Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) a Dow 30 company, is a broadband and telecommunications provider. It was formed in 2000 when Bell Atlantic, one of the Regional Bell Operating Companies, bought GTE, formerly the largest independent local-exchange telephone company in the United States.

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, the Latin word connoting certainty and reliability, and horizon, signifying forward-looking vision.

History

Pre-Verizon creation

Bell Atlantic

The origins of this company began as Bell Atlantic, and was created as one of the original Regional Bell Operating Companies (RBOCs) in 1984, when AT&T was broken up. 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, DC.

In 1994, Bell Atlantic became the first RBOC to entirely drop the original names of its original operating companies. Ameritech simply added d/b/a names to its operating companies; US 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 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 NYSE under the "BEL" symbol.

NYNEX

NYNEX was created as one of the original Regional Bell Operating Companies (RBOCs) on January 1, 1984 and it owned New York Telephone and New England Telephone.

NYNEX also operated cable TV services in some parts of the UK, although these were later sold to Cable & Wireless, which subsequently sold these to NTL.

In Gibraltar, NYNEX had a 50 per cent stake in a joint venture with the Government of Gibraltar, called Gibraltar NYNEX Communications, also known as GNC or GibNYNEX. The NYNEX name was retained after the U.S. parent company's merger with Verizon, before being dropped in 2002 in favor of Gibtelecom, although it is still used colloquially in Gibraltar.

Prior to its merger with Bell Atlantic, NYNEX traded under the "NYN" symbol.

GTE

General Telephone and Electronics (GTE) was the largest of the "independent" telephone companies during the days of the Bell System. It would later merge with the second largest independent, Continental Telephone (ConTel). They also owned Automatic Electric, a telephone equipment supplier similar in many ways to Western Electric. GTE provided local telephone service in a large number of areas of the U.S. through operating companies, much like how AT&T provided local telephone service through its 22 Bell Operating Companies.

GTE operated in Canada via controlling interest in subsidiary companies such as BC TEL and Quebec-Téléphone.

Its former Canadian subsidiaries have combined with the former Alberta Government Telephones (AGT) to create TELUS, the second largest telecommunications carrier in Canada.

NSA cooperation

In 2006, USA Today published an article which claimed that the United States National Security Agency had been gathering calling records from three of the largest carriers in the US, including Verizon.

On May 12, 2006, Verizon denied allegations it provided any customer calling information to the NSA.