I suppose whether the Bell breakup was a bad thing depends on your point of view. It was a good thing if you don't care if you get dial tone when you pick up your phone; you want to be able to buy a phone with features you want that may last a year or two; you don't mind paying for directory service; you don't mind waiting a week or more to get your phone line fixed; you don't mind paying for a service call because the problem with your phone is a bad wire inside your house; and you don't mind paying substantially more for less reliable service. However, I must confess I could be biased since between them my dad, brother-in-law and brother had close to 100 years of Bell service. lol gunslinger gary wilcox