[IP] more on The Return of Ma Bell -- AT&T (SBC) to buy BellSouth?]]
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: [IP] more on The Return of Ma Bell -- AT&T (SBC) to buy
BellSouth?]
Date: Sun, 05 Mar 2006 09:39:47 -0800
From: Richard Perlman <perl@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: David Farber <dave@xxxxxxxxxx>, Lauren Weinstein <lauren@xxxxxxxxxx>
CC: ip@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Dave, Lauren:
There is a common misconception expressed in the comments (below) about the
breakup and getting back together again of at&t. In 1954 the DoJ filed suit
against AT&T for maintaining a vertical monopoly. The basis of the suit was
that as the manufacturer of the equipment it used to operate the "Bell
System" AT&T was engaging in unfair competition. In 1984, when the
anti-trust suit was finally settled, it was the horizontal monopoly that was
broken up, not the vertical monopoly. AT&T continued to own Western
Electric, Bell Labs and the former "Long Lines."
Why did AT&T give up the unchallenged horizontal monopoly? Because they
thought they could make a killing in the emerging mini-computer market with
their 3B20 systems - a market they had been previously excluded from by
regulatory dictate.
Ironically, is wasn't much more than 10 years later that AT&T effectively
did what the DoJ had tried to do in 1954, when they spun-off the former
Western Electric as Lucent Technologies. Even more ironic, this is exactly
what Alvin Toffler recommended to AT&T in 1972 as detailed in his book
"adaptive Corporation."
(See http://books.global-investor.com/books/20897.htm )
So, the real "reconciliation" of AT&T would be for the new at&t to acquire
Lucent - and that just is not going to happen.
Check out http://www.bellsystemmemorial.com/bellopercomp.html if you are
interested in the history of the 'Bell System."
Richard
On 3/5/06 08:22, "Dave Farber" <dave@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
>
> -------- Original Message --------
> Subject: The Return of Ma Bell -- AT&T (SBC) to buy BellSouth?
> Date: Sun, 05 Mar 2006 08:16:45 -0800 (PST)
> From: Lauren Weinstein <lauren@xxxxxxxxxx>
> To: dave@xxxxxxxxxx
> CC: lauren@xxxxxxxxxx
>
> Dave,
>
> ... You'll recall the robot cop who was blasted apart into globs
> of mercuric metal, that flowed back together to recreate the
> original whole.
>
> That's what's happening now -- with the smiling approval of Congress
> and the FCC -- far along the path of resurrecting a new Ma Bell with
> powers and influence that will vastly exceed even those of the
> original Bell System.
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