AT&T Inc. is the largest provider of fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services. As of 2010, AT&T is the 7th largest company in the United States by total revenue, as well as the 4th largest non-oil company in the US (behind Walmart, General Electric and Bank of America). It is the 3rd largest company in Texas by total revenue (behind ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips) and the largest non-oil company in Texas. It is also the largest company headquartered in Dallas. In 2010, Forbes listed AT&T as the 13th largest company in the world by market value and the 9th largest non-oil company in the world by market value. As of January 2011, it is the 20th largest mobile telecom operator in the world with over 96 million mobile customers.
Southwestern Bell Corporation was founded in 1983 as a Regional Bell Operating Company following the break-up of the original AT&T as a result of the United States v. AT&T antitrust suit. The company changed its name in 1995 to SBC Communications Inc. and again in 2005 to AT&T Inc. after it purchased its former parent company, AT&T Corporation. The newly merged company took on the iconic AT&T logo and stock-trading symbol (NYSE: T, for "telephone").
The current AT&T reconstitutes much of the former Bell System and includes ten of the original 22 Bell Operating Companies along with one it partially owned (Southern New England Telephone), and the original long distance division. The company is headquartered in downtown Dallas, Texas.
Originally one of the seven regional holding companies formed after the breakup of American Telephone & Telegraph Corporation's (AT & T) Bell System in 1983, SBC Communications Inc. has emerged in the 1990s as a national provider of local telephone services. It acquired other regional bell operating companies (RBOCs)--Pacific Telesis, Southern New England, and Ameritech--in the 1990s following passage of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Second in size only to the proposed Bell Atlantic-GTE combination, SBC was poised to offer a full range of local, long-distance (not yet permitted, but expected in 2000), and wireless services throughout the United States and internationally.
SBC Communications--previously known as Southwestern Bell, among other names--is a global telecommunications powerhouse and one of the largest regional carriers in the United States. Dating back to the early 20th century, SBC Communications has been among the most experienced telecommunications organizations in the world.
SBC Communications can trace its roots back to 1920, when the first company known as Southwestern Bell was formed as a conglomerate of about 20 member companies such as American District Telegraph Company, Kansas City Telephone Exchange, Southwestern Telegraph & Telephone Company and the Pioneer Telephone & Telegraph Company. The oldest of these companies, American District Telegraph Company, began its operations in 1878, just two years after the telephone was invented.
During World War II, Southwestern Bell prospered because of the large number of military installations in its service territory. Since operations in support of the American military took precedence during the war, AT&T dedicated resources--including equipment and desktop telephones--from its other operating regions to support Southwestern Bell throughout the early 1940s. By the end of the war, Southwestern Bell had topped two million subscriber lines and easily reached three million lines just three years after the war's end. This expansion continued over the subsequent years, with more than six million customers served but the early 1960s
In January 1990 Edward Whitacre succeeded Barnes. Whitacre had been with SBC and Southwestern Bell Telephone for 27 years. During 1990 SBC increased its international focus. Its subsidiary, Southwestern Bell International Holdings Corporation (SBIHC), joined a consortium that bought 20.4 percent of the total equity and 51 percent of the shares with full voting rights in Télefonos de México, S.A. de C.V., Mexico's national telephone company. SBIHC's partners in the consortium were France Cables et Radio, S.A.--a subsidiary of France Telecom--and Mexican company Grupo Carso. The total purchase price was $1.76 billion; SBIHC's share of this was $486 million. Participation gave SBC a chance to sell services, such as long-distance telephone communications, that it was prohibited from offering in the United States. Mexico had an antiquated telephone system, but potential for significant growth; only one in 17 households had a telephone. Another international move in 1990 was SBC's agreement to purchase West Midlands Cable Communications in the United Kingdom; this system included the largest cable television franchise in that country. In 1991 SBC increased its ownership to 98 percent of the United Kingdom's Oyston Cable.
