Editing Houston Cellular

{{More citations needed|date=April 2010}}
{{Infobox company
| name             = Houston Cellular Telephone Company, L.P.
| logo             = Houstoncell.png
| vector_logo      = 
| type             = Holding of [[AT&T Mobility]]
| genre            = 
| foundation       = 1984
| defunct          = 2000
| founder          = Michael Hunt
| location_city    = Houston, Texas
| location_country = US
| location         = 
| key_people       = 
| area_served      = Southeast Texas
| industry         = Telecommunications
| products         = 
| revenue          = 
| operating_income = 
| net_income       = 
| num_employees    = 
| parent           = [[AT&T Mobility]]
| subsid           = 
| owner            = 
| homepage         = {{web archive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/19990208225454/http://www.houstoncellular.com/index.html|title=houstoncellular.com}}
| footnotes        = 
}}

'''Houston Cellular''' was a [[Houston, Texas|Houston]]-based [[cell phone]] company which provided [[Advanced Mobile Phone System|AMPS]] and [[D-AMPS]] (TDMA) service in the Greater [[Houston, Texas|Houston]] area. It was formed in 1983 and was operated as a partnership between [[LIN TV|LIN Broadcasting Corp.]], [[Mobile Communication Corp. of America]] and [[BellSouth|BellSouth Co.]]<ref name='Houston Chronicle Sun 1987-04-19'>{{cite journal|title=Mobile telephones tapping new markets|journal=Houston Chronicle|date=1987-04-19|first=John|last=Barnett|pages=1|url=http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=1987_456922|access-date=2007-09-03 }}</ref> Its headquarters were located in [[Houston]], [[Texas]].<ref>"[https://web.archive.org/web/19990420204041/http://www.houstoncellular.com/cie/employment.html  Join A Winning Team]." Houston Cellular. April 20, 1999. Retrieved on April 24, 2010. "Houston Cellular, 1001 West Loop South"</ref>

Through a series of acquisitions and mergers, within 10 years, the company consisted of a two-way partnership between [[BellSouth]] and [[AT&T Wireless]]. This partnership was also known as [[BellSouth Mobility|BellSouth Mobility, LLC]]. Houston Cellular began providing service in May 1986.

==History==
Houston Cellular was formed as a result of the October 1983 [[Federal Communications Commission]]'s ruling that set aside sufficient frequencies for the operation of two cellular systems in each metropolitan area. In the early 1990s, this ruling was expanded with the advent of the 800 and 1900&nbsp;MHz protocols, which are also known as [[Personal Communications Service|PCS]]).{{Citation needed|date=April 2008}} The ruling reserved one system for application by local phone companies. In [[Houston, Texas|Houston]], the competing non-local company service was applied by [[GTE]] Mobilnet.

In June 2000, the above-mentioned FCC ruling was repealed{{Citation needed|date=October 2009}} and GTE merged with [[Bell Atlantic]] to form [[Verizon Wireless]].  At that time, [[AT&T Wireless]] sold its 55% stake in Houston Cellular to [[BellSouth]]. AT&T Wireless then bought 20&nbsp;MHz of the [[CDMA]] spectrum owned by the outgoing [[PrimeCo]] (which was swallowed in the formation of [[Verizon Wireless]]). This purchase of frequencies was used to directly compete in the Houston market with [[D-AMPS]] (TDMA) service. Additionally, [[Southwestern Bell Mobile Systems]], a division of [[Southwestern Bell|Southwestern Bell Telephone Company]], was also partnered with GTE, a partnership which that was later dissolved.

In 2001, [[BellSouth]] partnered with Southwestern Bell Mobile Systems. This partnership renamed the division from [[BellSouth Mobility|BellSouth Mobility, LLC]] to [[Cingular Wireless|Cingular Wireless, LLC]]. It also transformed Houston Cellular into Cingular Wireless.

