Today, four companies — the Regional Bell Operating Companies — dominate local telephone services in the U.S. These four companies service more than 90% of the local telephone lines in the country, and have used that leverage to dominate provision of broadband over DSL and in markets wireless phone service.
The following briefly describes who they are and what they own:
VERIZON
- Created after: 1997 merger of Bell Atlantic and NYNEX and 1998/2000 merger between Bell Atlantic and GTE
- Wireline: 140.3 million residential and business telephone lines in 29 states
- Long distance: 16.6 million customers, nation's second largest long distance carrier
- Wireless: over 40 million customers (with Vodafone, a British wireless phone company)
- DSL: almost 3 million lines
SBC
- Created after: 1998 merger between Southwestern Bell and Pacific Telesis and the 1999 purchase of Ameritech
- Wireline: 55 million residential and business telephone lines in 13 states
- Long distance: 14.4 million customers
- Wireless: owns 60% of Cingular Wireless with about 45 million customers after its takeover of AT&T Wireless
- DSL: 4.3 million lines
BELLSOUTH
- Created after: 1994 merger between South Central Bell and Southern Bell
- Wireline: 23.7 million residential and business telephone lines in 9 states
- Long distance: 4 million customers
- Wireless: Owns 40% of Cingular Wireless with about 45 million customers after its takeover of AT&T Wireless
- DSL: 1.7 million lines
QWEST
- Created after: 2000 merger between US West and Quest.
- Wireline: 16.2 million residential and business telephone lines 14 states
- Wireless: Sold all Qwest Wireless' physical assets and FCC licenses to Verizon Wireless and now resells wireless service from Sprint PCS under the Qwest brand
- Long distance: 4.1 million customers.
- DSL: nearly 900,000 lines
Get the best wireless phone service for your money, read HearUsNow.org's Consumer Tips. Take Action to keep your cell phone when you change wireless carriers. Learn about the issues effecting your telephone, find out What's at Stake. Then Get Involved with groups across the country and in your community to demand better phone service.
