The common term for one of the
RBOCs or other
local carriers that were created out of
AT&T monopoly as part of the 1984
AT&T split up. After some initial activity, the Baby Bells basically started as:
- Ameritech, serving Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ohio
- Bell Atlantic, serving Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey
- BellSouth, serving Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee
- Cincinnati Bell, serving Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana (not an RBOC)
- Nevada Bell, serving Nevada (not an RBOC)
- NYNEX, serving New York, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island
- Pacific Bell, serving California
- Southwestern Bell Telephone, serving Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas
- Southern New England Telephone (SNET), serving Connecticut (not an RBOC)
- USWest, serving Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, Montana, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota
Since then, these companies have been bought and merged so that the following companies remain with portions of the Baby Bells:
Sources:
"TelephoneHistory.org", http://www.mbay.net/~mpoirier/thorg/lec.html
"Bell Operating Companies",
http://www.bellsystemmemorial.com/bellopercomp.html