SNET
From Free net encyclopedia
- For the French electric power company, see Société nationale d'électricité et de thermique (SNET)
The Southern New England Telephone Company (commonly referred to as SNET by its customers) started operations on January 27, 1878 as the District Telephone Company of New Haven. Since its inception, SNET has held a monopoly on most of the telephone services in the state of Connecticut; the only exception is in a small part of the state near the New York state border where Verizon Communications provides telephone services (formerly served by the Bell Operating Company New York Telephone, which became a part of NYNEX, which was absorbed into Bell Atlantic, now Verizon).
Prior to 1984, AT&T held 16.8% interest in SNET.
In 1998, SBC Communications, now AT&T, purchased SNET. SNET and Cincinnati Bell were the only two companies in the old Bell System that AT&T only had a minority stake in; therefore, neither is considered a Regional Bell operating company (RBOC). The Southern New England Telephone Company was held by Southern New England Telecommunications Corporation, which SBC had purchased in 1998. Cincinnati Bell is still independent of any RBOC.
Southern New England Telecommunications is now known as AT&T East, while The Southern New England Telephone Company does business as AT&T Connecticut.
Brand History
| Image:Snet old.gif | The Southern New England Telephone Co. In 1921, SNET was a minority holding of AT&T, but it still used the Bell branding and was recognized as a part of AT&T. This is just one of the many Bell logos used by AT&T until 1983. This version of the logo was used up to 1939. |
| Image:Snet84.gif | SNET In 1984, AT&T broke up its ownership of its local operating companies, who were grouped into 7 Regional Bell Operating Companies; AT&T also had to withdraw its holdings in SNET and Cincinnati Bell. Because the two companies were small in size and not wholly owned, Cincinnati Bell, Inc. and Southern New England Telephone became fully independent companies. SNET becomes a company held by Southern New England Telecommunications Corp., and began to license rights to the Bell trademark to Aastra Telecom, who sold telephones under the "Sonecor" (Southern New England Telecommunications Corp) brand. |
| Image:Snetlogo.gif | SNET The Telecommuncations Act of 1996 is signed. SBC Communications, now AT&T, Inc., purchased SNET in 1998. |
| Image:Snet logo.gif | SBC SNET In 2001, SBC begins to rebrand all of its Bells to reflect their being a part of a national telecommuncations provider. SBC eventually drops the names of all of its Bells in late 2002, and adds the title "d/b/a SBC (name of state or region)" to the official names of its companies. Connecticut regulators request SNET be retained, and SBC SNET remains the official d/b/a name of SNET until 2005. |
| Image:Att new logo.png | AT&T Connecticut In 2005, completed its acquisition of AT&T Corp., forming AT&T, Inc. AT&T changes the d/b/a names of its Bell Operating Companies on January 1, 2006, resulting in "AT&T Connecticut" replacing "SBC SNET". |
