Qwest is looking for cell phone partner
Telecom firm hopes to integrate its services
DENVER - Qwest Communications said Monday that it is shopping for a wireless cell phone partner that could help position the telecommunications company to offer a bundled package of integrated services.
The new contract could be with Qwest’s current wireless partner, Sprint Corp., or with another carrier as long as bundled products can be integrated seamlessly, Chief Executive Officer Ed Mueller told analysts.
“We want our partnerships to be deeper and more strategic, not just co-branding products,” Mueller told analysts during a conference in New York that was broadcast on the Internet.
Mueller also announced 23 key markets Qwest will target this year with investments to extend fiber to neighborhoods. The Colorado markets include Colorado Springs, Denver and Fort Collins.
The decision on wireless comes at a time when the cell phone industry is battling for market share as consumer demand shifts from voice to data and Internet offerings.
Denver-based Qwest, the primary telephone service provider in 14 mostly Western states and a nationwide fiber optics network operator, resells wireless service from Sprint under the Qwest name. The company had about 824,000 wireless subscribers at the end of December.
Qwest is looking for a wireless service partner that could be similar to its partnership with DirecTV satellite television service. While Qwest sells the service, the equipment is installed and handled by DirecTV.
Zachary Investment Research analyst Patrick Comack, who attended Monday’s meeting, said the change in wireless service could make a difference for Qwest.
“They want to offer an integrated solution to you as a customer,” he said. “They want to lever the brand.”
In such a partnership, Qwest could offer out-of-region wireless companies an entrance into Qwest’s region and, in return, receive a state-of-the-art service for customers, Comack said.
It would also give Qwest a better wireless product for its bundled packages of high-speed Internet and satellite television services, Comack said. That could reduce the number of customers who stop Qwest service.
The Rocky Mountain News contributed to this story.
