Pretty reliable operation all the way around. No wonder the commies had to carve it up.
I really miss the sound quality - and the fact that even with a power outage, you still had a phone for emergency (as long as a pole wasn’t knocked down :-)
That was not the reason and you need to look that case up. ATT was withholding a lot of technology. After the breakup Cell phone service exploded. Look MCI vs ATT, that case went for about 13 years in court.