Retrospective - 25 years later [History of Communications]

As recounted in the paper by Irwin Dorros following, the divestiture of AT&T went officially into effect January 1, 1984, 25 years ago. This momentous event irreversibly changed the state of telecommunications in the United States, and, in the years following, throughout the world, as country after country privatized their previously government-owned telecommunication systems. This year of 2009 therefore offers us the opportunity to look back and see what has happened to our field as a result. We are fortunate to have the views of Irwin Dorros on this occasion, since he was a key AT&T executive charged with working out, and helping to resolve, the complex issues of divestiture, both during the negotiations between AT&T and the U.S. government, and in the period following the agreement of divestiture. He describes the nature of the telecommunications industry prior to divestiture and the factors leading to the divestiture agreement. He also provides his own views on the communications industry after divestiture. He pulls no punches in his candid remarks, indicating where AT&T, in his opinion, which had been in the forefront of much of the worldwide innovation in voice telephony, fell behind in the broad area of computer communications. We commend this article to your attention.