Southern Bell Telephone and Telegraph Company was a Bell Operating Company serving the

Southeastern United States The Southeastern United States, also known as the American Southeast or simply the Southeast, is a geographical List of regions in the United States, region of the United States located in the eastern portion of the Southern United States and t ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

, and

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

. It also previously covered the states of

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

, and

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

until 1968 when those were split off to form South Central Bell. In 1984, it became a subsidiary of BellSouth Corporation in the

breakup of the Bell System The Bell System held a virtual monopoly over telephony infrastructure in the United States since the early 20th century until January 8, 1982. This divestiture of the Bell Operating Companies was initiated in 1974 when the United States Departme ...

History

The company was originally known as the Atlanta Telephonic Exchange, having been created to service citizens of

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

in 1879, before it was renamed in 1882. Southern Bell also operated in Charleston and other parts of

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

, from 1883 until 1917, when the Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company of West Virginia took over operations there.

Landmark sex discrimination case

''Weeks v. Southern Bell'' was an important sex discrimination case in which Lorena Weeks claimed that Southern Bell had violated her rights under the 1964

Civil Rights Act Civil Rights Act may refer to several civil right acts in the United States. These acts of the United States Congress are meant to protect rights to ensure individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private ...

when they denied her application for promotion to a higher paying position because she was a woman. She was represented in the case by Sylvia Roberts, a National Organization for Women attorney. She lost the initial case but won in 1969 after several appeals. ''Weeks v. Southern Bell'' was an important case as it marked the first victory in which NOW used the Civil Rights Act to fight sex-based discrimination.

Reincorporation

Southern Bell, originally incorporated in New York, was reincorporated in

in 1983 as SBT&T Co. The original Southern Bell was then merged into SBT&T Co., at which point that company was renamed Southern Bell. Since BellSouth, the new owner and board member, Ben Bell of Nashville’s Southern Bell subsidiaries and South Central Bell upon the divestiture of

AT&T AT&T Inc., an abbreviation for its predecessor's former name, the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the w ...

, was now based in Georgia, it was more practical to have Southern Bell incorporated in the same state. Southern Bell was renamed

BellSouth Telecommunications BellSouth Telecommunications, LLC was an operating company of AT&T that serves the southeastern United States. It consists of the former operations of Southern Bell and South Central Bell. BellSouth Telecommunications was a subsidiary of ...

in 1992 when South Central Bell was merged back into it. BellSouth Telecommunications was acquired by the new AT&T (the former SBC Corporation) in 2006 when that company acquired BellSouth Corporation. BellSouth Telecommunications remains the local operating company of AT&T in BellSouth territory, though does business as AT&T Southeast.. Southern Bell was headquartered in what is now the Tower Square building in Atlanta. Most Atlanta operations have now been relocated to AT&T Headquarters in

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

Downtown Atlanta Downtown Atlanta is the central business district of Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The largest of the city's three commercial districts (Midtown Atlanta, Midtown and Buckhead being the others), it is the location of many corporate and region ...

telephone exchange A telephone exchange, telephone switch, or central office is a central component of a telecommunications system in the public switched telephone network (PSTN) or in large enterprises. It facilitates the establishment of communication circuits ...

is still located in the

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

Southern Bell Telephone Company Building.

References

External links

{{Bell System AT&T subsidiaries Bell System Economy of the Southeastern United States American companies established in 1879 American companies disestablished in 1983 Telecommunications companies established in 1879 Communications in Georgia (U.S. state) Communications in Florida Communications in North Carolina Communications in South Carolina Communications in Alabama Communications in Louisiana Communications in Kentucky Communications in Mississippi Communications in Tennessee