Friend and foe

To Bob Annunziata, CEO of Global Crossing, change is good, but being able to identify the need for change ahead of the competition is even better.

Although Global Crossing had its epochal start as a carrier's carrier with a trans-Atlantic undersea link with Annunziata at the helm, the company has begun to morph into much more. "We absolutely must be both a wholesale and a retail provider to survive in this telecommunications world," Annunziata says, despite some criticism that Global Crossing essentially is competing with some of its customers. "We have to be ahead of the curve, and we have a great infrastructure to allow us to do that."

The industry today centers on constructing fixed networks, but that may be changing, Annunziata says. "You have to get more applications on that fixed network to be successful." That's why it's imperative to provide both types of services. The wholesale business essentially helps finance network builds, then after the builds are completed, applications and services will ride on top of the network, he says.

But Global Crossing's transformation from a wholesale-only provider to a wholesale and retail provider is just one facet of the company's continual evolution. For now, Global Crossing plans to continue adding worldwide fiber optic links and expanding its local footprint. Instead of relying on only traffic between continents, the sweet spot lies in providing connectivity within countries and cities.

"The world is shrinking, and we are helping it shrink," Annunziata says. "I am just as eager to take the traffic between Berlin and Frankfurt as I am Frankfurt and Chicago." Global Crossing has all the pieces in place and now is concentrating on building on a local scale. Rather than its initial continent-to-continent model, Global Crossing will focus on adding the, "city-to-city and building-to-building" dimension, he says. That could make the companies ripe for acquisition.

Annunziata isn't fearful of the hurdles Global Crossing may encounter as it spans the globe. "I know where we need to go," he says, "and I can eliminate the obstacles and guide our people to be forthright, open and honest and get the job done."