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59 Geo. Wash. L. Rev. 1103 (1990-1991)
AT&T Consent Decree Revisited: Setting the Stage to Free the Baby Bells

handle is hein.journals/gwlr59 and id is 1113 raw text is: AT&T* THE AT&T CONSENT DECREE REVISITED: SETTING THE STAGE TO FREE THE BABY BELLS In 1974 the Department ofJustice (DOJ) initiated an antitrust ac- tion against American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T), Bell Telephone Laboratories, Inc.,' and Western Electric Company, Inc.2 (Bell System), alleging that the Bell System had violated sec- tion 2 of the Sherman Act.3 In 1982 the action was settled by con- sent decree.4 The decree divested the Bell Operating Companies (BOCs)5 from AT&T6 and vacated a preexisting consent decree against the Bell System.7 The decree permitted AT&T to enter all * This Chapter was developed by Jennifer L. Rand. 1. Bell Telephone Laboratories, Inc., ajointly owned subsidiary of American Tele- phone & Telegraph Co. (AT&T) and Western Electric Co., Inc. (Bell System), is en- gaged in the research and design of telecommunications and other products. United States v. American Tel. and Tel. Co. (AT&T), 552 F. Supp. 131, 136 n.6 (D.D.C. 1982), aff'd men. sub nom. Maryland v. United States, 460 U.S. 1001 (1983). 2. Western Electric Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of AT&T that manufac- tures telecommunications products. Id at 135 n.3. 3. Id at 139. Section 2 provides in part: Every person who shall monopolize... or combine... with any other person or persons, to monopolize any part of the trade or commerce among the several States . . . shall be deemed guilty of a felony, and on conviction thereof, shall be punished by fine not exceeding one million dollars. 15 U.S.C. § 2 (1988). 4. AT&T, 552 F. Supp. at 225. 5. There are seven Regional Holding Companies (Bell Atlantic, Southwestern Bell, US West, Ameritech, BellSouth, Pacific Telesis, and NYNEX), further divided into 22 Bell Operating Companies, all of which were part of the Bell System prior to divestiture. United States v. Western Elec. Co. (Western Eectric III), 900 F.2d 283, 290 n.3 (D.C. Cir.) (per curiam), cert. denied, 111 S. Ct. 283 (1990). In its opinions, the D.C. Circuit refers to both the Regional Holding Companies and the Bell Operating Companies as BOCs. IdL 6. AT&T, 552 F. Supp. at 170. 7. See id. at 178, 226. The 1974 action against the Bell System was not the first time June 1991 Vol. 59 No. 5 1103

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