bell Atlantic, BellSouth, NYNEX, Pacific Telesis, Southwestern Bell and U.S. West. more> http://tinyurl.com/7hfmhxm
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