Verizon Communications

 

Verizon Communications Inc. is an American broadband and telecommunications company and a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average.It started in 1983 as Bell Atlantic (based in New York City)with a footprint covering New Jersey to Virginia and emerged as part of the 1984 Breakup of AT&T into seven "Baby Bells." In 1997, Bell Atlantic merged with another Regional Bell Operating Company, NYNEX, based in New York City with a footprint spanning from New York to Maine.

 The combined company kept the Bell Atlantic name. In 2000, Bell Atlantic acquired former independent phone company GTE, and adopted the name "Verizon", a portmanteau of veritas (Latin for "truth") and horizon. The company's headquarters are located in the Verizon Building at 140 West Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City.

Verizon was founded as Bell Atlantic Corporation, by William J. Kathrein. It was one of the "Baby Bells" that were formed as a result of the anti-trust judgment against the American Telephone & Telegraph Company. Bell Atlantic then inherited seven of the Bell Operating Companies from AT&T (later known as AT&T Corporation) following its breakup. Bell Atlantic's original roster of operating companies included:

    The Bell Telephone Company of Pennsylvania.

    New Jersey Bell Telephone Company.

    The Diamond State Telephone Company.

    The Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company.

    The Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company of Maryland.

    The Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company of Virginia.

    The Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company of West Virginia.

Bell Atlantic originally operated in the US states of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, and Virginia, as well as Washington, D.C.

In 1994, Bell Atlantic became the first Regional Bell Operating Company to entirely drop the original names of its original operating companies. Operating company titles were simplified to "Bell Atlantic – state name".

In 1996, CEO and Chairman Raymond W. Smith orchestrated Bell Atlantic's merger with NYNEX CEO Ivan G. Seidenberg. When it merged, it moved its corporate headquarters from Philadelphia to New York City where CEO's Smith and Seidenberg shared Co-CEO duties. NYNEX was consolidated into this name by 1997.Prior to its merger with GTE, Bell Atlantic traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the "BEL" symbol.Verizon Wireless formation and GTE merger

 

On September 21, 1999, Bell Atlantic and UK-based Vodafone AirTouch Plc (now Vodafone Group Plc) announced that they had agreed to create a new wireless business with a national footprint, a single brand and a common digital technology – composed of Bell Atlantic's and Vodafone's U.S. wireless assets (Bell Atlantic Mobile (which was previously called Bell Atlantic-NYNEX Mobile by 1997), AirTouch Cellular, PrimeCo Personal Communications, and AirTouch Paging). This wireless joint venture received regulatory approval in six months, and began operations as Verizon Wireless on April 4, 2000, kicking off the new "Verizon" brand name.

Bell Atlantic acquired GTE on June 30, 2000 and changed its name to Verizon Communications Inc. It was among the largest mergers in United States business history. It was the result of a definitive merger agreement, dated July 27, 1998, between Bell Atlantic, based in New York City since the merger with NYNEX in 1996, and GTE, which was in the process of moving its headquarters from Stamford, Connecticut, to Irving, Texas.

The Bell Atlantic–GTE merger, priced at more than $52 billion at the time of the announcement, closed nearly two years later, following analysis and approvals by Bell Atlantic and GTE shareowners, 27 state regulatory commissions and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and clearance from the United States Department of Justice and various international agencies.

The merger of Bell Atlantic and GTE, to form Verizon Communications, became effective on June 30, 2000. Verizon began trading on the NYSE under its new "VZ" symbol on Monday, July 3, 2000. GTE's wireless operations became part of Verizon Wireless – creating what was initially the nation's largest wireless company before Cingular Wireless acquired AT&T Wireless in 2004 – when the Bell Atlantic–GTE merger closed nearly three months later. Verizon then became the majority owner (55%) of Verizon Wireless.

Bell Atlantic's CEO Ivan Seidenberg and GTE's Charles Lee were co-CEO's from 2000 to 2002 when Seidenberg became sole CEO, a position he held until July 2011 when he was succeeded by Lowell McAdam.

Verizon shares were made a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average on April 8, 2004. Verizon currently has 140.3 million land lines in service. With the MCI merger, it has more than 250,000 employees. Verizon serves customers throughout much of the United States.

In late 2004, Verizon sold its 20.5% stake in Telus, a Canadian telecom. This was so that they could focus more on its own services. The stake came from GTE, which held stocks in BCTel, a Telus predecessor.