Southern New England Telecommunications Corporation (SNET) started operations in 1986 as the holding company for The Southern New England Telephone Company. Prior to 1986, The Southern New England Telephone Company had been a minority holding of

AT&T AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile ...

until February 1986, when AT&T withdrew its 23% holding. SNET then became its own company, operating a telecommunications sales division, Sonecor Systems Division, which began operations on January 1, 1983, and sold equipment in competition with AT&T before the

Bell System The Bell System was a system of telecommunication companies, led by the Bell Telephone Company and later by the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T), that dominated the telephone services industry in North America for over one hundr ...

divestiture. SNET also operated SNET America, which sold long-distance services to Southern New England Telephone customers within

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the ...

. Under threats of a hostile takeover, Southern New England Telephone underwent a restructuring in 1986, creating Southern New England Telecommunications as the holding company of SNET and its related businesses. Southern New England Telecommunications was acquired by

SBC Communications The history of AT&T dates back to the invention of the telephone. The Bell Telephone Company was established in 1877 by Alexander Graham Bell, who obtained the first US patent for the telephone, and his father-in-law, Gardiner Greene Hubbard. Bell ...

in 1998. SNET Corporation was merged into AT&T Teleholdings, formerly

Ameritech AT&T Teleholdings, Inc., formerly known as Ameritech Corporation (and before that American Information Technologies Corporation), is an American telecommunications company that arose out of the 1984 AT&T divestiture. Ameritech was one of the sev ...

, in 2006 and ceased to exist.

Sale of former assets

On December 17, 2013,

announced plans to sell the former subsidiaries of SNET, The Southern New England Telephone Company and long-distance subsidiary SNET America, to

Frontier Communications Frontier Communications Parent, Inc. (known as Citizens Utilities Company until May 2000 and Citizens Communications Company until July 31, 2008) is an American telecommunications company. The company previously served primarily rural areas and s ...

for $2 billion. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2014.

References

* Benson, Jr., Reuel A., ''The First Century of the Telephone in Connecticut.'' Southern New England Telephone, New Haven, Connecticut, 1978. * White, James A., and Paul Ingrassia. "AT&T Break-up Gives Two Mavericks an Opportunity to Compete in New Fields." ''Wall Street Journal'', April 10, 1982. * "The Brassiest Bell Company." ''Business Week'', March 14, 1983. * Sanger, Elizabeth, "Eat Well or Sleep Well?" ''Barron's'', October 10, 1983. {{AT&T Former AT&T subsidiaries Communications in Connecticut Telecommunications companies established in 1986 Telecommunications companies disestablished in 2006 2006 disestablishments in Connecticut 1986 establishments in Connecticut Defunct companies based in Connecticut Defunct telecommunications companies of the United States Companies based in New Haven, Connecticut

Sale of former assets

References

Further reading