by consolidation in the telephone indus- try occurred initially between around 1910 and some would contend, 1982. Telephone service in the United States was almost solely the domain of AT&T, or The American Telephone and Telegraph Com- pany. AT&T was a large, highly regulated monopoly. In other coun- tries telephone service was mostly a government utility, usually part of the post office, thus the acronym PTT for Postal, Telephone, and Telegraph service. An example of successful consolidation and growth in the telephone industry involves the consolidation of the original Bell Telephone Company and New England Telephone Company into American Bell, Inc. On December 30, 1899, American Bell became a wholly owned subsidiary of American Telephone and Telegraph Corpor- ation, a New York Long Distance Company, and a wholly owned subsidiary of American Telephone and Telegraph Company. AT&T was incorporated in 1885 to manage and expand the long distance business of American Bell Telephone Company and its licensees. In 1899, it assumed the business and property of American Bell and became the parent company of the Bell System, yet another informal name. The company grew and consolidated over many years as a legal regulated monopoly. It literally built a public telephone system in the United States with connections and relationships outside the United States that were the envy of the world for many years. The company was organized across three lines of business: local and long distance, (including international), telephone service and equipment PRACTICAL IP AND TELECOM FOR BROADCAST ENGINEERING AND OPERATIONS manufacturing (Figure 2-1). Regulation of the company was centered on the prices it could charge for it's local and long distance service. The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) dealt with inter- state and international pricing. State Public Utility Commissions (PUCs) regulated intra-state pricing. Overall economics of the company turned on revenue produced by the local operating companies and the long distance 