Bell Atlantic said Tuesday it will restructure its operations and management to better respond to changes in a telecommunications industry driven by the growth of the Internet and deregulation.
The phone company (BEL) plans to divide its operations into six business: the Enterprise Business Group, which handles communications services for large business customers; the General Business Group, which focuses on medium and small business customers; the Consumer Group; the Network Services Group, which will operate all of Bell Atlantic’s networks, sell network capacity wholesale, and oversee the interconnection needs of competitors; the Directory Group; and the Wireless Group.
Each will operate autonomously, with the individual units responsible for all product decisions, financial management, marketing, sales, and customer support. They will be evaluated on financial performances, Bell Atlantic said in a statement.
The idea, a Bell spokesman said, is to decentralize the company's operations in order to make it more entrepreneurial and responsive to the changing telecommunications landscape.
The restructuring also calls for a new executive body, named the Office of the Chairman, to oversee Bell Atlantic's business direction, overall finances, and strategic partnerships and acquisitions, such as the upcoming purchase of GTE. Chairman and CEO Ivan Seidenberg will lead, with three executives reporting to him. Lawrence Babbio and James Cullen will each have the title of president and chief operating officer. Frederic Salerno would serve as the senior executive vice president and chief financial officer.
Bell Atlantic expects minimal job cuts or job creations as a result of the reorganization, which the company says will be completed by 1 December.
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Netscape departure: Netscape Communications' chief scientist Taher Elgamal has left the company to head his own Silicon Valley start-up.
The well-respected inventor -- known for his work with encryption -- will take the reins at Securify, based in Mountain View, California. Securify will provide consulting help to companies looking to ensure the security of their computer networks.
The new firm has some wealthy guardian angels. Silicon Valley heavies Jim Barksdale, Eric Benhamou, and Jim Bidzos are all early investors, according to The Wall Street Journal.
At Netscape, Elgamal was one of about a dozen high-level scientists and technologists who formed a brain trust to product development. He left on good terms, Netscape said. Because his role was not managerial, he won't be replaced.
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Teledesic in Europe: The telecommunications company opened its first two European offices Tuesday to support its worldwide satellite communications business.
The two new offices are in Brussels and Madrid. Matthew Shears, who most recently was regional director of international public affairs for AT&T Communications Services in Brussels, will run that office and serve as Teledesic's chief liaison with the European Commission.
Julian Sesena, a former executive with the Spanish satellite system Hispaat, will run the Madrid office and manage Teledesic's European regulatory and technical affairs.
Teledesic, based in Kirkland, Washington, is building a low-earth-orbit satellite network to deliver worldwide, wireless broadband communications services, such as high-speed Internet access and videoconferencing.
The global undertaking and marketplace requires an international presence, Teledesic said in a statement Tuesday. A spokesman said it expects to add additional overseas offices in the future, but hasn’t picked specific locations.
