Pacific Telesis Group (PacTel) was one of the seven Regional Bell Operating Companies, sometimes also referred to as "RBOCs" or "Baby Bells", created in 1983 in preparation of the breakup of AT&T Corporation. Pacific Telesis was the holding company for Pacific Bell, Nevada Bell, Pacific Telesis International, PacTel Mobile Services and PacTel InfoSystems. Pacific Telesis was headquartered in San Francisco and incorporated in Nevada. It was acquired by SBC Communications (the former Southwestern Bell) in 1997, which would eventually become today's AT&T Inc.
Nicknames
Pacific Telesis is more commonly known as "Pac Bell". Prior to the January 1, 1984 breakup of the Bell System, the corporate name of its principal subsidiary Pacific Bell was the Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Company, which had also been referred to as "PacTel." After the corporate name change, Pacific Bell was commonly known as "PacBell."
The red and white star trademarked logo was referred to by company employees as the "splat", or more formally as the "access symbol" after the similar star key on a telephone keypad.