Citizens looking at video, wireless opportunity; CEO search underway

Citizens Communications, which announced second quarter revenues of $544.1 million and consolidated net income of $23.8 million today, said it is exploring a number of ways to expand its product set to include both wireless and video elements. Additionally, the company said its search for a new CEO to replace the retiring Leonard Tow is in the preliminary screening process, but is moving along.

While not announcing any specifics, Jake Casey, executive vice president of Citizens and president and COO of its ILEC operations, said the company is convinced that wireless resale as well as video are viable options to shore up eroding revenue from traditional access services.

“We are looking at both resale on wireless and video,” Casey said during the company’s second quarter earnings call. “We’re also looking at what it would take to do that from a quasi-facilities base standpoint. We’re looking at [wireless and video] very aggressively today and we do believe that they’re viable.”

Citizens, which lost 13,300 access lines but recorded a net 22,200 jump in DSL subscribers in the quarter, is among the largest telcos that has yet to make any move into the video market. It also lacks a wireless product.

A number of access vendor executives have said they anticipate the carrier making some type of aggressive move in the next several months. Casey, however, wasn’t providing any details on either front.

“We’re looking at an opportunity to increase the number of services we offer, to provide products that would improve overall retention and we’re looking for a solution--which if it takes investment we’re OK with--to provide us with the greatest amount of profitability.”

On the CEO search, interim CEO Rudy Graf said the company’s executive search firm, Heidrick & Struggles, has presented several qualified internal and external candidates.

“We have a board meeting at the end of September and hopefully we’ll be well along in the process by that time,” Graf said during the earnings call.