The decision to divest: Incredible or inevitable? The contest that ultimately fractured the Bell System was as much a clash between the participants´ deeply held philosophies as it was about antitrust laws

To provide background to the out-of-court settlement reached in 1982, the author discusses the regulations introduced by the Communications Act of 1934, the Final Judgment of 1956, and the Second Computer Inquiry Decision of 1980. It is noted that, in agreeing to the 1956 consent decree, Bell System managers failed to anticipate adequately the accelerated pace of technology. The viewpoints of the main participants in the AT&T antitrust suit are summarized, and it is pointed out that the contest that ultimately fractured the Bell System was as much a clash between the participant´s deeply held philosophies as it was about antitrust laws. Consideration is given to the type of decision that would have been reached if an out-of-court settlement had not been agreed upon.