Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
Verizon Communications history
Verizon Communications company history timeline
GTE became the third-largest long-distance telephone company in 1983 through the acquisition of Southern Pacific Communications Company.
On January 1, 1984, AT&T divested itself of 22 local operating companies, which were divided among seven regional holding companies (RHCs).
Bell Atlantic Corporation was created as one of the original Regional Bell Operating Companies (RBOCs) in 1984, during the breakup of the Bell System.
By early 1985 IBM and Digital Equipment were offering maintenance for their mainframe users, a large portion of Bell Atlantic’s recently acquired Sorbus customer base.
In 1986 GTE Sprint and United Telecommunication’s long-distance subsidiary, United States Telecom, agreed to merge and form US Sprint Communications Company, with each parent retaining a 50 percent interest in the new firm.
As the home computer trend was ushered in, NJB began the first service to send and receive data via the home personal computer in 1986.
In 1987, the company organized its telephone companies around a single national organization headquartered in the Dallas, Texas area.
In January 1988 the company found itself, along with BellSouth, accused of misconduct in bidding attempts to win government contracts.
In 1988, GTE divested its consumer communications products unit as part of a telecommunications strategy to place increasing emphasis on the services sector.
With an increasing emphasis on telecommunications, in 1989 GTE launched a program to become the first cellular provider offering nationwide service, and introduced the nation’s first rural service area providing cellular service on the Hawaiian island of Kauai.
With the January 1990 purchase of Control Data Corporation’s third-party maintenance business, Bell Atlantic sealed its position as the leader in maintenance of both IBM and Digital Equipment Corporation systems.
In April 1990, the company’s Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company was charged with fraud and barred from seeking federal contracts.
McCarthy, Thomas E., “The History of GTE: The Evolution of One of America’s Great Corporations, Stamford, Conn.,” GTE Corporation, 1990.
Following action or review by more than 20 governmental bodies, in March 1991 the merger of GTE and Contel was approved.
In 1992 a sweeping reorganization effort was launched that was characterized by Telephony magazine as “easily one of the nation’s largest re-engineering processes.”
GTE also formed a video programming and interservices joint venture with Ameritech Corporation, Bell-South Corporation, SBC Communications, and The Walt Disney Company in the fall of 1995.
The Telecommunications Act of 1996
In 1996, CEO and Chairman Raymond W. Smith orchestrated Bell Atlantic's merger with NYNEX. When it merged, it moved its corporate headquarters from Philadelphia to New York City.
The three patents named were filed by Bell Atlantic in 1997, and relate to the conversion of IP addresses into phone numbers, a key technology of Vonage's business.
By early 1998 the new Bell Atlantic had 39.7 million domestic access lines, 5.4 million domestic wireless customers, 6.3 million global wireless customers, and services in 21 countries worldwide.
Bell Atlantic-New Jersey's telecommunications became all digital in 1999, and the company also won approval from the FCC that year to begin offering long distance service in the New York area.
Heskitt, Ben, "Nortel Nabs $500 Million Deal with Verizon," CNET News.com, April 12, 2000.
On April 3, 2000, the company announced that its new moniker resulting from their prominent union would be Verizon.
Greene, Tim, "Those Baby Bells Are Growing up Fast," Network World Fusion, November 20, 2000.
Capitalizing on the first letter of its name, the "V" became the peace sign flashed by numerous people in the Verizon Wireless ads of early 2000.
Grice, Corey, "Digital Darwinism," CNET News.com, February 1, 2001.
King, Carol, “Lucent, Verizon Bet $5 Billion on 3G,” InternetNews, March 19, 2001.
“Verizon, Lucent Enter 3-Year, $5B Partnership,” Capital Distict Business Review, March 19, 2001.
In addition, profits for the year fell below expectations, and the initial forecast for 2001 was reduced a third.
Verizon’s visions for 2001 focused on international expansion.
The wireless segment of the company continued its growth trend, combining business operations with Price Communications Wireless in late 2001.
The $800 million deal was to commence at the start of 2001 but Verizon discontinued it at the last minute, citing NorthPoint's weakening financial position.
