A History of Telephone Companies
On July 9, 1877, a functional telephone was produced and the Bell Telephone Company became a reality. One year later, Western Union Telegraph Company entered the communications business. Bell then filed a lawsuit for patent infringement against Western Union, and won the case in 1879. When the Bell patent expired in 1893 and 1894, there was a formation of more than 6,000 independent telephone companies. In 1900, American Telephone and Telegraph (AT&T) was established as the parent company of the Bell Company. AT&T/Bell became a monopoly buying out some of the independent companies and forcing others out of business. In 1877, the federal Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) began regulating communications and setting standards. By 1910, this included all wire and radio communications as well as interstate telephone business. Even with the enactment of the Communications Act of 1934 (An Act to provide for the regulation of interstate and foreign communication by wire or radio, and for other purposes), the FCC became the primar
y federal authority in the telecommunications industry. In 1982, AT&T and the Department of Justice signed a consent decree settling the Department of Justice's anti-trust case by divesting AT&T of its local telephone companies, which was known as the Modified Final Judgment (MJF), ending AT&T's long-standing and well-defended monopoly status. It formed the basis for restructuring AT&T and it's ultimate divestiture of the 22 Bell operating companies. In July 1983, U.S. District Court gave exclusive rights to use the Bell name and logo to AT&T's operating companies. January 1, 1984, the date that the Modified Final Judgment (MFJ) of the consent decree would be implemented and take effect. In the year 1984 came the divestiture for Ma Bell and the birth of the seven "Baby Bells". Two companies that were well positioned to compete and are now household names in long-distance telephone service are MCI and Sprint. The FCC reports that smaller long-distance carriers have also increased their market share from 3 percent in 1984 to 14 percent in 1995. The Advanced
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Approximate Word count = 723
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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