In the early 1990s, SBC, like other regional holding companies, was seeking changes in the regulations that arose from the AT & T breakup. These regulations restricted the businesses that regional holding companies could enter; among those prohibited were video programming production and various other communications products. As it awaited the outcome of its fight to lift these constraints, SBC continued to focus on its core businesses, as it had done ever since the divestiture.
In February 1993 SBC moved its headquarters from St. Louis to San Antonio, Texas. It joined a local group of businesses to acquire the San Antonio Spurs basketball team for $75 million. It also became the first regional Bell telephone company to acquire a cable television company outside of its service area when it paid $650 million to Hauser Communications for two cable systems in Maryland and Virginia.
In 1994 SBC called off a proposed $1.6 billion acquisition of a 40 percent interest in Cox Cable of San Diego Inc. SBC's management felt that the FCC's rulings regarding cable television would negatively impact the company's cash flow. Over the next several years SBC would divest its remaining interests in cable television companies.
Although the component companies of American Telephone and Telegraph (AT&T), of which Southwestern Bell was one, primarily operated under their own parameters, the larger AT&T entity represented a monopoly to American telephone customers. As part of the 1982 breakup of AT&T, Southwestern Bell Corporation was formed to serve telephone customers in the southwestern region of the United States. The new company, SBC, consisted of three subsidiaries: Southwestern Bell Publications, which published the company's telephone directories; Southwestern Bell Mobile Systems, responsible for developing and providing mobile communications services; and Southwestern Bell Telecommunications. Thanks to management oversight, the company stayed profitable and, by 1989, was second in prosperity only to Pacific Telesis.
In 1997 rumors of a proposed merger between AT & T, the United States' largest long-distance carrier, and SBC, the largest local service provider, came to an end when the FCC voiced its disapproval. Later in the year SBC completed its exit from cable television when it sold the two systems in Maryland and Virginia it had acquired from Hauser Communications in 1993. The company was also in the process of completing negotiations to leave the Americast joint venture it had formed in 1995 with Ameritech, BellSouth, and the Walt Disney Co. In December 1997 SBC sold Pacific Bell Video Services, the digital wireless cable operation it had acquired as part of PacTel. For 1997 SBC had more than $23 billion in revenues.
Hoping to enter the long-distance field, SBC announced in January 1998 it would acquire Southern New England Telecommunications Corp. (SNET) for $4.4 billion in stock. SNET was based in New Haven, Connecticut. SBC had recently won a court judgment that would make it easier for RBOCs to enter the long-distance market, but the decision was still being challenged by AT & T and the FCC. The FCC approved SBC's acquisition of SNET in October 1998, giving SBC a total of 36.9 million local access lines.
In May 1998 SBC and Ameritech, two of the remaining five RBOCs, announced a planned $62 billion merger, with SBC taking over Ameritech. The acquisition added Ameritech's 21 million local telephone lines in five Midwest states to the SBC system. The FCC approved the merger in October 1999 and attached a list of 30 conditions that SBC must meet. SBC planned to move Ameritech's corporate functions to San Antonio, and Ameritech's top executives were given a multimillion-dollar severance package. For the time being, the merger made SBC the largest RBOC, at least until the FCC approved a merger between Bell Atlantic and GTE.
Also in 1998 SBC strengthened its position in the rapidly growing data service market by paying $22 million for a four percent interest in Concentric Network Corp. of Cupertino, California. The two companies planned to develop a collection of business products that would include virtual private networks, web hosting, shared software, and electronic commerce. Combined 1998 revenues were $46 billion, including Ameritech, placing SBC among the top 15 companies in the Fortune 500.
In January 1999 SBC announced it would purchase Comcast Cellular, the wireless subsidiary of Comcast Corporation, for $1.7 billion, including the assumption of $1.3 billion of debt. Under the agreement SBC's wireless service regions (Washington-Baltimore, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and upstate New York), would join with Comcast Cellular's wireless systems in Philadelphia, New Jersey, and Delaware. SBC would also acquire wireless systems in Illinois and personal communications system licenses in Pennsylvania. SBC would add about 800,000 customers to its wireless customer base of more than 6.5 million people.
