History


In 1877, the American Bell Telephone Company, the name of Alexander Graham Bell, opened the first telephone exchange in New Haven, Connecticut. In recent years, local exchange companies were established in all major cities in the United States. The use of the name originally called Bell System phones early franchises and eventually included all telephone companies owned by American Telephone & Telegraph, known internally as Bell Operating Companies or "BOC".

In 1899, the American Telephone & Telegraph (AT & T) acquired the assets of its parent company, American Telephone Bell. Originally American Bell had created AT & T to provide long distance between New York and Chicago and beyond. AT & T became the parent of American Bell, and therefore the head of the Bell System, because regulatory and tax rules were leaner in New York and Boston, where American Bell was headquartered. Later, the Bell System and the nickname "Ma Bell" became a general term referring to all AT & T which there are four major divisions:

>>>AT & T Long Lines, providing long lines to interconnect local exchange and long distance services.

>>>Western Electric Company, Bell arms manufacturing equipment,

>>>Bell Labs, conduct research and development for AT & T.

>>>Bell operating companies, providing local telephone service.

In 1913, under the ownership of AT & T, Bell System became a government sanctioned monopoly following a government antitrust suit and the Kingsbury commitment. After 1934, AT & T was regulated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Proliferation of the phone has enabled the company to become the largest company in the world until it was dismantled by the U.S. Department of Justice in 1984, when the Bell System ceased to exist.