Breaking up the Bells

The litigation that resulted in the breaking up of what was then commonly referred to as Ma Bell, was U.S. v. AT&T.

In 1974, the Department of Justice filed an antitrust suit against the old American Telephone & Telegraph company and accused it of using its monopoly powers to thwart competition. In 1984, the parties settled and the mammoth conglomerate was split into seven Bell telecommunication companies and became a much smaller AT&T.

Extra credit: Can you name the judge who oversaw the settlement? It was Judge Harold Greene who died in 2000.