2001: Verizon earns federal approval to offer long distance service in Connecticut and Pennsylvania: Verizon Wireless joins forces with Lucent Technologies.
In August 2002, Verizon began offering local, long-distance and mobile calling, as well as Internet service, in a bundle.
NorthPoint accepted Verizon's $175 million settlement offer in 2002.
WorldCom declared bankruptcy in 2002 during a highly publicized accounting scandal.
Verizon launched 3G service in 2002, which doubled the Internet speed of the time to 144kb per second.
Creswell, Julie, "Ivan Seidenberg, CEO of Verizon, Vows to Overpower the Cable Guys by Plowing Billions Into a '90s-Style Broadband Buildout," Fortune, May 31, 2004.
By early 2004, Verizon was well positioned at the top of the telecommunications heap.
In 2004, Verizon launched its Fios Internet service, which transmits data over fiber optic cables, in Keller, Texas.
The company launched Fios TV in September 2005, also in Keller.
The FCC approved the deal on November 5, 2005, valuing it at $8.5 billion.
SBC Communications teamed up with AT&T Corporation in 2005 to create the largest telecommunications company in United States.
Verizon is the largest telecommunications company in US. After sudden success, Verizon started Internet and provided the customers with long distance calling services as well. It sold almost 7 million lines in Hawaii alone in 2005.
By January 2006, Fios offered over 350 channels in eight states, including 20 high-definition television channels and video on demand.
Then in early 2006, AT&T set plans in motion to acquire BellSouth Corporation in a $67 billion deal.
Verizon's 2006 revenues rose by as much as 20% following the purchase.
In February 2007, Verizon added a new service to V Cast called V Cast Mobile TV, which took advantage of Verizon's multiple cellular technologies (such as EV-DO) allowing people with high-end devices to watch TV on their device.
In March 2007, Verizon won a lawsuit against Vonage for patent infringement.
In May 2007, Verizon acquired Cybertrust, a privately held provider of global information security services.
In June 2008, Verizon Wireless purchased wireless carrier Alltel for $28.1 billion.
In May 2009, the company spun off wirelines in Arizona, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin into a company that then merged with Frontier Communications in a deal valued at $8.6 billion.
On February 4, 2010, 4chan began receiving reports from Verizon Wireless customers that they were having difficulties accessing the site's image boards.
In October 2010, Verizon Wireless paid $77.8 million in refunds and FCC penalties for overcharging 15 million customers for data services.
In December 2010, Verizon introduced its 4G LTE network in 38 markets, as well as airports in seven additional cities.
On January 27, 2011, Verizon acquired Terremark, an information technology services company, for $1.4 billion.
Ivan Seidenberg retired as Verizon's CEO on August 1, 2011, and was succeeded by Lowell McAdam.
In June 2012, Verizon purchased Hughes Telematics, a producer of wireless features for automobiles, for $612 million as part of its strategy to expand into new growth areas in its wireless business.
The FCC conducted an investigation and released a report detailing the problems that led to the failure in January 2013.
In September 2013, Verizon purchased the 45% stake in Verizon Wireless, previously owned by Vodafone, for $130 billion.
Verizon began expanding its LTE network utilizing these extra airwaves in October 2013.
In the year 2013, Verizon launched a partner program called Verizon Partner Program.
On January 22, 2014, the Wall Street Journal reported that Verizon received more than 1,000 requests for information about its subscribers on national security grounds via National Security Letters.
The deal closed on February 21, 2014, and became the third largest corporate deal ever signed, giving Verizon Communications sole ownership of Verizon Wireless.
In late October 2014, Verizon Wireless launched the technology news website SugarString.
In May 2015, Verizon agreed to pay $90 million "to settle federal and state investigations into allegations mobile customers were improperly billed for premium text messages."
On May 12, 2015, Verizon announced it would acquire AOL at $50 per share, for a deal valued around $4.4 billion.
In August 2015, Verizon launched Hum, a service and device offering vehicle diagnostic and monitoring tools for vehicles.
From 2015, Verizon announced its commitment to develop and deploy 5G wireless technology.
