in 1986, gte sprint was merged with gte telenet, us telecom, uninet, and isacomm to form us sprint. this was a partnership owned by gte and united telecom. in 1989 united telecom purchased controlling interest in us sprint. in 1991 united telecom completed its acquisition of us sprint. that same year united telecom changed its name to sprint due in large part to the increased brand recognition of sprint, as a result of the successful candice bergen "dime lady" advertisement campaign.