Continuing to prepare for the day when it would be allowed to compete for long-distance service, SBC announced in February 1999 it would acquire up to ten percent of Williams Companies' telecommunications division for about $500 million. Williams was about two-thirds of the way to completing a nationwide fiber-optic network and would carry SBC's long-distance traffic.
In the first quarter of 1999 SBC reported net income of $1.1 billion on revenue of $7.3 billion. As 1999 drew to a close, the company was not yet permitted to offer long-distance services, but it fully anticipated that approval would be granted in 2000. SBC operated more than 59 million access lines and had more than ten million domestic wireless customers. It served eight of the United States' ten largest metropolitan areas, and it had strategic investments in 23 countries worth an estimated $22 billion.
Principal Subsidiaries: Southwestern Bell Telephone Company; Pacific Bell; Ameritech Corporation; Cellular One; Nevada Bell.
Principal Competitors: BellSouth Corporation; Bell Atlantic Corporation; MCI WorldCom, Inc.; AT & T Corp.
Statistics:
Public Company
Incorporated: 1920 as Southwestern Bell Telephone Company
Employees: 203,000
Sales: $46 billion (1998)
Stock Exchanges: New York
Ticker Symbol: SBC
NAIC: 513310 Wired Telecommunications Carriers; 513322 Cellular and Other Wireless Telecommunica-tions; 511140 Telephone Directory Publishers
Key Dates:
1920: Southwestern Bell Telephone Company is consolidated from about 20 predecessor companies.
1926: Southwestern Bell installs its one millionth telephone and completes its operations center in St. Louis, Missouri.
1978: Southwestern Bell installs its 15 millionth telephone, making it the largest company in the Bell System.
1984: Southwestern Bell Corporation, a holding company, officially takes ownership of Southwestern Bell Telephone Company following the breakup of AT & T.
1990: Edward Whitacre becomes CEO of Southwestern Bell.
1995: Southwestern Bell changes its name to SBC Communications Inc.
1996: SBC acquires Pacific Telesis Group for $16.5 billion.
1998: SBC acquires Southern New England Telecommunications Corp. for $4.4 billion and Ameritech for $62 billion.
Address:
175 East Houston Street
San Antonio, Texas 78205
U.S.A.
Southwestern Bell Corporation was founded in 1983 as a Regional Bell Operating Company following the break-up of the original AT&T as a result of the United States v. AT&T antitrust suit. The company changed its name in 1995 to SBC Communications Inc. and again in 2005 to AT&T Inc. after it purchased its former parent company, AT&T Corporation. The newly merged company took on the iconic AT&T logo and stock-trading symbol (NYSE: T, for "telephone").
The current AT&T reconstitutes much of the former Bell System and includes ten of the original 22 Bell Operating Companies along with one it partially owned (Southern New England Telephone), and the original long distance division. The company is headquartered in downtown Dallas, Texas.
Originally one of the seven regional holding companies formed after the breakup of American Telephone & Telegraph Corporation's (AT & T) Bell System in 1983, SBC Communications Inc. has emerged in the 1990s as a national provider of local telephone services. It acquired other regional bell operating companies (RBOCs)--Pacific Telesis, Southern New England, and Ameritech--in the 1990s following passage of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Second in size only to the proposed Bell Atlantic-GTE combination, SBC was poised to offer a full range of local, long-distance (not yet permitted, but expected in 2000), and wireless services throughout the United States and internationally.
SBC Communications--previously known as Southwestern Bell, among other names--is a global telecommunications powerhouse and one of the largest regional carriers in the United States. Dating back to the early 20th century, SBC Communications has been among the most experienced telecommunications organizations in the world.
SBC Communications can trace its roots back to 1920, when the first company known as Southwestern Bell was formed as a conglomerate of about 20 member companies such as American District Telegraph Company, Kansas City Telephone Exchange, Southwestern Telegraph & Telephone Company and the Pioneer Telephone & Telegraph Company. The oldest of these companies, American District Telegraph Company, began its operations in 1878, just two years after the telephone was invented.
