Ma Bell
Old phone monopoly
Ma Bell is an informal, often affectionate nickname for AT&T, the American telephone monopoly that dominated telecommunications for most of the twentieth century.
The name personifies the company as a maternal figure—reliable, omnipresent, and slightly overbearing.
After the 1984 breakup of the Bell System, the regional companies became known as Baby Bells: I worked for Ma Bell for thirty years before the divestiture.
Stationary wired telephone
- rotary phoneCircular-dial telephone
- operatorOne who works machinery
- dial toneSound indicating phone readiness
- busy signalTelephonic rejection sound
payphone · phone booth · collect call · party line · touch-tone · wall phone · telephone directory · phone company
Disposal of assets
- AT&TTelecommunications conglomerate
- consent decreeCourt-approved agreement without liability admission
- 1984Dystopian surveillance state tale
- fragmentationBreaking into smaller pieces
spinoff · settlement · restructuring · subsidiaries · dissolution · Ameritech · BellSouth · separation
New device or method
- telephoneVoice communication device
- patentObvious; inventor's monopoly
- 1876Late nineteenth century
- Western UnionRemittance service company
Against corporate market dominance
- dominanceSuperior influence over others
- market controlDominance over trade conditions
- barrier to entryCompetitive impediment for newcomers
- vertical integrationOwning multiple production stages
universal service · natural monopoly · market power · price control · bundled services
landline
Stationary wired telephone
- rotary phoneCircular-dial telephone
- operatorOne who works machinery
- dial toneSound indicating phone readiness
busy signal · payphone · phone booth · collect call · party line · touch-tone · wall phone · telephone directory · phone company · monthly bill
divestiture
Disposal of assets
- AT&TTelecommunications conglomerate
- consent decreeCourt-approved agreement without liability admission
- 1984Dystopian surveillance state tale
fragmentation · spinoff · settlement · restructuring · subsidiaries · dissolution · Ameritech · BellSouth · separation · local service
invention
New device or method
Western Union · voice transmission · telephone exchange · party lines
antitrust
Against corporate market dominance
- dominanceSuperior influence over others
- market controlDominance over trade conditions
- barrier to entryCompetitive impediment for newcomers
vertical integration · universal service · natural monopoly · market power · price control · bundled services
Ma Bellfree market
Commerce without state intervention
deregulation · open competition · antitrust · Sprint · MCI
Ma Bellwireless carriers
Cellular service providers
mobile networks · digital age · smartphone era · VoIP · Skype
Ma Bellstartup culture
Entrepreneurial workplace norms
Amazon · Google · Apple · Uber · venture capital