U.S. v. AT&T

Citation: United States v. AT&T, 552 F.Supp. 131 (D.D.C. 1982).

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Overview
United States v. AT&T was the landmark U.S. antitrust case that led to the 1984 breakup of the old American Telephone & Telegraph Companyinto the new, seven Regional Bell Operating Companies (RBOCs) and the much smaller new AT&T.

Factual Background
In the 1970s the Federal Communications Commission suspected that the American Telephone & Telegraph Company was using monopoly profits from its Western Electric subsidiary to subsidize the costs of its network, which was contrary to U.S. antitrust law.

The case was filed by the Department of Justice (DoJ) in 1974.

Trial Court Proceedings
In 1978 Judge Harold H. Greene of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, on his first day on the bench, took over the case. It was settled in 1982 by the means of a consent decree, called the Modification of Final Judgment that was approved by Judge Greene.