Verizon

Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) is a New York City-based Baby Bell formed when Bell Atlantic, one of the Regional Bell Operating Companies, bought GTE, formerly the largest independent local-exchange telephone company in the United States in 2000. more...

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 the Latin word veritas (meaning truth) and the English word horizon.

The Creation of Verizon

Pre-merger history

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. Bell Atlantic's original roster of Operating Companies was Bell of Pennsylvania, New Jersey Bell, Diamond State, and Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Companies. Until its then Chairman and CEO, Raymond Smith orchestrated its merger with NYNEX in 1996, Bell Atlantic operated in the U.S. states of New Jersey, New York. Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, and Virginia as well as Washington, DC. when it merged, it moved its corporate headquarters from Philadelphia to New York City. NYNEX was consolidated into this name by 1997.

NYNEX

NYNEX was created as one of the original Regional Bell Operating Companies (RBOCs) in 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.

Read more at Wikipedia.org