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AirTouch Communications, Inc. was an American wireless telephone service provider, created as a spin-off of Pacific Telesis on April 1, 1994. Its headquarters were located in the One California building in the
On June 30, 1999, AirTouch Communications merged with UK-based 
Verizon Wireless still maintains a
Archive of Airtouch Intercept Messages
{{DEFAULTSORT:Airtouch 1994 establishments in California 1999 mergers and acquisitions 2006 disestablishments in California Companies based in San Francisco Corporate spin-offs Defunct companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area Defunct mobile phone companies of the United States Technology companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area Telecommunications companies disestablished in 2006 Telecommunications companies established in 1994 Verizon Wireless Vodafone
Financial District
A financial district is usually a central area in a city where financial services firms such as banks, insurance companies, and other related finance corporations have their headquarters offices. In major cities, financial districts often host ...
of San Francisco
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
, California. After a series of mergers, the company's vestiges are now part of Verizon
Verizon Communications Inc. ( ), is an American telecommunications company headquartered in New York City. It is the world's second-largest telecommunications company by revenue and its mobile network is the largest wireless carrier in the ...
.
History
At the time of the Bell System divestiture in 1984, each Regional Bell Operating Company (Baby Bell) was given a portion of theAdvanced Mobile Phone System
Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS) was an analog mobile phone system standard originally developed by Bell Labs and later modified in a cooperative effort between Bell Labs and Motorola. It was officially introduced in the Americas on October ...
(AMPS) network corresponding to its service area. Pacific Telesis, the Baby Bell covering California and Nevada, spun off its wireless services as AirTouch Communications in 1994.
US West's US West New Vector was also created from AMPS. In July 1994, U S West agreed to a joint venture with AirTouch as a prelude to merging the cellular unit into AirTouch. By 1996, all accounts were operated under the AirTouch name. Due to regulatory issues, the full merger was not completed until February 1998. As part of the merger, certain overlapping areas of coverage had to be sold to other wireless providers. Many of these went to GTE Wireless.
On June 30, 1999, AirTouch Communications merged with UK-based Vodafone
Vodafone Group Public Limited Company () is a British Multinational company, multinational telecommunications company. Its registered office and global headquarters are in Newbury, Berkshire, England. It predominantly operates Service (economic ...
, becoming Vodafone AirTouch, after rejecting overtures from Bell Atlantic
A bell Help:IPA/English, /ˈbɛl/ () is a struck idiophone, directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficien ...
. In September 1999, Vodafone AirTouch announced a $70-billion joint venture with Bell Atlantic to be called Verizon Wireless, which would be composed of the two companies' U.S. wireless assets, Bell Atlantic Mobile (another AMPS spinoff) and AirTouch Cellular. This wireless joint venture received regulatory approval in six months, and began operations as Verizon Wireless on April 4, 2000. On June 30, 2000, the addition of GTE Wireless' assets, in connection with the merger of Bell Atlantic and GTE
GTE Corporation, formerly General Telephone & Electronics Corporation (1955–1982), was the largest independent telephone company in the United States during the days of the Bell System. The company operated from 1926, with roots tracing furth ...
to form Verizon Communications
Verizon Communications Inc. ( ), is an American telecommunications company headquartered in New York City. It is the world's second-largest telecommunications company by revenue and its mobile network is the largest wireless carrier in the ...
, made Verizon Wireless the nation's largest wireless communications provider. For the joint venture, Verizon Communications owned 55% and Vodafone owned 45%. AirTouch Paging was re-branded as Verizon Wireless Messaging Services. In June 2006, Verizon Wireless sold the paging division to American Messaging Services. In 2014, Verizon Communications purchased the 45% owned by Vodafone, making Verizon Wireless a wholly owned subsidiary.
Verizon Wireless still maintains a call center
A call centre (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth spelling) or call center (American English, American spelling; American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, see spelling differences) is a managed capability th ...
in some of the buildings that used to house AirTouch Cellular's call center and administrative offices.
See also
* *References
External links
Archive of Airtouch Intercept Messages
{{DEFAULTSORT:Airtouch 1994 establishments in California 1999 mergers and acquisitions 2006 disestablishments in California Companies based in San Francisco Corporate spin-offs Defunct companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area Defunct mobile phone companies of the United States Technology companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area Telecommunications companies disestablished in 2006 Telecommunications companies established in 1994 Verizon Wireless Vodafone