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39-793: US West, Inc. was one of seven Regional Bell Operating Companies (RBOCs, also referred to as "Baby Bells"), created in 1983 under the Modification of Final Judgement ( United States v. Western Electric Co., Inc. 552 Fed. Supp. 131), a case related to the antitrust breakup of AT&T . US West provided local telephone and intraLATA long-distance services, data transmission services, cable television services, wireless communications services and related telecommunications products to defined areas in Arizona , Colorado , Idaho , Iowa , Minnesota , Montana , Nebraska , New Mexico , North Dakota , Oregon , South Dakota , Utah , Washington , and Wyoming . US West

78-460: A "carriers carrier" selling " dark fiber " capacity to other telecom and Internet providers to supplement their networks. The company played a role in growth of the Internet as it built and assembled a national fiber network. Management realized that to continue to grow it needed to offer communication solutions alongside its wholesale network offerings. In July 1998, Time Warner Communications became

117-495: A company created following FairPoint's acquisition, was an operating company wholly owned by Northern New England Telephone Operations. In December 2016 FairPoint was purchased by Consolidated Communications , and the combined company operates under the Consolidated Communications name. In 2010, Frontier Communications acquired Frontier West Virginia , one of the original Bell Operating Companies formerly known as

156-603: A joint venture agreement with Time Warner Cable to form Time Warner Communications (later known as TW Telecom ) in 1993- it also purchased a 26% stake in Time Warner Entertainment's entertainment operations including Warner Bros. and HBO , which was passed to MediaOne, AT&T, and finally Comcast. Comcast sold the stake back to Time Warner Inc. in 2003. US West Communications was the first local telephone company to offer Caller ID service in 1991, nearly four years before any other local telco could do so. They were

195-516: A partnership between Verizon Communications and Vodafone until 2013). The company has largely maintained its lead over the years through further acquisitions (notably, of Alltel Wireless and TracFone) and through organic growth. surpassing T-Mobile and even AT&T in wireless. Over time much of its wireline area was spun off including northern New England to Consolidated Communications and other areas with landline businesses to both Frontier and FairPoint Communications . Lumen Technologies , Inc.

234-604: A protracted bidding war with rival RBOC Qwest, Verizon announced that it would acquire long-distance company MCI . The Verizon and MCI merger closed on January 6, 2006. Bell Atlantic Mobile became the largest wireless carrier in the United States through its merger with NYNEX Mobile, its acquisition of Frontier Cellular, its subsequent merger with GTE Mobile, and its joint venture with Vodafone (consolidating its AirTouch business into Bell Atlantic Mobile). The latter two transactions effectively formed Verizon Wireless (which remained

273-668: A result of the Telecommunications Act of 1996) complained to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that US West was uncooperative in releasing their owned lines to these new companies. These types of complaints landed US West in court yet again, offering the complex question of whether or not the government could legally offer the sale of owned property to other companies in the event of deregulation . In 1996, reports appearing in The Denver Post and

312-499: A separate entity and was reorganized into Time Warner Telecom LLC. In May 1999, the company made an initial public offering. In 1997, the company began delivering communications services to medium and large business customers, carriers and governmental entities. In March 2003, the company introduced Metro Ethernet services, an expansion of the Ethernet model of building-wide communications networks. The metro capability basically expanded

351-433: A short time and increasing revenues. US West also had ownership in the cable industry with its 1994 purchase of Atlanta-based Wometco and GTC cable operations and the subsequent purchase of Continental Cablevision , creating MediaOne Group Inc. MediaOne, along with several ancillary businesses, was spun off as a separate company in 1998 from the traditional phone operations to form MediaOne Group. US West also participated in

390-441: A wider scale (they were the first communications provider to use this strategy called beta-testing , a term used for many years in the software development industry). Their geographic presence featured telephone switching equipment that had been constructed fairly recent to the time frame, thereby requiring fewer upgrades. Their service area was also experiencing population growth at a tremendous rate, tripling their subscriber-base in

