Ma Bell

Ma Bell was a common nickname for the Bell System, a large American telecommunications company that historically controlled most telephone services and infrastructure from the late 19th century until the 1980s. Originally part of Alexander Graham Bell's invention of the telephone, it became a monopoly that provided telephone service across much of the United States. The term "Ma Bell" reflected its role as a trustworthy, household-name provider of communication services. In 1984, the Bell System was broken up into smaller companies to promote competition, but the name remains associated with the era of organized, nationwide telephone service in America.