Qwest Corporation

Encyclopedia : Q : QW : QWE : Qwest Corporation

This article refers to the local telephone operating company. For the holding company, see Qwest.

For the defunct holding company created in 1984 as a Regional Bell Operating Company, see U S West.

History

Mountain States Telephone & Telegraph

The Mountain States Telephone & Telegraph Company provided local telephone service in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States. MST&T commonly did business as Mountain Bell, and provided telephone services in Colorado, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Montana, Southern Idaho, Wyoming, and the El Paso, TX vicinity. Additionally, MST&T acquired controlling interest in the Malheur Home Telephone Company in Oregon, better known as Malheur Bell. MST&T operated Malheur Bell as a wholly-owned independent subsidiary; an arrangement that continues to this day with Qwest.

Prior to 1984, AT&T held 88.6% in Mountain Bell.

Mountain Bell's headquarters is in Denver, Colorado.

Northwestern Bell

Northwestern Bell Telephone Company served the states mirroring the Southwestern Bell area, including: Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota, North Dakota, and Nebraska.

The Northwestern Bell name is still licensed for use today on telephone equipment produced by Unical Enterprises; otherwise, the NWBT name has disappeared. Dex Media white pages lists a customer service number under the Northwestern Bell name (which connects to Qwest).

Northwestern Bell is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska.

Pacific Northwest Bell

Pacific Northwest Bell Telephone Company provided telephone services in the states of Oregon, Washington, and northern Idaho.

Pacific Northwest Bell was created on July 1, 1961, when the Bell telephone operations in northern Idaho, Oregon, and Washington state were split off from Pacific Telephone & Telegraph. The same was done when the South Central Bell territory was divided from Southern Bell.

Prior to 1984, AT&T held 89.3% in Pacific Northwest Bell.

Pacific Northwest Bell's headquarters are at 1600 7th Avenue (also known as 1600 Bell Plaza), in Seattle, Washington.

U S West

In 1984, the Bell System was broken into 7 Regional Bell Operating Companies. U S West, Inc. became a holding company for Mountain Bell, Northwestern Bell, and Pacific Northwest Bell.

U S West Communications

In 2000, Qwest Communications International purchased U S West. U S West Communications, Inc. was then renamed Qwest Corporation.

Headquarters

External links

• [Qwest Corporation]
• [Bell Phones by Northwestern Bell Phones]
• [Bell System/Trimline Telephone Ad for Pacific Northwest Bell]
• [Pacific Northwest Bell telephone service ad]
• [Pacific Northwest Bell buildings]
• [Malheur Bell history]

FY 2005) | Employees: 41,000 | Stock Symbol: NYSE: [Q] | Website: [www.qwest.com]