During World War II, Southwestern Bell prospered because of the large number of military installations in its service territory. Since operations in support of the American military took precedence during the war, AT&T dedicated resources--including equipment and desktop telephones--from its other operating regions to support Southwestern Bell throughout the early 1940s. By the end of the war, Southwestern Bell had topped two million subscriber lines and easily reached three million lines just three years after the war's end. This expansion continued over the subsequent years, with more than six million customers served but the early 1960s
In January 1990 Edward Whitacre succeeded Barnes. Whitacre had been with SBC and Southwestern Bell Telephone for 27 years. During 1990 SBC increased its international focus. Its subsidiary, Southwestern Bell International Holdings Corporation (SBIHC), joined a consortium that bought 20.4 percent of the total equity and 51 percent of the shares with full voting rights in Télefonos de México, S.A. de C.V., Mexico's national telephone company. SBIHC's partners in the consortium were France Cables et Radio, S.A.--a subsidiary of France Telecom--and Mexican company Grupo Carso. The total purchase price was $1.76 billion; SBIHC's share of this was $486 million. Participation gave SBC a chance to sell services, such as long-distance telephone communications, that it was prohibited from offering in the United States. Mexico had an antiquated telephone system, but potential for significant growth; only one in 17 households had a telephone. Another international move in 1990 was SBC's agreement to purchase West Midlands Cable Communications in the United Kingdom; this system included the largest cable television franchise in that country. In 1991 SBC increased its ownership to 98 percent of the United Kingdom's Oyston Cable.
In the early 1990s, SBC, like other regional holding companies, was seeking changes in the regulations that arose from the AT & T breakup. These regulations restricted the businesses that regional holding companies could enter; among those prohibited were video programming production and various other communications products. As it awaited the outcome of its fight to lift these constraints, SBC continued to focus on its core businesses, as it had done ever since the divestiture.
In February 1993 SBC moved its headquarters from St. Louis to San Antonio, Texas. It joined a local group of businesses to acquire the San Antonio Spurs basketball team for $75 million. It also became the first regional Bell telephone company to acquire a cable television company outside of its service area when it paid $650 million to Hauser Communications for two cable systems in Maryland and Virginia.
In 1994 SBC called off a proposed $1.6 billion acquisition of a 40 percent interest in Cox Cable of San Diego Inc. SBC's management felt that the FCC's rulings regarding cable television would negatively impact the company's cash flow. Over the next several years SBC would divest its remaining interests in cable television companies.
Although the component companies of American Telephone and Telegraph (AT&T), of which Southwestern Bell was one, primarily operated under their own parameters, the larger AT&T entity represented a monopoly to American telephone customers. As part of the 1982 breakup of AT&T, Southwestern Bell Corporation was formed to serve telephone customers in the southwestern region of the United States. The new company, SBC, consisted of three subsidiaries: Southwestern Bell Publications, which published the company's telephone directories; Southwestern Bell Mobile Systems, responsible for developing and providing mobile communications services; and Southwestern Bell Telecommunications. Thanks to management oversight, the company stayed profitable and, by 1989, was second in prosperity only to Pacific Telesis.
In 1997 rumors of a proposed merger between AT & T, the United States' largest long-distance carrier, and SBC, the largest local service provider, came to an end when the FCC voiced its disapproval. Later in the year SBC completed its exit from cable television when it sold the two systems in Maryland and Virginia it had acquired from Hauser Communications in 1993. The company was also in the process of completing negotiations to leave the Americast joint venture it had formed in 1995 with Ameritech, BellSouth, and the Walt Disney Co. In December 1997 SBC sold Pacific Bell Video Services, the digital wireless cable operation it had acquired as part of PacTel. For 1997 SBC had more than $23 billion in revenues.
