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more on The Return of Ma Bell -- AT&T (SBC) to buy BellSouth?]]
From: Dave Farber <dave () farber net>
Date: Sun, 05 Mar 2006 13:02:03 -0500
-------- Original Message -------- Subject: Re: [IP] more on The Return of Ma Bell -- AT&T (SBC) to buy BellSouth?] Date: Sun, 05 Mar 2006 09:39:47 -0800 From: Richard Perlman <perl () lucent com> To: David Farber <dave () farber net>, Lauren Weinstein <lauren () vortex com> CC: ip () v2 listbox com Dave, Lauren: There is a common misconception expressed in the comments (below) about the breakup and getting back together again of at&t. In 1954 the DoJ filed suit against AT&T for maintaining a vertical monopoly. The basis of the suit was that as the manufacturer of the equipment it used to operate the "Bell System" AT&T was engaging in unfair competition. In 1984, when the anti-trust suit was finally settled, it was the horizontal monopoly that was broken up, not the vertical monopoly. AT&T continued to own Western Electric, Bell Labs and the former "Long Lines." Why did AT&T give up the unchallenged horizontal monopoly? Because they thought they could make a killing in the emerging mini-computer market with their 3B20 systems - a market they had been previously excluded from by regulatory dictate. Ironically, is wasn't much more than 10 years later that AT&T effectively did what the DoJ had tried to do in 1954, when they spun-off the former Western Electric as Lucent Technologies. Even more ironic, this is exactly what Alvin Toffler recommended to AT&T in 1972 as detailed in his book "adaptive Corporation." (See http://books.global-investor.com/books/20897.htm ) So, the real "reconciliation" of AT&T would be for the new at&t to acquire Lucent - and that just is not going to happen. Check out http://www.bellsystemmemorial.com/bellopercomp.html if you are interested in the history of the 'Bell System." Richard On 3/5/06 08:22, "Dave Farber" <dave () farber net> wrote:
-------- Original Message -------- Subject: The Return of Ma Bell -- AT&T (SBC) to buy BellSouth? Date: Sun, 05 Mar 2006 08:16:45 -0800 (PST) From: Lauren Weinstein <lauren () vortex com> To: dave () farber net CC: lauren () vortex com Dave, ... You'll recall the robot cop who was blasted apart into globs of mercuric metal, that flowed back together to recreate the original whole. That's what's happening now -- with the smiling approval of Congress and the FCC -- far along the path of resurrecting a new Ma Bell with powers and influence that will vastly exceed even those of the original Bell System.
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