Story
HERE Source San Antonio Express news, via Telecomcareers.net
I had understood that one of the reasons at&t wanted BellSouth was so they could brand the Cingular Network at&t. The following is memory, not fact. I'm pretty sure BellSouth held the rights to the AT&T brand name in the joint venture with than SBC and BellSouth.
Actually, the real story is
here
There's no doubt it's competition thing and public demand.
Apple is a solid company. If I had invested with my gut instead of my brain two years ago, I would be able to retire today