Founding
iconectiv was established on October 20, 1983, as Central Services Organization[7] as part of the 1982 Modification of Final Judgment that broke up the Bell System. It later received the name Bell Communications Research. Nicknamed Bellcore, it was a consortium established by the Regional Holding Companies upon their separation from AT&T. Since AT&T retained Bell Laboratories, the operating companies desired a separate research and development facility. Bellcore, the tenth company to register an Internet domain name in comTLD, provided joint research and development, was involved in standards setting, training, and centralized government point-of-contact functions for its co-owners, the seven Regional Holding Companies that were themselves divested from AT&T as holding companies for the 22 local Bell Operating Companies.
Bellcore's initial staff and corporate culture were drawn from the nearby Bell Laboratories locations in northern New Jersey, plus additional staff from AT&T and regional operating companies. The company originally had its headquarters in Livingston with dedication by New Jersey Governor Thomas Kean in 1985, but moved its headquarters to Morristown a decade later. Bellcore also operated the former Bell System Center for Technical Education in Lisle, Illinois.
Separation from the Baby Bells
In 1996, the company was provisionally acquired by Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC).[8] The sale was closed one year later, following a regulatory approval process that covered every U.S. state individually. Since the divested company no longer had any ownership connection with the Regional Bell Operating Companies (Baby Bells), the name was changed to Telcordia Technologies in 1999.[9] The headquarters was moved to Piscataway, New Jersey.[10]
The former headquarters campus in Morristown and its offices and laboratories in Red Bank, New Jersey, are former Bell Labs locations that were transferred to Telcordia.
Equal stakes in the company were sold in March 2005 to Providence Equity Partners and Warburg Pincus.[11]
Acquisition by Ericsson
On June 14, 2011, Ericsson announced an agreement to acquire Telcordia for $1.15 billion.[12] On January 12, 2012, Telcordia became a wholly owned subsidiary of Ericsson.[13] On June 15, 2011, Ericsson announced the completion of the purchase from private-equity firms Providence Equity Partners and Warburg Pincus,[14][15] with the goal to pursue industry trends that include mobile broadband, managed services/outsourcing and global OSS/BSS transformation.[16] The acquisition, which officially closed on January 12, 2012,[17]
Francisco Partners investment
On August 10, 2017, Francisco Partners announced a $200 million investment in iconectiv and received a 16.7 percent ownership stake in the company.[28] In 2025, when Ericsson sold the company, FP also did the same with its equity stake.[29]
