Breakup of AT&T

The breakup of AT&T in 1984 was a major restructuring of the American telecommunications industry. AT&T, a large, government-licensed monopoly, was split into one long-distance company and several regional local phone companies called "Bell Operating Companies." This was done to increase competition, lower prices, and improve service quality. Essentially, AT&T's dominance was broken up to prevent monopoly power, allowing smaller companies to compete in local and long-distance phone markets. The breakup marked a shift from a single, integrated telephone provider to a more competitive industry landscape.