RBOC
RBOC definition - telecom
Also known as Regional Holding Company (RHC). In the United States, each of the seven regional companies formed by the Modified Final Judgement (MFJ), which broke up the AT&T Bell System effective January 1, 1984. Each RBOC comprised one or more of the 22 Bell Operating Companies (BOCs) that previously were wholly owned by AT&T. Over time, each RBOC fully absorbed its component BOCs, creating a single legal entity with a centralized management structure. As Cincinnati Bell and Southern New England Telephone (SNET) were not wholly owned by AT&T, they were divested as standalone operating telephone companies. Table R-1 maps the BOCs into the RBOC organizations.
| Bell Operating Companies (Primary States of Operation), Pre-divestiture | Regional Bell Operating Companies (Headquarters), Post-divestiture |
|---|---|
| Illinois Bell (Illinois) | Ameritech (Illinois). Acquired by SBC Communications (October, 1999); now AT&T. |
| Indiana Bell (Indiana) | |
| Michigan Bell (Michigan) | |
| Ohio Bell (Ohio) | |
| Wisconsin Telephone (Wisconsin) | |
| Bell of Pennsylvania (Pennsylvania) | Bell Atlantic (Pennsylvania); now Verizon Communications. |
| Diamond State Telephone (Delaware) | |
| The Chesapeake and Potomac Companies (District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia) | |
| New Jersey Bell (New Jersey) | |
| South Central Bell (Alabama, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee) | BellSouth (Georgia). Acquired by AT&T (January 2007). |
| Southern Bell (Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina) | |
| New England Telephone (Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont) | NYNEX (New York). Acquired by Bell Atlantic (August 1997); now Verizon Communications. |
| New York Telephone (New York) | |
| Pacific Bell (California) | Pacific Telesis (California). Acquired by SBC (April 1997); now AT&T. |
| Nevada Bell (Nevada) | |
| Southwestern Bell (Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas) | Southwestern Bell Corporation (Texas), then SBC Communications; now AT&T (November 2005). |
| Mountain Bell (Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming) | US West (Colorado). Acquired by Qwest (June 2000). |
| Northwestern Bell (Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, Nebraska, and South Dakota) | |
| Pacific Northwest Bell (Oregon and Washington) |
Webster's New World Telecom Dictionary Copyright © 2008 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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