BellSouth Telecommunications
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For the holding company created in 1984 as a Regional Bell Operating Company, see BellSouth Corporation.
| BellSouth Telecommunications, Inc. | |
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| Type | Holding of AT&T |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1992 from the merger of Southern Bell and South Central Bell |
| Headquarters | Atlanta, Georgia, USA |
| Industry | Telecommunications |
| Products | POTS, DSL |
| Website | www.att.com www.bellsouth.com |
BellSouth Telecommunications, Inc. is the Bell Operating Company of AT&T that serves the southeastern United States. BellSouth Telecommunications was formed on January 1, 1992 when BellSouth merged its operating companies, Southern Bell and South Central Bell, into one entity.
BellSouth Telecommunications was previously a holding of BellSouth Corporation but was acquired by AT&T Inc on December 29, 2006. BellSouth Telecommunications/AT&T Southeast regional headquarters are located in the BellSouth Center building in Atlanta, Georgia. BellSouth Corporation's headquarters were located in the Campanile building in Atlanta.
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[edit] History
[edit] Southern Bell
Southern Bell Telephone & Telegraph Company was the Bell Operating Company serving most of the south. Southern Bell provided telephone service to Georgia, Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Louisiana. Southern Bell also operated in Charleston and other parts of West Virginia from 1883 until 1917, when C&P Telephone took over operations[1].
In 1968, Southern Bell's operations in Alabama, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee were split off to form South Central Bell. A similar arrangement occurred in 1961 when Pacific Northwest Bell was formed from Pacific Telephone.
In 1984, Southern Bell became a holding of BellSouth Corporation.
Southern Bell was headquartered in (what is now) the BellSouth Center building in Atlanta, Georgia.
[edit] South Central Bell
South Central Bell Telephone Company was the name of the Bell System's operations in Alabama, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee. South Central Bell was created in July 1968 when the Bell telephone operations in those states were split off from Southern Bell, similar to how Pacific Northwest Bell split off from Pacific Telephone & Telegraph around the same time period.
In 1984, South Central Bell became a holding of BellSouth Corporation.
South Central Bell was headquartered in (what is now) the BellSouth City Center building in Birmingham, Alabama.
[edit] BellSouth Services
BellSouth Services, Inc. was the name of the shared service company formed to provide common functions such as engineering and information technology across the nine state Southern Bell and South Central Bell operating region.
BellSouth Services was merged with the operating companies in 1992 into BellSouth Telecommunications.
[edit] Operating Company Merger
On January 1, 1992, BellSouth merged Southern Bell, South Central Bell, and BellSouth Services into a single operating company, BellSouth Telecommunications, Inc., one year after US West had done the same by creating U S West Communications. The merger recreated Southern Bell before the South Central Bell split-off. BellSouth Telecommunications continued to do business as Southern Bell and South Central Bell until 1995, when corporate name BellSouth was used.
[edit] Acquisition
On March 5, 2006, AT&T announced its intentions to acquire BellSouth Corporation, and on December 29, 2006 BellSouth Telecommunications became an operating company of AT&T. [2]
BellSouth Telecommunications will cease doing business under the BellSouth name in the late first to early second quarter of 2007. BellSouth Telecommunications will become known as the following after the change:
- BellSouth Telecommunications, Inc. d/b/a
- AT&T Southeast
- AT&T Alabama
- AT&T Florida
- AT&T Georgia
- AT&T Kentucky
- AT&T Louisiana
- AT&T Mississippi
- AT&T North Carolina
- AT&T South Carolina
- AT&T Tennessee
- AT&T Southeast
[edit] See also
- BellSouth Corporation
- AT&T
- American Telephone and Telegraph Company
- Bell System
- Bell System Divestiture
| 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 |
