Bell System

E33427

telecommunications company telephone monopoly vertically integrated utility

The Bell System was the historic, vertically integrated telephone monopoly in the United States, led by AT&T, that dominated telecommunications services and research for much of the 20th century.

Aliases (5)

Bell Telephone System ×2
AT&T Long Lines ×1
Bell System local operating companies ×1
Bell telephone system ×1
Ma Bell ×1

Statements (67)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	telecommunications company → telephone monopoly → vertically integrated utility →
alsoKnownAs	Bell telephone system → Ma Bell →
antitrustAction	1913 Kingsbury Commitment → 1982 consent decree leading to divestiture →
businessModel	vertical integration of local, long-distance, equipment, and research →
component	AT&T Communications → AT&T Long Lines → Bell Operating Companies → Bell Telephone Laboratories → Western Electric → Yellow Pages operations → regional operating companies →
country	United States →
dissolutionAgreement	Modification of Final Judgment →
dissolutionLegalBasis	United States v. AT&T →
dissolvedBy	AT&T breakup → divestiture of AT&T →
endDate	1984 →
foundedBy	Alexander Graham Bell → Gardiner Greene Hubbard → Thomas Sanders →
headquartersLocation	New York City →
historicalImpact	created model for regulated natural monopolies in utilities → shaped U.S. telecommunications policy in the 20th century →
industry	telecommunications → telephone service →
knownFor	end-to-end control of U.S. telephone network → extensive research in telecommunications → standardization of telephone equipment →
legalStatus	subject to antitrust regulation →
manufacturedBy	Western Electric →
marketPosition	dominant provider of telephone service in the United States →
monopolyType	regulated monopoly →
networkType	Public Switched Telephone Network →
notableInnovation	support for development of UNIX at Bell Labs → support for development of information theory at Bell Labs → support for development of transistor at Bell Labs →
originatedFrom	American Bell Telephone Company → Bell Telephone Company →
parentOrganization	American Telephone and Telegraph Company →
peakPeriod	mid-20th century →
providedService	directory services → local telephone service → long-distance telephone service → telecommunications research and development → telephone equipment leasing →
regulatedBy	Federal Communications Commission → state public utility commissions →
researchArm	Bell Telephone Laboratories →
serviceArea	Hawaii → continental United States → parts of Canada (historically, via affiliates) →
shortName	AT&T →
startDate	1877 →
successor	AT&T Corp. → Ameritech → Bell Atlantic → BellSouth → NYNEX → Pacific Telesis → Regional Bell Operating Companies → Southwestern Bell Corporation → US West →
telephoneStandard	POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) →

Referenced by (18)

Subject (surface form when different)	Predicate
Bell System Technical Journal → Bell System Technical Journal → Hawthorne Works → Northern Electric →	associatedWith
Bell System ("Ma Bell") → Bell System ("Bell telephone system") →	alsoKnownAs
Bell Telephone Company → Western Electric →	partOf
Western Electric →	collaboratedWith
Theme from "The Bell Telephone Hour" ("Bell Telephone System") →	commissionedBy
Bell System ("AT&T Long Lines") →	component
Theme from "The Bell Telephone Hour" ("Bell Telephone System") →	linkedToBrand
American Telephone and Telegraph Company ("Bell System local operating companies") →	operated
Southwestern Bell →	originatedFrom
American Telephone and Telegraph Company →	parentOf
AT&T →	predecessor
Spaceship Earth →	sponsor
Bell Telephone Company →	successor