Correct. The breakup of the integrated Bell System was decreed in 1982, and became effective in 1984. AT&T became solely a provider of long-distance service, along with smaller competitors such as MCI and Sprint. Those had begun offering such service in the 1970s, but you had to dial an access code to use them and the billing might be separate from your regular phone bill. That put them at a competitive disadvantage compared to AT&T. So with the separation of local phone service from phone equipment rental and long-distance service, all subscribers were asked to choose a "dial 1" long-distance carrier that their long-distance calls would automatically be routed through. You could also choose none, as my father did, so he has no default way of placing a long-distance call. He could, if he wanted, use a "dial-around" company.