Advanced Mobile Phone Service

Advanced Mobile Phone Service, Inc.
Former type	Defunct
Industry	Telecommunications
Founded	1983
Defunct	1984
Products	AMPS
Parent	AT&T (1983-1984)

Advanced Mobile Phone Service, Inc. was a subsidiary of AT&T prior to the Bell System Divestiture. Abbreviated AMPS, the company was created in 1978 to build and operate the new Advanced Mobile Phone System, also abbreviated AMPS. AMPS was developed by Bell Labs to replace older, severely limited radiophone services, such as IMTS. AMPS was one of the first modern cellular phone systems, which remained in operation until 2008.

LineOne, a service provided by AMPS in conjunction with Ameritech in 1983

Service started in Chicago on October 13, 1983 and in the Washington, DC area December 1983. After divestiture, AMPS was divided among the 7 newly created Regional Holding Companies, now known as RBOCs:

Evolution of Successor Companies

Through a series of mergers, acquisitions, and re-consolidation among the Baby Bells, these 7 original mobile operating companies are now split as such -

AT&T Mobility
Verizon Wireless
- Bell Atlantic Mobile Systems
- NYNEX Mobile Communications
- AirTouch
  - PacTel Mobile Access
  - U S WEST NewVector

PacTel Mobile Access and U S WEST NewVector are owned by Verizon Wireless due to its co-ownership by Vodafone. PacTel Mobile Access was spun off into AirTouch in 1994, and U S WEST NewVector was spun off and merged into AirTouch in 1997. AirTouch was then acquired by Vodafone in 1999. Bell Atlantic and Vodafone combined their wireless operations to form Verizon Wireless in 2000.

Ameritech's Chicago n/w was divested and sold to GTE Wireless in 1999 as a condition of the former's merger with SBC Communications. In 2000, Bell Atlantic bought GTE and changed its name to Verizon Communications; at that point, GTE Wireless became part of Verizon Wireless.

References

AT&T History

Bell System

Parent company

American Telephone and Telegraph Company

Local telephone companies still extant

Wholly owned	Bell Telephone Company of Nevada The Bell Telephone Company of Pennsylvania The Chesapeake & Potomac Telephone Company The Chesapeake & Potomac Telephone Company of Maryland The Chesapeake & Potomac Telephone Company of West Virginia The Chesapeake & Potomac Telephone Company of Virginia Diamond State Telephone Illinois Bell Indiana Bell Michigan Bell Mountain Bell New England Telephone New Jersey Bell New York Telephone Northwestern Bell Ohio Bell Pacific Northwest Bell Pacific Telephone South Central Bell Southern Bell Southwestern Bell Wisconsin Telephone

Partially owned	Southern New England Telephone Cincinnati Bell

Other subsidiaries

Manufacturing	Western Electric

Research	Bell Labs

Long distance	Long Lines

Wireless	Advanced Mobile Phone Service

Regional Bell Companies	Bell Canada (1880-1975)

Historical

Commemorative	Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site Bell Boatyard Bell Homestead National Historic Site Bell Telephone Memorial Telephone Pioneers of America Spirit of Communication

Defunct	Bell Telephone Company New England Telephone and Telegraph Company International Bell Telephone Company The Bell Telephone Company of Canada Northern Electric Bell Telephone Manufacturing Company AT&T Technologies, Inc.