Mark Knows It All

If I were a geneological expert, I would do a linealogy on the breakup of AT&T. The United States had spawned, through the miracle of capitalism, one of the most successful and enviable communication networks in the world. Ma Bell, in addition to making our phone system dependable and sure, was also the quintessential widows and orphans stock on which many a financial plan was built. Then along came MCI and Sprint, who decided they wanted a piece of the long distance action, and wanted to use AT&T's infrastructure to do it. The courts agreed, and in a monopoly busting frenzy, midwived the birth of Ameritech, Nynex, BellSouth, Bell Atlantic, Southwestern Bell, Pacific Telesis, and US West taking away "Telephone's" local service. AT&T kept the long distance business, while being forced to allow Sprint and MCI to use its telephone wires for their cut rate service. In addition, big, bad AT&T was subject to continual governmental supervision, while its new ...