Two of the three telecom giants created by recent mergers trace their lineage to Ma Bell, the third to some of her early long-distance and wireless challengers. But even as the phone companies consolidate,
they face new competitive threats from Voice-over-IP upstarts like Vonage and Skype, technology players such as IBM and Microsoft, and cable companies like Comcast and Time-Warner.
Lead Story:
Telecom Merged and Converged: The victory of the supercarriers and the transformation of American networking
History of AssimilationTwelve major carriers shrink to just three.
Deregulation Pays Off The regulatory picture still looks good—for customers.
Tiny Chips and Lizard Brains As tech gets smarter, so must the networks that may eventually connect billions of devices.
