Qwest CEO: It’s the interface, stupid

Today’s homes are littered with computers, Mueller points out – PCs, set-top boxes, video game systems, wireless devices – all are computers that can be tied together.

“I’m unaware that anybody is marketing that user interface yet,” he said. “If it comes, I want to use it so I can integrate the whole home. I don’t want to have to own it and control it, I just want that kind of interface to be there because it gives me a better chance to serve the consumer, and when we have that user interface, that’s when the market takes off.”

Mueller believes such devices will be standardized, however, so the device itself isn’t limited to one service provider.

“I would be the happiest guy in the world if we can figure out the user interface, but it doesn’t have to be some proprietary box that we control,” Mueller said “Shame on us if we can’t figure out a way to sell you Qwest over Comcast based on our service.”

Qwest is content not owning content or even network infrastructure where wireless is concerned, as long as it can partner with companies that do. Mueller said. By owning the network into the home and the customer, Qwest can make money from both consumers and content companies that want to reach those consumers.

“From the customer end point, it’s an end-to-end service, and the cellphone doesn’t have to be Qwest-branded for that to work,” he said. “If the video log-in says DirecTV, the customer doesn’t care.”

Mueller, who retired from SBC/Ameritech in December 2002, is used to coming in and fixing problems. At SBC, he was sent first to Pacific Bell to help integrate that acquisition and then to Ameritech, where serious network problems had degraded service during the acquisition approval period (working in between those two stints at SBC International).

What brought him to Qwest, however, was not the urge to fix things – Mueller believes his predecessor Richard Notebaert did that just fine.

“What brought me here is that the crisis was over,” he said. “I started looking at Qwest, and I see a significant amount of cash flow. I thought this is sustainable. My one concern was [that] the overhang of the legal liabilities could take us under, but we got the last part of that done last quarter. Now it’s time to take [Qwest] to the next level, and that is what interests me. It’s a huge challenge, but this is a real market, and I love this business. I know this business. I thought, ‘What a great chance to end my career.’”