Up Close & Personal with Qwest’s Mystery Man

CEO Mueller Takes on FTTN, Out-of-Region Expansion

Mueller has every intention of continuing to evolve Qwest’s reputation from that of a 14-state local phone provider to an out-of-region competitor capable of serving the likes of Wells Fargo, Harvard University and The Washington Post (which it does). He’s relying on Tom Richards, executive vice president of Qwest’s Business Markets Group, and Roland Thornton, executive vice president for wholesale markets, to achieve that. “I don’t see us changing those initiatives,” Mueller says.

That’s wise, given more than half of the Business Markets Group’s customers and revenue comes from outside Qwest’s traditional footprint. Richards hopes to increase those numbers. His unit has hired more than 300 salespeople since mid-2007; now they must get Qwest’s name and strengths in front of decision makers in places such as the East Coast and the Southeast. “There are people who maybe still don’t know about us or who know about us but … as long-distance only,” Richards says. Having more feet on the street should fix that. And as Qwest seeks to become more well-known among businesses, it can use its Networx accomplishments as bragging rights to snag even more new customers. By press time, Qwest had signed one Networx deal and received permission to bid on New York state agency contracts. The United States Railroad Retirement Board in October gave Qwest a nearly $3.5 million order for digital services to connect the agency’s nearly 60 offices across the country.

Qwest needs to keep the momentum going, analysts say.

“Qwest could really increase revenue by millions and millions with Networx wins if it plays its cards right,” says Jaegers. For example, Qwest is earning strong marks from consultancy ATLANTIC-ACM for its customer service and provisioning systems. “They’ve gotten all the gold stars they need,” Jaegers says. “Now they need to get in front of these customers and say, ‘Hey look, we’re a real alternative carrier. … You should throw some business our way and try us out.’”

Forrester’s Pierce adds that Qwest’s move out of region is good not just for the company, but for business customers as a whole. Many companies are concerned about the duopoly between AT&T and Verizon, she says. “The market needs vigorous competition and to the extent that Qwest is able to help that they’ll be very welcome.”

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