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Baby Bell and GTE tie the knot The Baby Bells have grown up and left the house. Telecommunications businesses saw the rise of an industry giant when Bell Atlantic Corp. and GTE Corp. officially merged in June 2000. Named Verizon Communications, the new company is the largest local phone company in the U.S. Its wealth of services include voice, data, high-speed Internet access, and wireless. The Fortune 10 company owns one-third of all local phone lines, serves 25 million wireless-phone customers throughout in the U.S., and expects to approach $60 billion in revenues. Verizon's wireline presence extends to 31 states in the U.S. and 40 nations globally through operations and investments in the Americas, Europe, Asia and the Pacific. Ma Bell would have been proud. Before they were one: GTE and growing Founded in 1926 and bankrupted by the Great Depression, GTE emerged in 1935 as General Telephone and grew into the largest local telephone service provider not affiliated with Bell Telephone. A 1991 merger with Contel made GTE the second-largest cellular phone provider and the largest local telephone utility in the world at the time. When telecommunications deregulation in 1996 allowed local and long-distance companies to compete, the company made a $27 billion bid for MCI but lost to upstart WorldCom. After this setback, however, GTE scored a coup of its own, merging with Bell Atlantic, a fellow regional giant, in a $53 billion transaction. With "dark fiber" from QWEST, GTE built the Global Network Infrastructure, a $1.3 billion network of 17,000 miles of high-speed, fiber-optic cable. GTE was the first local carrier to convert all of its lines into a digital network. After the merger, GTE sold three of its defense-electronics units to General Dynamics for $1 billion and acquired roughly half of Ameritech's wireless business for $3.3 billion. In January of 1999 GTE announced plans to cut $600 million in cost to streamline company operations. The merger with Bell Atlantic required GTE to spin-off its internet service business into a new company called Genuity; some have wondered whether Genuity was a move to placate doubters on the FCC board. Bell Atlantic: joining the big leagues An original "Baby Bell," Bell Atlantic was spun-off from AT&T in 1984. This "Baby Bell" started with phone rights to six states and the District of Columbia and soon pushed operations into unexplored territories such as cellular, paging, on-line services, directory publishing, and computer and office sales. The acquired fellow Baby Bell NYNEX and also expanded into Spanish and Eastern European markets. Bell Atlantic made a huge splash in the cellular phone market at the end of 1999 when it acquired Vodafone AirTouch PLC for $15 billion. With Vodafone, Bell Atlantic created Verizon Wireless, the largest wireless phone network in the country. The acquisition placed Bell Atlantic in direct competition with AT&T and Sprint PCS for nationwide cellular service plans. The Internet via your cell The company announced in July 2000 Mobile Web, wireless Internet service for cell phones. Featuring 32 branded Web sites, the new service competes with AT&T's PocketNet and Sprint's Wireless Web.
Job seekers can consult either GTE or Bell Atlantic for employment opportunities at Verizon. GTE's employment web page, located at www.gte.com/aboutGTE/careers, offers an array of helpful information including development programs, internships, entry level positions/degree requirements, and a list of college recruiting fairs. The company's many development programs provide mentoring, leadership training, and rotational job assignments in departments such as Branch Sales, Data Services, and Network Services. GTE recruits extensively on campuses across the country. Fax resumes to GTE's College Recruiting department at 888-483-6137 or e-mail to gte.jobs@telops.gte.com. GTE also lists a number of regional employment centers applicants can contact. Applicants can find out more information about current openings, as well as the relevant contact names and addresses, by consulting the Bell Atlantic employment Web page, located at www.bel-atl.com/jobpost. For associate positions, Bell Atlantic has set up telephone hotlines by region such as New York City (1-800-511-8086), New England (1-800-510-2595), and Pennsylvania (1-800-678-4869). Send resumes for these jobs with the applicant's Social Security number to Bell Atlantic Recruitment, P.O. Box 1454, Melville, NY 11747. Non-management and technical positions are available; call 1-800-617-JOBS for up-to-the-minute postings. Bell Atlantic also recruits heavily on campus.
Though it's too early to tell how employees are Verizon will fare, past surveys at GTE and Bell Atlantic point to a bright future. In spite of an "uncertain future," GTE employees point to the company's "comprehensive" job training program and "year-end bonuses" as signs of its "serious commitment to its employees." Employees also laud the companies' benefits program as "above average", especially medical insurance. Dress is described as business casual "which means no jeans, tanktops, shorts, etc." Hours range anywhere from 50-60 hours a week to just above 40. Company officials place "a lot of emphasis on diversity in the work place." Change and progressive are two words employees use to describe working at Bell Atlantic. "The 'corporate climate' is changing every day," says one insider. "The old ways of doing business are business are changing and so is management. It is a perfect time for any college student to jump in, and express themselves."
Human Resources
Local telephone service; Cellular telephone service; Long-distance service; Internetworking & data services; Consumer Services; Small and Large Business Services; Carrier Services; Directory Services; Public & Operator Services; Federal Systems Services; Network & Federal Integration Services; Entertainment & Information Services
AT&T;SBC Communications;Sprint;MCI Worldcom More Company Profiles For more career information, go to Vault.com ©2000, Vault.com Inc
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