AT&T is an American conglomerate based in Texas. It is the world’s largest telecommunications company, holding the 9th position on the Fortune 500 list of the most prominent American corporations. Through its collection of companies, AT&T provides mobile telephone services in the United States, broadband connectivity, premium network entertainment, and 24-hour cable news. The company’s history dates to 1875, when Alexander Graham Bell patented the telephone. Together with Thomas Watson and Gardiner Greene Hubbard, he co-founded the Bell Telephone Company. In 1885, the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T) was established as a subsidiary of the Bell Telephone Company. After four years, it purchased the parent company and retained AT&T as its trade name. AT&T set up several telephone companies throughout America in the following years, establishing itself as a monopoly in the American telephone services industry. This domination was known as the Bell System. The American government warranted it until 1982 when regulators broke it up. The end of the monopoly meant that AT&T would split its companies, among which was Southwestern Bell Corporation (SBC). Throughout the 1990s, AT&T made a series of acquisitions and changed its name to SBC Communications Inc in 1995. It continued to trade under the name while making tremendous growth in the telephone and cable industries. In 2005, SBC Communications Inc bought back its subsidiary and renamed itself AT&T. In 2011, it tried to acquire the German telecommunications company T-Mobile but failed. The purchase failed due to legal difficulties and government interference. AT&T partnered with Mexican company América Móvil to expand into Latin America in 2013. Since then, the company has made a series of acquisitions in the entertainment sector. These include the $108.7 billion purchase of American entertainment and mass media giant Time Warner. The acquisition expanded AT&T’s company portfolio to include CNN, Cartoon Network, HBO, Adult Swim, and several well-known brands. Today, AT&T is listed on the New York Stock Exchange as T.
With such a rich history, it’s no wonder the company has so many products out there, from new to used. Finding the right documentation can be difficult, especially in the English language. This is the reason why we opened up a section dedicated to AT&T User Manuals, where you can view or download each PDF.