AT&T Communications
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AT&T Communications, Inc. is a CLEC/long distance telephone company owned by AT&T.
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[edit] History
[edit] AT&T Long Lines
The AT&T Long Lines microwave radio relay network provided long-distance transport services to AT&T and its customers from the late 1940s to the early 1980s. Formal opening of the coast to coast connection was on August 17, 1951. A sophisticated achievement, Long Lines provided computerized reconfiguration of microwave circuits coast-to-coast via AT&T's network control center in New York City, NY. By the 1970s, Long Lines carried 95 percent of all long-haul television traffic, and 70 percent of intercity telephone calls in the United States.
Before utilizing microwave relay, AT&T used heavy-duty open-wire lines for Long distance service. The introduction of vacuum tube amplifiers allowed such connections to reach across North America. In the 1930s the company experimented with long-distance coaxial (coax) cable. The first long-distance coaxial link in 1936 connected Philadelphia and New York. After World War II it was quickly determined that microwave relay networks were less expensive and easier to build, especially over mountainous regions and rough terrain, and Long Lines evolved into a hybrid network. L-4 and L-5 coaxial systems connected all major US cities, and a digital millimeter waveguide system connected New York to Philadelphia, but the primary medium was C band microwave air links.
A presidential address from Harry Truman inaugurated the Long Lines network, demonstrating coast-to-coast service. The Long Lines network allowed events such as ABC’s Monday Night Football to be nationally broadcast live and Long Lines also permitted distribution of regional sports events, such as Saturday football games prior to the adaptation of satellite communications in the 1970s.
By the 1980s, alternatives (including fiber optics and satellites) were replacing microwave as the preferred network transport, but the remnants of the Long Lines microwave network can still be seen across the country-side today, in the form of abandoned relay towers, or towers being reused for other purposes (public safety communications, cellular phone sites, etc).
[edit] Direct Distance Dialing
In 1950, New York City's five boroughs were dialed from various communities in New Jersey with the digits '1-1' followed by the 7 digit telephone number. While New York City was assigned Area code 212 at the very beginning of the Area Code format in October 1947, it wouldn't be until later in the 1950s when Englewood, New Jersey customers would dial their calls to New York City using the digits 2-1-2. The use of the '11+' code from Englewood (and other parts of northeastern New Jersey) to call New York City had been in place for a while, even prior to 1951. New York City's five boroughs also had been dialing northeastern New Jersey as 11+ the two letters and five digits of the New Jersey number as well for a while prior to 1951 and until the later 1950s.
The telephone industry made a United States "first" in the New Jersey communties of Englewood and Teaneck with the introduction of what is known now as Direct distance dialing (DDD). Starting on November 10, 1951, customers of the ENglewood 3, ENglewood 4 and TEaneck 7 exchanges (who could already dial New York City and area) were able to dial 11 cities across the United States, simply by dialing the three-digit area code and the seven digit number.
The use of Area code 201 to call New Jersey from New York City didn't begin until the later 1950s. Englewood and Teaneck customers in 1951 didn't even know that their own area code was 201! Other cities in northeastern New Jersey, both local and toll, were dialable in 1951 (and for a few years prior) from Englewood by simply dialing the two letters of the Exchange Name and remaining five digits. In addition to New York City, the Nassau County part of Long Island was dialable from Englewood and Teaneck using Area code 516; also Westchester County, Rockland County, and portions of Orange and Putnam Counties were also dialable from Englewood and Teaneck in 1951 using Area code 914.
Even when most users had Direct Distance Dialing, the company continued to advertise with the slogan "The voice with a smile" referring to the operators.
[edit] AT&T Communications
Long Lines was renamed AT&T Communications in 1984 since it no longer consisted of the majority of the "lines", or the Bell Operating Companies. AT&T Communications became one of the three core sales units of AT&T, after reorganization of remaining assets of the former Bell System.
AT&T divided AT&T Communications up into 22 operating companies, serving the regions of each Bell Operating Company, resulting in:
- AT&T Communications of California, Inc.
- AT&T Communications of Delaware, Inc.
- AT&T Communications of Illinois, Inc.
- AT&T Communications of Indiana, Inc.
- AT&T Communications of Maryland, Inc.
- AT&T Communications of Michigan, Inc.
- AT&T Communications of Nevada, Inc.
- AT&T Communications of New England, Inc.
- AT&T Communications of New Jersey, Inc.
- AT&T Communications of New York, Inc.
- AT&T Communications of Ohio, Inc.
- AT&T Communications of Pennsylvania, Inc.
- AT&T Communications of the Midwest, Inc. - serves Northwestern Bell territory
- AT&T Communications of the Mountain States, Inc.
- AT&T Communications of the Pacific Northwest, Inc.
- AT&T Communications of the South Central States, Inc.
- AT&T Communications of the Southern States, LLC
- AT&T Communications of the Southwest, Inc.
- AT&T Communications of Virginia, Inc.
- AT&T Communications of Washington D.C., Inc.
- AT&T Communications of West Virginia, Inc.
- AT&T Communications of Wisconsin, Inc.
Following the Telecommunications Act of 1996, AT&T Communications began reselling Bell Operating Company-provided telephone service at lower prices, to compete with the Baby Bells. Such services were done through AT&T Consumer, a new sales unit created to incorporate local/long distance services provided by AT&T Communications.
In 2004, AT&T stopped trying to seek new traditional landline customers, following a court ruling which reversed a previous decision that allowed CLECs to have access to the telephone lines owned by the Baby Bells. As a result, AT&T CallVantage was created, as a VoIP alternative to companies like Vonage. AT&T Communications would still provide services to new customers, although they would not be advertised heavily.
[edit] AT&T/SBC Communications Merger
In 2005, SBC Communications purchased AT&T Corp., the parent company of AT&T Communications. SBC had already been offering its own long distance services through SBC Long Distance LLC in its own territory in competition with other long distance companies. As a result, AT&T Communications was refocused to seek new customers outside of the AT&T 13-state region served by its Bell Operating Companies. Telephone listings for AT&T Communications services were then removed from AT&T local telephone directories.
[edit] Headquarters
AT&T Communications is headquartered in Bedminster, New Jersey at the AT&T Network Operations Center.
[edit] External links
| Corporate Operations | |
|---|---|
| Holding Company: | American Telephone and Telegraph Company |
| Local Telephone Operations | |
| Bell Operating Companies: | Bell Telephone Company of Nevada | The Bell Telephone Company of Pennsylvania | The Chesapeake & Potomac Telephone Company | The Chesapeake & Potomac Telephone Company of Maryland | The Chesapeake & Potomac Telephone Company of West Virginia | The Chesapeake & Potomac Telephone Company of Virginia | Diamond State Telephone | Illinois Bell | Indiana Bell | Michigan Bell | Mountain Bell | New England Telephone & Telegraph | New Jersey Bell | New York Telephone | Northwestern Bell | Ohio Bell | Pacific Northwest Bell | Pacific Telephone | South Central Bell | Southern Bell | Southwestern Bell | Wisconsin Telephone |
| Franchisees: | Southern New England Telephone | Cincinnati Bell |
| Other AT&T Subsidiaries | |
| Manufacturing: | Western Electric |
| R&D Operations: | Bell Labs |
| Long Distance Services: | AT&T Long Lines |
| Wireless Services: | Advanced Mobile Phone Service |