On September 12, 2016, Verizon announced its acquisition of Sensity, a startup for LED sensors, in an effort to bolster its IoT portfolio.
In 2016, Verizon sold its wireline operations in Texas, Florida, and California to Frontier.
On March 16, 2017, Verizon announced it would discontinue the e-mail services provided for its internet subscribers and migrate them to AOL Mail.
On April 27, 2017, Verizon invested $10 million in Renovo Auto, an autonomous vehicle company based in Campbell, California.
On May 23, 2017, Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam confirmed the company's plan to launch a streaming TV service.
On June 13, 2017, Verizon completed its acquisition of Yahoo for $4.48 billion.
In 2017, Verizon partnered with Alley to develop a number of coworking spaces under the name "Alley powered by Verizon".
On December 10, 2018, Verizon announced that 10,400 managers had agreed to leave the company as part of a "voluntary separation program" offered to 44,000 employees, resulting in a cut of around 7% of its workforce.
Verizon Connect was created in 2018, combining the individual Telematics, Fleetmatics, and Telogis units.
At the same time, the company announced a $4.6 billion write-off on its media division, citing "increased competitive and market pressures throughout 2018 that have resulted in lower-than-expected revenues and earning."
On January 17, 2019, Verizon announced that it would offer anti-spam and robocalling features free of charge to all customers beginning in March.
In April 2019, Verizon began rolling out its 5G mobile network, which was active in 30 cities by the end of the year.
On January 14, 2020, Verizon announced the launch of its privacy-focused search engine OneSearch.
In September 2020, Verizon announced its plans to acquire TracFone Wireless (a business unit of Mexican telecom business, America Movil) for $6.25 billion.
In May 2021, Verizon announced that its media group, including AOL and Yahoo, would be sold to Apollo Global Management for $5 billion, with Verizon retaining a 10% stake in the division.
The deal was approved by the FCC on November 22, 2021 and closed the following day.
DeVault, Kerri "Verizon Communications Inc. ." International Directory of Company Histories. . Retrieved June 21, 2022 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/books/politics-and-business-magazines/verizon-communications-inc
Rate Verizon Communications' efforts to communicate its history to employees.
Verizon Communications jobs
Do you work at Verizon Communications?
Does Verizon Communications communicate its history to new hires?
Verizon Communications competitors
| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AT&T | 1983 | $122.3B | 230,000 | 3,465 |
| AUTOMATED DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES | - | $284.9K | 5 | - |
| Qwest | 1996 | $11.4B | 30,000 | - |
| Vonage | 2001 | $1.4B | 2,400 | 15 |
| U.S. Cellular | 1983 | $4.2B | 5,000 | - |
| 1998 | $350.0B | 139,995 | 4,119 | |
| Cricket Wireless | 1998 | $1.9B | 221 | 237 |
| GTE - Gas Turbine Efficiency | 1963 | $8.5M | 150 | 1 |
| GTE Corporation | 1918 | $19.0M | 50 | - |
| Verizon Wireless of the East LP | 2001 | $24.0M | 50 | - |
Verizon Communications history FAQs
Zippia gives an in-depth look into the details of Verizon Communications, including salaries, political affiliations, employee data, and more, in order to inform job seekers about Verizon Communications. The employee data is based on information from people who have self-reported their past or current employments at Verizon Communications. The data on this page is also based on data sources collected from public and open data sources on the Internet and other locations, as well as proprietary data we licensed from other companies. Sources of data may include, but are not limited to, the BLS, company filings, estimates based on those filings, H1B filings, and other public and private datasets. While we have made attempts to ensure that the information displayed are correct, Zippia is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of this information. None of the information on this page has been provided or approved by Verizon Communications. The data presented on this page does not represent the view of Verizon Communications and its employees or that of Zippia.
Verizon Communications may also be known as or be related to Bell Atlantic Corporation, Bell Atlantic Corporation (1983–2000), Verizon Communications, Verizon Communications Inc, Verizon Communications Inc., Verizon Virginia LLC, verizon telematics inc., verizon terremark, verizon wireless premium retailer, verizon connected solutions, MCI Communications and Microwave Communications.