Keep in mind that Verizon was also originally a baby bell. It began as the Bell Atlantic corporation, and through a series of mergers in the 90s gained its place next to AT&T as one of the largest wireless and long distance carrier.
That's right:
The two largest cell phone companies in the country are legacies of a monopoly attempting to reassert dominance in an era of little regulation. Do we really want to return to the days of Ma Bell...?