429-697: The Rocky Mountain News revealed that CLECs had lodged complaints with the FCC against US West, including multiple complaints from Qwest Communications International, Inc. The complaints alleged US West neglected or seriously delayed release of "bundled loops" as required by the Telecommunications Act of 1996 , making it difficult for competitors to provide local telephone service to their customers. Other competitors began following suit, and charged US West with monopoly-like or anti-trust type behavior. During

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468-454: The Baby Bells . RBOCs were originally known as Regional Holding Companies (RHCs). Three companies still exist that have an RBOC as a predecessor: AT&T , Verizon , and Lumen Technologies (formerly CenturyTel and CenturyLink). Some other companies are holding onto smaller segments of the companies. A "Baby Bell" is a local telephone company in the United States that was in existence at

507-486: The "Bell" names; however, they have been doing business under other names since 2002. Many of these names are still listed with the US Patent and Trademark Office as current trademarks, since these names are still considered in use. Many of these companies have since merged; by the end of 2000, there were only three of the original Baby Bells left in the United States. After the 1984 breakup, part of AT&T Corp.'s Bell Labs

546-520: The 1984 breakup, these became fully independent as well. All nine local-exchange holding companies were assigned a share of the rights to the Bell trademark. After divestiture, AT&T Corp. was prohibited from using the Bell name or logo (with the notable exception of AT&T's Bell Laboratories ) and those trademarks which would be shared by the RBOCs and the two companies AT&T partially owned. Cincinnati Bell

585-585: The AT&;T name upon merger closure on November 18, 2005. SBC began trading as AT&T Inc. on December 1, 2005, but began re-branding as early as November 21 of the same year. In 2006 AT&T Inc. purchased BellSouth . In 1997, NYNEX was acquired by Bell Atlantic (taking the Bell Atlantic name), which later, in 2000, acquired GTE , the largest independent telephone company. Bell Atlantic later changed its name to Verizon that same year. In 2005, following

624-625: The CenturyLink brand. Subsidiaries, with the exception of Qwest Management Company (founded as US West Investment Management Company ), which became CenturyLink Investment Management Company , retained the Qwest name and adopted d/b/a names. Regional Bell Operating Company AT&T agreed to divest its local exchange service operating companies, effective January 1, 1984. The group of local operating companies were split into seven independent Regional Bell Operating Companies, which became known as

663-610: The Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company of West Virginia, in a larger deal including some former GTE companies with Verizon Communications . In December 2013, AT&T agreed to sell SNET to Frontier, with the sale closing in the second half of 2014. On April 1, 2016, Frontier Communications (FTR) completed the data conversions from the Verizon systems for the remaining three largest former GTE properties: California, Florida and Texas. On May 1, 2020, Frontier Communications (FTR) completed

702-639: The Qwest brand was replaced by the CenturyLink brand. US West became a pioneer in the introduction and rapid system-wide implementation of telephone technologies designed by Bellcore (now iconectiv ) in the 1980s and 1990s. Their lead in this push became one that many other Regional Bell Operating Companies had to scramble to keep up with. US West's success in this endeavor was for multiple reasons which included their then-innovative use of "test-markets" for staggered roll-outs of new calling features in middle-sized cities such as Boise, Idaho ; Minneapolis , Minnesota; and Phoenix, Arizona before releasing them on

741-410: The U.S.. On July 1, 2008, the company was renamed TW Telecom. The company had used the name Time Warner Telecom under an agreement with Time Warner Inc. , its former parent company. The name was changed when Time Warner Inc. declined to renew the agreement allowing the use of its name. The company had considered several names, but elected to use the initials "tw" to help maintain its brand legacy in

780-460: The US West name, while the remaining assets such as cable, wireless and international businesses became MediaOne. The split was structured so that MediaOne Inc. was the legal successor to US West Inc., and US West was the spin-off entity. US West merged with Qwest on June 30, 2000, and over time the US West brand was replaced by the Qwest brand. Qwest merged with CenturyLink on April 1, 2011, and

