Legacy or start-up?

Many carriers work long and hard to find a service niche that is untapped or underserved. After providers locate that niche, they often add multiple new dimensions and service offerings that stray from and perhaps dilute their initial cash cow.

Howard Janzen, CEO of Williams Communications, is confident the wholesale carrier will not deviate from its carrier's carrier course - even the second time around. "We were pioneers in this business and were the first player from outside the telecom industry to enter the game of building cross-country fiber," Janzen says. "We have a great legacy in this business, and yet in a lot of ways, we're very much a start-up company in telecom."

In 1995 Williams sold the majority of its network assets to LDDS Communications, which is now part of MCI WorldCom - a move that prevented Williams from re-entering the business until last January. But now, with Janzen leading the company - he actually began working for Williams Pipe Line as a project engineer in 1979 and was later chairman of WilTel - it has rocketed to telecom stardom. Williams plans to complete its fiber optic network one year ahead of schedule, at the end of 2000.

"What we hope to [do], like our previous business at WilTel, [is] set the standards in our industry for performance and reliability," Janzen says. "And one of our biggest advantages is that we are building from a core, very experienced team that has done this before with the WilTel network, which set that standard for performance."

In addition to its expanding personnel assets, Williams has reeled in several strong partners, multiple investments and a healthy IPO in October. The carrier took on a partnership with SBC Communications to the tune of $425 million, an investment from Intel worth $200 million and a $100 million deal with Telmex.

But relationships, such as the one with SBC, would not have happened if Williams was retailing services in addition to its wholesale offerings, Janzen says. "Customers value the fact that we aren't competing with them. They are not going to give business to someone they are competing with."

Beyond the continued carrier's carrier focus and partnerships, Janzen says Williams will move deeper into local markets to further complement its network.