The $16bn acquisition is currently awaiting federal approval, which is expected by the end of this year. Once that happens, SBC said it will unveil the new AT&T logo, along with a major multimedia advertising, marketing campaign. The new combined company will be called AT&T Inc.

The AT&T name has a proud and storied heritage, as well as unparalleled recognition around the globe among both businesses and consumers, said Edward E Whitacre Jr, chairman and CEO of SBC. This is the brand that will lead the industry in delivering the next generation of communications and entertainment services.

We are very pleased to know that the combined AT&T Corp and SBC Communications Inc will adopt the AT&T name upon the formal close of the merger, said AT&T chairman and CEO David W Dorman. This decision is a powerful endorsement of the enduring strength of the AT&T brand, which is far and away the most recognized communications brand in the US and around the globe.

The companies previously announced that Whitacre would serve as chairman, CEO, and a member of the new company’s board, while Dorman would be president of the new company and a member of its board. The combined company’s corporate headquarters will be located at SBC’s headquarters in San Antonio, Texas.

The combination of SBC and AT&T has effectively reunited Ma Bell with one of its Baby Bells, one of the local phone companies that it was forced to spin out back in 1984.

SBC is the second-largest US telecom company, while AT&T is the largest long-distance telephone provider in the US. The Bedminster, New Jersey-based international carrier recently reported net income of $520m, compared to a year-ago net loss of $7.14bn for its third quarter. Sales continued their five-year decline with revenue of $6.62bn, down from $7.63bn in the year-ago period.

AT&T has operations in more than 50 countries. Until it was broken up by the US department of Justice in 1984, it handled all the telephone calls in the US. It has nearly 30 million long-distance customers, and a client list that includes virtually every member of the Fortune 1,000 list of America’s top companies.

However, the carrier has been steadily losing ground now for years as users turn to mobile phones and cheap internet calls. Its finances were not helped when the predecessor of Dorman spent more than $100bn on acquisitions, and amassed $65bn of debt, as part of an unsuccessful attempt to expand beyond long-distance services. This disaster forced Dorman to spend two years scaling back the carrier and he had to trim its workforce by more than a quarter. In July 2004, the carrier retreated from consumer services in order to boost profit from its business segment.

Unfortunately for AT&T, it spun off its wireless unit (AT&T Wireless Service Inc) in 2001, leaving it with no real growth engine. AT&T Wireless was acquired by Cingular Wireless LLC (a 60:40 joint venture between SBC and BellSouth Corp) in February 2004 for $41bn.

AT&T was founded in 1875 by telephone inventor Alexander Graham Bell, and is one of the US’s best-known companies. Its acquisition in February this year by San Antonio, Texas-based SBC triggered a bout of long-overdue consolidation in the US telecoms landscape.

SBC began as the smallest of the seven Baby Bells that were spun out of the original AT&T monolith in 1984 on Federal orders to split up the company. Since then, it has grown into the second-largest US phone company by sales, and it has over 52 million lines in 13 states including California, Texas, Illinois, and Michigan. SBC had revenue of $73bn last year, while AT&T’s was $31bn.