Ma Who?

AT&T loses a familiar name

Charles Brown, chairman of American Telephone and Telegraph, admitted that the decision had been arrived at "reluctantly" and might be considered a "cave-in." But the alternative would be more court battles and uncertainty and, said Brown, "we're anxious to get the decks cleared and eager to go forward." So, without further argument or appeals, AT&T announced last week that it had agreed to give up its historic Bell name and blue-and-white telephone logo. Federal Judge Harold Greene had ruled last month that the trademarks should belong to AT&T's local operating companies, which are scheduled to split off into seven independent regional units on Jan. 1. Bell Laboratories can retain the name, as can AT&T's foreign operations.

By accepting Greene's decision, AT&T has apparently ended the legal saga that began in 1974, when the Justice Department filed suit to break up the world's largest company (1982 assets: $148 billion). To settle that suit, AT&T agreed in January 1982 to spin off its operating companies, but since then Greene has called for many changes in the reorganization plan. For example, he ordered that the operating companies be allowed to use AT&T patents and to license them to any manufacturer of telephone equipment. This will mean that the operating units can line up several suppliers of equipment rather than rely on the Western Electric manufacturing arm of AT&T. The Justice Department, AT&T and Greene all agreed last week on the final details of the reorganization.

Wall Street welcomed the news, which eliminated one last shred of doubt over the AT&T breakup. On the day of the company's announcement, AT&T shares were the most actively traded on the New York Stock Exchange; their price jumped some $2, to about $63. When the divestiture occurs, stockholders will still have the same number of shares in the new AT&T as they had in the old company. In addition, investors will receive one share in each of the seven new regional companies for every ten AT&T shares they now hold.

Dropping the Bell name will be expensive for AT&T. For one thing, the company has already spent $30 million advertising its American Bell subsidiary, which was formed a year ago to offer a broad range of communications products and eventually to move into the computer business. Now that unit must adopt a new name: AT&T Information Systems. The company has been experimenting with a new logo in its promotion: a globe instead of the stylized bell. It symbolizes, says Brown, the determination of the new AT&T to be a world leader in communications and information services. This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.