Chapter III History of Verizon Verizon Communications was formed by the $65 billion merger of Bell Atlantic and General Telephone and Electronics (GTE) in June of 2000 and is now one of the world's leading providers of high-growth communications services. "We will be a world-class competitor able to bring innovative telecommunications services to customers across the country,"1 says Charles R. Lee, at the time GTE chairman and chief executive officer of GTE. Lee was also designated chairman and co-chief executive officer of the merged company. This is the goal of the newly formed company, to compete by bringing new ideas into the market, for the customers. Ivan Seidenberg, Bell Atlantic chairman and chief executive officer also was designated president and co-chief executive officer of Verizon. He says, "We look forward to creating the next great brand in communications, one that will set the standard for global communications companies,"1 that is a foundation that a company can begin to build it's future on.
1980s Dodge Ram Van Verizon
The Verizon Center in the Chinatown neighborhood o...
Lee Vining, CaliforniaThe merger was as Lee says, "a great day for Bell Atlantic and GTE"1; however something great never comes without a price. Verizon had to act in accordance with 25 regulatory conditions for the deal, which the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) designed to improve local phone competition in the companies combined services areas. One of which said that they could not provide long distance service for the first five years thus forcing them to begin local competition with other challengers for market share. "The end result should produce more competition not less,"2 says FCC chairman, William Kennard.
"Verizon is the largest providers of wireline and wireless communications in the United States, with more than 132 million access line equivalents and over 29 million wireless customers."3 Verizon, also the world's largest provider of print and online directory information is...