Bob's Links and Rants

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Thursday, January 27, 2005

The circle closes

Back in the early 1980's, the breakup of AT&T through anti-trust action was a big story. Well, it has been undone, one step at a time. Michigan Bell joined with Illinois Bell to become Ameritech, which then joined with a couple of other baby Bells to become SBC Ameritech, and then SBC. Now, SBC is trying to buy the shell of the old parent:
SBC Communications, the second-largest regional phone company in the nation, is in talks to buy AT&T for more than $16 billion, according to executives close to the negotiations.

A deal, if reached, would be the final chapter in the 120-year history of AT&T, the first technological giant of the modern age and the original model for telecommunications companies worldwide. A deal would be a reunion of sorts, putting back together some of the largest pieces of the Ma Bell telephone monopoly, which was broken up in 1984.