ABSTRACT
The Historical Perspective: The 1984 breakup of the Bell System sepa rated AT&T from the Bell Operating Companies (RBOC’s). The agree ment was complex but most importantly defined what services would be provided by AT&T and those services that would be provided by the Bell Operating Companies. Under the terms of the break-up, AT&T would provide long distance service and the Bell Operating Companies would provide local service. The information below details how local and long distance service was defined under the terms of the break-up. It is impor tant to note that GTE and other independent telephone companies were not limited by the terms of the break-up, neither were MCI or Sprint. However, other IXCs and local companies largely voluntarily abided by the terms of the breakup. MCI and Sprint’s strategic goals were to keep AT&T regulated while they gained long distance market share. Therefore, neither MCI nor Sprint wanted to do anything that could lead to less regulation of AT&T.
