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The Bell System was a system of telecommunication companies, led by the Bell Telephone Company and later by the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T), that dominated the telephone services industry in North America for over 100 years from its creation in 1877 until its antitrust breakup in 1983.
The breakup of the Bell System resulted in the creation of seven independent companies that were formed from the original twenty-two AT&T-controlled members of the System. On January 1, 1984, these companies were NYNEX, Pacific Telesis, Ameritech, Bell Atlantic, Southwestern Bell Corporation, BellSouth, and US West.
The nation-wide Bell System network, which was described as the largest computer in the world, was the result of teamwork by people at AT&T, Bell Telephone Laboratories, Western Electric, and the local Bell Telephone companies.
Bell System, a former American telephone system, governed by American Telephone & Telegraph Company (now AT&T Corporation; q.v.) and including Western Electric Company (q.v.), the system’s manufacturer; Bell Laboratories (q.v.), the research and development facility; and other departments and 22.
The Bell Telephone Company was the initial corporate entity from which the Bell System originated to build a continental conglomerate and monopoly in telecommunication services in the United States and Canada.
The Bell System’s history stretches back to 1876, with founder Alexander Graham Bell’s invention of the telephone. Bell, Thomas Sanders and Gardiner G. Hubbard formed The Bell Patent Association in order to capitalize on the invention.
The Bell System (AT&T and the various other companies it owned) had become the dominant phone service provider in the United States long before the 1920s; in fact, it had a monopoly on phone service even then.
Jan 1, 1984 · A new era for American telecommunications and for American business begins today as the once-unified Bell System begins life as eight separate companies. It is a time of great expectations and...
Bell System was known for providing the highest-quality telephone parts in the United States, but that ended in 1984. The telephone components were then manufactured by foreign companies for Western Electric , a leading telephone company.
Although not comprehensive, this list of "firsts" for the Bell System during the month of August offers insight into a company that was known for innovation and research.