Hoping to enter the long-distance field, SBC announced in January 1998 it would acquire Southern New England Telecommunications Corp. (SNET) for $4.4 billion in stock. SNET was based in New Haven, Connecticut. SBC had recently won a court judgment that would make it easier for RBOCs to enter the long-distance market, but the decision was still being challenged by AT & T and the FCC. The FCC approved SBC's acquisition of SNET in October 1998, giving SBC a total of 36.9 million local access lines.
In May 1998 SBC and Ameritech, two of the remaining five RBOCs, announced a planned $62 billion merger, with SBC taking over Ameritech. The acquisition added Ameritech's 21 million local telephone lines in five Midwest states to the SBC system. The FCC approved the merger in October 1999 and attached a list of 30 conditions that SBC must meet. SBC planned to move Ameritech's corporate functions to San Antonio, and Ameritech's top executives were given a multimillion-dollar severance package. For the time being, the merger made SBC the largest RBOC, at least until the FCC approved a merger between Bell Atlantic and GTE.
Also in 1998 SBC strengthened its position in the rapidly growing data service market by paying $22 million for a four percent interest in Concentric Network Corp. of Cupertino, California. The two companies planned to develop a collection of business products that would include virtual private networks, web hosting, shared software, and electronic commerce. Combined 1998 revenues were $46 billion, including Ameritech, placing SBC among the top 15 companies in the Fortune 500.
In January 1999 SBC announced it would purchase Comcast Cellular, the wireless subsidiary of Comcast Corporation, for $1.7 billion, including the assumption of $1.3 billion of debt. Under the agreement SBC's wireless service regions (Washington-Baltimore, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and upstate New York), would join with Comcast Cellular's wireless systems in Philadelphia, New Jersey, and Delaware. SBC would also acquire wireless systems in Illinois and personal communications system licenses in Pennsylvania. SBC would add about 800,000 customers to its wireless customer base of more than 6.5 million people.
Continuing to prepare for the day when it would be allowed to compete for long-distance service, SBC announced in February 1999 it would acquire up to ten percent of Williams Companies' telecommunications division for about $500 million. Williams was about two-thirds of the way to completing a nationwide fiber-optic network and would carry SBC's long-distance traffic.
In the first quarter of 1999 SBC reported net income of $1.1 billion on revenue of $7.3 billion. As 1999 drew to a close, the company was not yet permitted to offer long-distance services, but it fully anticipated that approval would be granted in 2000. SBC operated more than 59 million access lines and had more than ten million domestic wireless customers. It served eight of the United States' ten largest metropolitan areas, and it had strategic investments in 23 countries worth an estimated $22 billion.
Principal Subsidiaries: Southwestern Bell Telephone Company; Pacific Bell; Ameritech Corporation; Cellular One; Nevada Bell.
Principal Competitors: BellSouth Corporation; Bell Atlantic Corporation; MCI WorldCom, Inc.; AT & T Corp.
Statistics:
Public Company
Incorporated: 1920 as Southwestern Bell Telephone Company
Employees: 203,000
Sales: $46 billion (1998)
Stock Exchanges: New York
Ticker Symbol: SBC
NAIC: 513310 Wired Telecommunications Carriers; 513322 Cellular and Other Wireless Telecommunica-tions; 511140 Telephone Directory Publishers
Key Dates:
1920: Southwestern Bell Telephone Company is consolidated from about 20 predecessor companies.
1926: Southwestern Bell installs its one millionth telephone and completes its operations center in St. Louis, Missouri.
1978: Southwestern Bell installs its 15 millionth telephone, making it the largest company in the Bell System.
1984: Southwestern Bell Corporation, a holding company, officially takes ownership of Southwestern Bell Telephone Company following the breakup of AT & T.
1990: Edward Whitacre becomes CEO of Southwestern Bell.
1995: Southwestern Bell changes its name to SBC Communications Inc.
1996: SBC acquires Pacific Telesis Group for $16.5 billion.
1998: SBC acquires Southern New England Telecommunications Corp. for $4.4 billion and Ameritech for $62 billion.
Address:
175 East Houston Street
San Antonio, Texas 78205
U.S.A.