==Later developments==
In 2006, the parent company of Southwestern Bell Mobile Systems, [[AT&T Inc.]], acquired BellSouth. Eventually, this led to the renaming of Cingular Wireless, LLC to [[AT&T Mobility|AT&T Mobility, LLC]]. The service was later branded as "Wireless from AT&T, formerly Cingular Wireless", "Wireless from AT&T", and is now simply "AT&T".{{citation needed|date=December 2015}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Portal|Texas|Companies}}
{{Wikibooks|Cingular Wireless FAQ}}
* {{web archive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/19990208225454/http://www.houstoncellular.com/index.html|title=Official website}}
*[http://www.cellularmobileservices.com/ Cellular Mobile Services]

===Other sources===
* [http://www.SouthernLitigation.com Legal Battle with BellSouth over Domain Names: U.S. Supreme Court Case 05-718 Reuben Norman, Petitioner v. BellSouth Intellectual Property Corporation]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070817101956/http://www.fi.edu/case_files/att/ AT&T] History and science resources at The Franklin Institute's Case Files online exhibit
* [http://www.att.com/Common/attrev1/331012_timeline_evolution16.pdf Brand evolution of AT&T companies] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608005852/http://www.att.com/Common/attrev1/331012_timeline_evolution16.pdf |date=2011-06-08 }}
* [http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Common_Carrier/News_Releases/1999/nrc9077a.html Press Release announcing FCC Approval of SBC-Ameritech merger] (1999-10-06)
* [https://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=t Stock Quote from Yahoo!]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060305033635/http://spectrum.ieee.org/jul05/1571 July 2005 IEEE Article]
* [http://biz.yahoo.com/ic/10/10103.html Yahoo! — AT&T Corp. Company Profile]
* [http://seekingalpha.com/transcripts/for/t ATT's most recent conference call transcripts]
* [http://www.cato.org/pubs/journal/cjv14n2-6.html ''Unnatural Monopoly: Critical Moments in the Development of the Bell System Monopoly''] by Adam D. Thierer
* [https://cellphonesignalbooster.us/blog/cell-phone-frequencies-and-what-do-they-mean/ AT&T] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304032248/https://cellphonesignalbooster.us/blog/cell-phone-frequencies-and-what-do-they-mean/ |date=2016-03-04 }} Cell phone frequencies, and what do they mean?
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/the_company_file/230831.stm "AT&T buys IBM's Global Network"], BBC News, December 8, 1998
* [https://archive.today/20130119171604/http://news.com.com/SBC+closes+AT38T+acquisition/2100-1036_3-5961206.html "SBC closes AT&T acquisition"], CNet News, November 18, 2005
* [http://www.att.com/gen/press-room?pid=4800&cdvn=news&newsarticleid=21906 "SBC launches 'new' AT&T"], AT&T archive, November 18, 2005
* [https://archive.today/20130120022123/http://news.com.com/AT38T+to+buy+BellSouth+for+67+billion/2100-1037_3-6046081.html "AT&T to buy BellSouth for $67 billion"], ''CNet News'', March 5, 2006
* [https://money.cnn.com/2006/12/29/news/companies/att_bellsouth.reut/index.htm?postversion=2006122917 "AT&T gets final approval to acquire BellSouth], ''CNNMoney'', December 29, 2006
* [http://www.att.com/gen/press-room?pid=4800&cdvn=news&newsarticleid=22860 "AT&T and BellSouth Join to Create a Premier Global Communications Company"], ''AT&T News Room'', December 29, 2006
*[http://biz.yahoo.com/ic/102/.html Yahoo! - AT&T Mobility LLC Company Profile]

{{US mobile phone companies}}
{{AT&T}}

[[Category:AT&T subsidiaries]]
[[Category:Bell System]]
[[Category:Defunct mobile phone companies of the United States]]
[[Category:Defunct companies based in Texas]]
[[Category:Companies based in Houston]]
[[Category:American companies established in 1984]]
[[Category:Telecommunications companies established in 1984]]
[[Category:Telecommunications companies disestablished in 2006]]
[[Category:1995 establishments in Texas]]
[[Category:2006 disestablishments in Texas]]