NYNEX

NYNEX Corporation /ˈnaɪnɛks/ was an American telephone company that served five New England states (Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont) as well as most of New York state from January 1, 1984 to August 14, 1997.

NYNEX Corporation
IndustryTelecommunication
FateMerged with Bell Atlantic (now Verizon)
PredecessorAmerican Telephone and Telegraph Company
SuccessorBell Atlantic (now Verizon)
FoundedJanuary 1, 1984
DefunctAugust 14, 1997
HeadquartersNew York City, United States
ProductsLocal Telephone Service, Cellular Telephone Service
SubsidiariesVerizon New England
Verizon New York
Corporate HQ, 1095 Avenue of the Americas

History

Formed on January 1, 1984, as a result of the breakup of the Bell System, NYNEX was a regional Bell operating company made up of former AT&T subsidiaries New York Telephone and New England Telephone. The name NYNEX stood for New York/New England EXchange.[1][2][3][4]

NYNEX merged with Bell Atlantic on August 14, 1997, in what was, at the time, the second largest merger in American corporate history.[5][6] Although Bell Atlantic was the surviving company, the merged company moved from Bell Atlantic's headquarters in Philadelphia to NYNEX headquarters in New York City.

On June 30, 2000, Bell Atlantic acquired GTE to form Verizon Communications. NYNEX also operated cable television and telephone services in the United Kingdom, with offices in Waterlooville (Hampshire), Baguley (Manchester), Shoreham-by-Sea (West Sussex), Leatherhead (Surrey) and Antrim (Northern Ireland).

The assets belonging to the United Kingdom of NYNEX were merged with the subsidiary of Cable & Wireless, Mercury Communications, in October 1996, as well as cable operators Vidéotron and Bell Cablemedia, and renamed as Cable & Wireless Communications.[7] Cable & Wireless's cable assets were sold to NTL in May 2000. In March 2006, NTL merged with Telewest, and later re branded on February 8, 2007 as Virgin Media.

Criticism

A major complaint of NYNEX was its reputation of poor customer service and low reliability. During its era, long term issues regarding corrupt and faulty business practices, phones frequently breaking down, and missed repair appointments were reported. The company also had a very poor habit of failing to fully meet the goals it promised for its customers. This eventually led NYNEX to a $4.1 million fine for lack of service in August 1996.[8][9]

A bigger complication, however, was the difficulty of contacting customer support whenever help was needed. Many NYNEX customers have witnessed filing countless complaints to the company, only to find out that none of them were being responded to. To numerous NYNEX customers, this was not an issue that happened only a few times, but rather, on a regular basis.

In June 1995, the state of New York first proposed a turnaround plan that was meant to help NYNEX improve its customer service, but it was suddenly believed that it would not help NYNEX improve its poor service record, and that the rate reductions proposed by the plan would be too inconsistent.[10]

See also

References
  1. CASSATA v. NEW YORK NEW ENGLAND EXCHANGE
  2. Verizon Corporate Offices – Lower Manhattan, NY – 2012
  3. LI architecture icon dies
  4. Can You Hear Him Now? Leadership Lessons from Verizon’s Ivan Seidenberg
  5. "Bell Atlantic and Nynex Accept $27 Billion Merger; New Telco Rivals AT&T".
  6. DIAL "M" FOR MERGER
  7. "Cable & Wireless Plans Merger With Nynex, Bell Canada Units". www.wsj.com. 23 October 1996. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  8. Hernandez, Raymond (August 23, 1996). "Nynex Fined $4.1 Million For a Year of Poor Service". The New York Times. Retrieved August 23, 1996. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  9. Feiden, Douglas (April 29, 1996). "Nynex Flunks Out Service Gets An F". NY Daily News. Retrieved April 29, 1996. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  10. "A Poor Plan for Nynex". The New York Times. June 1, 1995. Retrieved June 1, 1995. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
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