819-668: The company for $ 2.6 billion. On September 7, 2021, Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets completed its purchase of Cincinnati Bell, Inc. and later rebranded the company name to AltaFiber. FairPoint Communications , an independent provider based in North Carolina , acquired Northern New England Telephone Operations . NNETO is an operating company split from the original New England Telephone to serve access lines in Maine and New Hampshire . The sale of these lines by Verizon to FairPoint closed in 2008. Telephone Operating Company of Vermont ,

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858-504: The company often claimed that subscriber demands were often greater than their ability to fulfill orders, many critics pointed to high profit margins, spending on bring-to-market technology and lackluster investment in customer support. US West went through a period of union-management relations that bordered on positive during the early 1990s. After a failed re-engineering strategy, relations fell apart due to increasing hostility between company leaders and employees. An often-used nickname for

897-637: The company was "US Worst." When the company rolled out its new slogan – "Life's better here" – employees began wearing buttons and shirts that stated that "Life's Bitter Here". The company was fined multiple times by the State of Oregon for these practices during the 1990s. US West was also, at several times, involved in smaller litigation with other states within its service area for similar complaints from customers. Qwest, MCI , and smaller competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs) who had recently been allowed to offer local service within US West's service area (as

936-401: The company was a joint venture between US West and Time Warner Cable , a division of Time Warner Entertainment , to deliver data and telecommunication services over a hybrid fiber and coaxial network. The company was successful in their efforts, but at the time the cost to build fiber directly to consumer's homes proved too expensive to be profitable. In the mid-1990s the company evolved into

975-433: The company's trademark rights. Following the company updating its logo in 2015 and subsequent reimaging of its trucks, the Bell logo has since been removed. Malheur Bell , an autonomous local phone company owned by Qwest , used the Bell name and logo until its merger into Qwest in 2009. Apart from historical documents, AT&T does not presently make active use of the Bell marks. Its local exchange companies have retained

1014-402: The first U.S. telco to upgrade their PSTN to electronic switching before 1990 and they were the first to offer residential and business ISDN and later, DSL services to their customers by 1997. As a result of its rapid "bring-to-market" abilities and continued success in technological advancements, the company adopted the slogan "Life's better here." developed by ad agency NW Ayer. US West

1053-481: The sale of its Northwest Regional companies of Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington to Ziply Fiber in an effort to avoid Chapter 11 bankruptcy. This move did not solve Frontier Communications financial problems resulting in a Chapter 11 Bankruptcy filing on April 14, 2020. Frontier went public again on May 4, 2021, with FYBR as its trading symbol on NASDAQ, after changing its name to "Frontier Communications Parent". TW Telecom TW Telecom (styled tw telecom ),

1092-490: The three companies began doing business under the US West Communications name. On January 1, 1991, Northwestern Bell and Pacific Northwest Bell were legally merged into Mountain Bell which was renamed US West Communications, Inc. US West was the first RBOC to consolidate its Bell Operating Companies (the other was BellSouth ). In 1998, US West split into two separate companies. Its telephone properties maintained

1131-657: The time of the breakup of AT&T into the resulting Regional Bell Operating Companies (RBOCs). Sometimes also referred to as an "ILEC" (Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier) they were the former Bell System or Independent Telephone Company responsible for providing local telephone exchange services in a specified geographic area. After the Modification of Final Judgment , the resulting Baby Bells were originally named: Prior to 1984, AT&T Corp. also held investments in two smaller and otherwise independent companies, Cincinnati Bell and Southern New England Telephone (SNET). Following

1170-415: The use of Ethernet across a city or region allowing for seamless connectivity of locations that were on the network of connected Ethernet rings. This capability enabled the company to offer advanced Internet, data and voice services. In July 2006, Time Warner Telecom acquired Xspedius Communications for $ 531.5 million, adding additional metropolitan markets. TW Telecom had operations in 75 markets across

1209-494: The winter of 1999–2000, US West announced that it had received an unsolicited purchase offer from Qwest Communications International, Inc. At the time, US West had been attempting to merge with Global Crossing , because the offer from Qwest was for a higher value, the US West Board accepted it. On June 30, 2000, US West, Inc. and Qwest Communications International, Inc. combined via merger. Qwest Communications International, Inc.

