Bell System divestiture

The Bell System divestiture was a major restructuring of AT&T’s monopoly on telephone services in 1984. Previously, AT&T owned and operated all phone services in the U.S., with regional companies called Baby Bells. To promote competition, the government ordered AT&T to break into independent regional companies while AT&T kept its long-distance services. This separation aimed to foster innovation, reduce prices, and improve service quality. The divestiture ended AT&T’s monopoly on local phone service, creating a more competitive landscape while maintaining a unified long-distance network.