Free Republic

The rotary dial phone was once the be all and end all of the telephones. Like the cellphone of today, everybody had one, and they ruled domestic communications for decades. But that all changed in the 1980s when they were supplanted by a new upstart, push-button telephones. Their days were numbered (pun intended). Many born after the 1990s have likely never seen one, which is a shame. But for those who do remember, join us as we take a trip back in time in remembrance of this glorious piece of telecommunications history.

It's been an interesting week. Last weekend, I wrote about a sudden surge in my family's cell phone data through Verizon. In my unscientific survey that lasted one week, every friend and acquaintance I asked said they were having the same problem: Their monthly data use had been soaring in recent months for no apparent reason. In some cases, using more data meant hefty over-limit fees. Well, well, well. Since my column ran a week ago, I've heard from about 700 Verizon customers (and quite a few AT&T customers too) in Ohio and many other states. Most have iPhones. Some...

WASHINGTON - The Federal Communications Commission unanimously approved AT&T Inc.'s $86 billion buyout of BellSouth Corp. Friday, the day after the company offered a new slate of concessions for consumers and competitors. The FCC's approval was the last major regulatory hurdle for the proposed deal, which is the largest telecommunications merger in U.S. history. Lawyers for AT&T and the two Democratic commissioners who had opposed the merger, hammered out a compromise, the details of which were released Thursday night. Among the conditions offered by AT&T is a promise to observe "network neutrality" principles, an offer of $19.95 per month stand-alone...

A widow rented a rotary dial telephone for 42 years, paying what her family calculates as more than $14,000 for a now outdated phone.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - AT&T plans to abandon the Cingular brand name for its cell phone service as early as 2007, according to a magazine report. The company says it is making the change to reduce customer confusion about its brands, and will rename the division "AT&T Wireless," according to Advertising Age. AT&T wants to sell customers bundled landline, Internet and wireless services under the same brand. Advertising experts say the move could bring heavy marketing costs, as much as $500 million each year for several years, the report said. AT&T first announced plans to shed the Cingular name after...

March 20, 2006 issue - Never count out a brand. Not long ago the once great AT&T name was headed for the boneyard, as was its former chairman's daring strategy of milking a cash-cow business for money to bet on fast-growth telecom. Now, as we see from last week's $90 billion telecom deal, both the AT&T name and its strategy are back. Big time. Who'da thunk it? When SBC Communications made a deal last winter to buy the shrunken remnants of faded blue-chip AT&T, it said it would eliminate the brand. Both AT&T Wireless and AT&T Broadband had previously been...

AT&T is on the rise again. A 20th century industrial icon, the company once known as American Telephone & Telegraph was chopped into pieces in the 1980s and then withered into a bite-size company that was easily swallowed up by one of its offspring last year. A proposed $67 billion deal to acquire BellSouth Corp., perhaps the biggest merger ever in the telecommunications industry, will restore some of AT&T’s lost heft, making it the local phone service provider in 22 states and giving it a workforce of more than 300,000 people. But for all its size the new AT&T is...

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- AT&T Inc. announced Sunday that it will buy regional-phone company BellSouth Corp. for $67 billion in stock, consummating a long-rumored deal that would create a gigantic communications provider with tentacles extending deep into the phone, wireless, Internet and even pay-TV markets. The acquisition would also give AT&T sole control of Cingular Wireless, the biggest U.S. wireless operator with more than 54 million customers. AT&T owns 60%, with BellSouth controlling the rest. Under the agreement, AT&T (T : AT&T Inc. News , chart, profile, more Last: 27.99-0.29-1.03%4:00pm 03/03/2006Add to portfolioAnalyst Create alert InsiderDiscussFinancials Sponsored by: T27.99, -0.29,...

Excerpt - AT&T Inc. is nearing the acquisition of BellSouth Corp. for roughly $65 billion, people familiar with the situation said Saturday evening. A deal could be announced as early as Monday, these people said. ~snip~

Offering Customers a New Leader in Communications and Entertainment, Leading Industry Transformation to Integrated, IP-Based Services SAN ANTONIO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 18, 2005--Today marks the birth of AT&T Inc. and of a new standard-bearer in communications, entertainment and service for the 21st century. SBC Communications Inc. (NYSE:SBC - News) closed its acquisition of AT&T Corp. today as California regulators approved the transaction -- the final approval needed for the merger of the companies' highly complementary networks, product portfolios, capabilities and shared heritage. The combined enterprise will immediately begin a well-planned integration process, allowing the new AT&T family of companies to quickly deliver...

The fighting entrepreneurial spirit was a hallmark of the man who helped found MCI -- William G. McGowan. McGowan, a financier who was brought in to save the nearly bankrupt MCI Communications Corp., in 1968 was a scrappy fighter determined to take on the giant AT&T, which at that time had monopoly control over all telephone service in the United States. Early in his bid to offer long-distance service, McGowan concluded that the company needed to be in Washington, where it could monitor its battles in the courts and Congress and before the Federal Communications Commission. Until then, the only...

ATLANTA - Cingular Wireless won the bidding war to acquire AT&T Wireless Services for nearly $41 billion in cash, a deal that would create the nation’s largest cell phone company. The merger between the second and third largest U.S. wireless companies was announced Tuesday as Britain’s Vodafone Group PLC withdrew from the contest after four days of rising bids.