AT&T (redirected from SBC East)

AT&T

One of the largest providers of landline telephones, mobile phone service, Internet, and cable in the United States. It traces its origins to the Bell Telephone Company, established by Alexander Graham Bell in 1875. By the second decade of the 20th century, it was approaching near monopoly status over the telephone industry. In 1913, it agreed to acquire no more competitors without the approval of the Interstate Commerce Commission. In 1982, it was ruled that AT&T was engaging in anti-competitive activities, and the company was forced to divest itself of many of its assets. In 2005, the company was acquired by one of its former subsidiaries, which took the name AT&T. It presently controls much of what it originally did before the monopoly settlement. See also: Baby Bell.