The Seven Sisters of the Telephone

The “Baby Bells”

Officially, the Regional Bell Operating Companies (RBOCs)

Formed January 1, 1984

• Bell Atlantic (acquired GTE in 2002 and changed name to Verizon; acquired MCI in 2006)
  • The Bell Telephone Company of Pennsylvania
  • New Jersey Bell Telelephone Company
  • The Diamond State Telephone Company (DE)
  • Chesapeake & Potomac Telephone Company (DC)
  • C & P Tel Co of Maryland
  • C & P Tel Co of Virginia
  • C & P Tel Co of West Virginia (Sold to Frontier Communications, 2010)
• NYNEX (merged the two subsidiaries January 1, 1994; merged by Bell Atlantic 1997)
  • The New York Telephone Company
  • New England Telephone & Telegraph Company (CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT)
• Bell South (acquired by SBC [the new AT&T] in 2006)
  • Southern Bell Telephone & Telegraph Company (GA, NC, SC, FL)
  • South Central Bell Telephone Company (AL, MS, LA, KY, AR, TN)
• USWest (merged by Qwest in 2000; acquired by CenturyLink 2010-11; rebranded Lumen Technologies 2020)
  • Northwestern Bell Telephone Company (NE, SD, ND, MN, IA)
  • Pacific Northwest Bell Telephone Company (WA, OR, ID)
  • The Mountain States Telephone & Telegraph Company (CO, UT, WY, MT, AZ, NM)
• Southwestern Bell (changed name to  SBC Communications in 1995; acquired Pacific Telesis in 1997, SNET in 1998, and Ameritech in 1999; merged them all in 2002; in 2005, acquired AT&T, and began using the AT&T name; in 2006, acquired BellSouth)
  • Southwestern Bell Tel. Company (MO, OK, TX, KS)
• AmeriTech (acquired by SBC 1997; merged 2002)
  • The Ohio Bell Telephone Company
  • Indiana Bell Telephone Company
  • Illinois Bell Telephone Company
  • Michigan Bell Telephone Company
  • Wisconsin Telephone Company
• Pacific Telesis (acquired by SBC 1997; merged 2002)
  • Bell Telephone Company of Nevada
  • Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Company (CA) [Renamed Pacific Bell in 1984]