AT&T's (NYSE: T) telephone monopoly was officially broken up in 1984 after it entered into a consent decree with the Justice Department that saw it give up control over providing local telephone service in exchange for being allowed to enter the nascent, but exciting, new market of computers.

Where AT&T continued providing long-distance telephone service, its seven Bell System operating companies -- the so-called Baby Bells -- provided local service. Over the years, some of the Baby Bells were reacquired by AT&T, while others would transform into major competitors, such as Bell Atlantic, which ended up becoming Verizon after its merger with GTE in 2000.

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Source Fool.com