All of this was expected, but it's all happening faster than anyone could have predicted. All non-trivial answers win. The decision of the judge is final. I learnt too much at Ma Bell's skirts while she nurtured me and helped me grow. But alas, it is not to be.
Loyalty is a strong emotion, albeit maladaptive sometimes, especially when things go south.
Then, for a few short years we had a superior brand. We had oodles of patents and a few Nobel Prize winners. Once, briefly, we even had the best retail Internet service. Yet today long distance revenues are eroding faster than a Basking Ridge. Imagination and greed drive the new economy.