One more merger...

That is all it will take. AT&T (SBC renamed after it bought the ghost of the company whose name it now bears, and of which it was once part prior to the 1983 breakup) has announced that it's buying BellSouth. Verizon and AT&T are now the only two telcos left, and it wouldn't shock me to see them merge at some point, bringing us back to where we were in 1983. Progress! Except that the unified billing and customer service that once existed is long gone. Both companies are a nightmare to deal with, with disparate billing and service capabilities depending on which RBOC covered the area in which you're trying to get something done. I really do think I might just throw a party when Verizon and SBC merge. The theme will not be a happy one.

EDIT: Two more mergers. I thought AT&T/SBC had grabbed US West around the same time they swallowed PacBell, but apparently it's the one RBOC that wasn't grabbed by SBC/AT&T or Verizon and was gobbled up by Qwest.

One more merger...

That is all it will take. AT&T (SBC renamed after it bought the ghost of the company whose name it now bears, and of which it was once part prior to the 1983 breakup) has announced that it's buying BellSouth. Verizon and AT&T are now the only two telcos left, and it wouldn't shock me to see them merge at some point, bringing us back to where we were in 1983. Progress! Except that the unified billing and customer service that once existed is long gone. Both companies are a nightmare to deal with, with disparate billing and service capabilities depending on which RBOC covered the area in which you're trying to get something done. I really do think I might just throw a party when Verizon and SBC merge. The theme will not be a happy one.

EDIT: Two more mergers. I thought AT&T/SBC had grabbed US West around the same time they swallowed PacBell, but apparently it's the one RBOC that wasn't grabbed by SBC/AT&T or Verizon and was gobbled up by Qwest.

One more merger...

That is all it will take. AT&T (SBC renamed after it bought the ghost of the company whose name it now bears, and of which it was once part prior to the 1983 breakup) has announced that it's buying BellSouth. Verizon and AT&T are now the only two telcos left, and it wouldn't shock me to see them merge at some point, bringing us back to where we were in 1983. Progress! Except that the unified billing and customer service that once existed is long gone. Both companies are a nightmare to deal with, with disparate billing and service capabilities depending on which RBOC covered the area in which you're trying to get something done. I really do think I might just throw a party when Verizon and SBC merge. The theme will not be a happy one.

EDIT: Two more mergers. I thought AT&T/SBC had grabbed US West around the same time they swallowed PacBell, but apparently it's the one RBOC that wasn't grabbed by SBC/AT&T or Verizon and was gobbled up by Qwest.