US West - Misplaced Pages Continue

1248-594: Was a business telecommunications company headquartered in Littleton , Colorado , United States . The company provided business voice services, transport, Internet, data services and wholesale fiber capacity. It was an early leader in the deployment of Ethernet for metropolitan areas, dubbed Metro Ethernet. The company was acquired by Level 3 Communications on November 1, 2014. Exactly three years later, CenturyLink (now Lumen Technologies ) acquired Level 3 Communications. Founded in 1993 as Time Warner Communications ,

1287-758: Was a public company traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "USW" with headquarters at 1801 California Street in Denver , Colorado. Until 1990, US West was a holding company with three Bell Operating Companies : Mountain States Telephone & Telegraph (or Mountain Bell , headquartered in Denver , Colorado); Northwestern Bell , then headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska ; and Pacific Northwest Bell , then headquartered in Seattle , Washington. In 1988,

1326-581: Was completed in April 2011. In August 2011, the Qwest branding was retired and replaced by that of CenturyLink. CenturyLink rebranded to Lumen Technologies in September 2020. The former independent Bell System franchisee Cincinnati Bell , which was not part of the 1984 divestiture because AT&T held only a minority stake in the company, remains independent of the RBOCs. In December 2019, Cincinnati Bell announced that Brookfield Infrastructure Partners would acquire

1365-474: Was merged into US West and renamed Qwest with all of US West's direct subsidiaries becoming direct subsidiaries of Qwest. After the merger, the Bell Operating Company subsidiary was renamed from US West Communications, Inc. to Qwest Corporation and other subsidiaries were similarly renamed to reflect the Qwest name. After Qwest was acquired by CenturyLink in 2011, the Qwest brand was replaced by

1404-434: Was one of the first companies in the United States to officially recognize and support its gay and lesbian employees. The Eagles, an employee resource group for gay and lesbian US West employees, was recognized in 1989. It had chapters in seven US states by 1990. US West was accused by critics of failing to meet service needs within a reasonable time frame and of practicing predatory billing and collection methods. While

1443-562: Was originally Century Telephone (CenturyTel), and took the Centurylink name in 2009 when it acquired Embarq , the former local operations of Sprint Nextel , which also included the former operations of Centel . The company, as CenturyTel, had acquired some Wisconsin Bell lines from Ameritech in 1998. Qwest , a Denver -based fiber optics long-distance company, had taken over US West in 2000. CenturyLink announced in April 2010 its intent to buy Qwest for US$ 10.6 billion. The transaction

1482-556: Was split off into Bellcore , which would serve as an R&D and standards body for the seven Baby Bells. In 1997, Bellcore was acquired by Science Applications International Corporation where it became a wholly owned subsidiary and was renamed Telcordia . Southwestern Bell Corporation , which changed its name to SBC Communications in 1995, acquired Pacific Telesis in 1997, SNET in 1998, and Ameritech in 1999. In February 2005, SBC announced its plans to acquire former parent company AT&T Corp. for over $ 16 billion. SBC took on

1521-690: Was the last RBOC to hold the "Bell" name, but it rebranded as Altafiber in March of 2022. Additionally, Bell Canada , the former Bell Telephone Company of Canada (founded in 1880) and which started separating from the Bell System in 1956, and completely by 1975, continues to use the "Bell" trademarks, which it owns outright in Canada. Verizon continued to use the Bell logo on its payphones (including former GTE payphones), hard hats, trucks, and buildings, most likely intending to display continued use in order to maintain

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