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The really important question raised by the breakup of AT&T, of course, is whether it will undermine or enhance the quality of American tele phone service. That is something that no one can know for sure until the divestiture takes place and telephone users across the country actually experience the results. Yet there is good reason to be optimistic.
Though AT&T officials have argued for years that the Justice Department's assiduous efforts to break up their company would imperil the smooth and efficient functioning of the entire system, the claim has never had much validity. Nearly 20% of the nation's telephone subscribers are served by independently owned and operated companies that are not part of the Bell System, yet the quality of their service is virtually identical. Having now shaken hands with the Government on a divestiture plan that could bring enormous benefits to AT&T, Ma Bell must see to it that such quality is fully maintained. —By Christopher Byron. Reported by David S. Jackson/Washington and Frederick Ungeheuer/New York