Verizon Communications Inc. (nyse: VZ) is an American broadband and telecommunications company and a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. It was formed in 2000 when Bell Atlantic, one of the Regional Bell Operating Companies, merged with GTE. Prior to its transformation into Verizon, Bell Atlantic had merged with another Regional Bell Operating Company, NYNEX, in 1997. The name is a portmanteau of veritas and horizon.

History

Verizon was founded in 1983 as Bell Atlantic Corporation by AT&T Corporation as one of seven Baby Bells that were formed due to an anti-trust judgement against them. It then inherited one of the seven Bell Operating Companies from American Telephone & Telegraph Company (later known as AT&T Corp.) following its breakup. Bell Atlantic's original roster of operating companies included:

• The Bell Telephone Company of Pennsylvania
• New Jersey Bell Telephone Company
• The Diamond State Telephone Company
• The Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company
• The Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company of Maryland
• The Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company of Virginia
• The Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company of West Virginia

Bell Atlantic originally operated in the U.S. states of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, and Virginia, as well as Washington, D.C.

In 1994, Bell Atlantic became the first Regional Bell Operating Company to entirely drop the original names of its original operating companies. Ameritech and NYNEX (and SBC Communications in 2002) simply added d/b/a names to its operating companies; U S West and BellSouth had merged their operating companies. Operating company titles were simplified to:

• Bell Atlantic—Delaware, Inc.
• Bell Atlantic—Maryland, Inc.
• Bell Atlantic—New Jersey, Inc.
• Bell Atlantic—Pennsylvania, Inc.
• Bell Atlantic—Virginia, Inc.
• Bell Atlantic—Washington, D.C., Inc.
• Bell Atlantic—West Virginia, Inc.

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. NYNEX was consolidated into this name by 1997.

Prior to its merger with GTE, Bell Atlantic traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the "BEL" symbol.

GTE merger

Bell Atlantic acquired GTE on June 30 2000 and changed its name to Verizon Communications Inc. It was among the largest mergers in United States business history. It was the result of a definitive merger agreement, dated July 27 1998, between Bell Atlantic, based in New York City since the merger with NYNEX in 1996, and GTE, which was in the process of moving its headquarters from Stamford, Connecticut, to Irving, Texas.