US West: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia
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Line 3: {{Multiple issues| {{Original research|entire article|September 2007|date=September 2007}} {{Lead too short|date=September 2023}} {{Update|date=September 2023}} {{More citations needed|date=March 2013}} }} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2012}} {{Use American English|date=September 2023}} {{Infobox company | name | trade_name = | logo
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| homepage = ▲| divisions = Consumer <br /> Business and Government Services <br /> Network <br /> Small Business <br /> Wholesale | footnotes = ▲| subsid = [[Qwest Corporation|US West Communications]]<br />[[Dex Media (Dex One)|US West Dex]]<br>US West Information Technologies<br />[[Qwest Wireless|US West Wireless]]<br>[[tw telecom|Time Warner Communications]]<br>[[Time Warner Entertainment]] (26% stake) | | | foundation
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▲| foundation = {{Start date and age|1983}} ▲| location_city = [[Denver]], Colorado | location_country = United States | locations = }} '''US West, Inc.''' Until 1990, US West was a holding company with three [[Bell Operating Companies]]: [[Mountain States Telephone & Telegraph]] (or [[Mountain Bell]], headquartered in [[Denver]], Colorado); [[Northwestern Bell]], then headquartered in [[Omaha, Nebraska]]; and [[Pacific Northwest Bell]], then headquartered in [[Seattle]], Washington. In 1988, the three companies began doing business under the US West Communications name. On January 1, 1991, Northwestern Bell and Pacific Northwest Bell were legally merged into Mountain Bell which was renamed '''US West Communications, Inc.''' US West was the first RBOC to consolidate its [[Bell Operating Companies]] (the other was [[BellSouth]]). Line 52 ⟶ 54: == Accomplishments == US West became a pioneer in the introduction and rapid system-wide implementation of telephone technologies designed by [[Bellcore]] (now [[ US West's success in this endeavor was for multiple reasons which included their then-innovative use of "test-markets" for staggered roll-outs of new calling features in middle-sized cities such as [[Boise, Idaho]], [[Minneapolis]], Minnesota, and [[Phoenix, Arizona]] before releasing them on a wider scale. (They were the first communications provider to use this strategy called [[beta-testing]], a term used for many years in the software development industry). Their geographic presence featured telephone switching equipment that had been constructed fairly recent to the time frame, thereby requiring fewer upgrades. Their service area was also experiencing population growth at a tremendous rate, tripling their subscriber-base in a short time and increasing revenues. US West also had ownership in the cable industry with its 1994 purchase of Atlanta-based Wometco and GTC cable operations and the subsequent purchase of [[Continental Cablevision]], creating MediaOne Group Inc. MediaOne, along with several ancillary businesses, was spun off as a separate company in 1998 from the traditional phone operations to form MediaOne Group. US West also participated in a joint venture agreement with Time Warner Cable to form Time Warner Communications (later known as [[TW Telecom]]) in 1993- it also purchased a 26% stake in Time Warner Entertainment's entertainment operations including [[Warner Bros.]] and [[HBO]], which was passed to MediaOne, AT&T, and finally Comcast. Comcast sold it stake back to Time Warner Inc. in 2003. US West Communications was the first local telephone company to offer [[Caller ID]] service in 1991, nearly four years before any other local [[Telecommunications company|telco]] could do so. They were the first U.S. telco to upgrade their [[PSTN]] to electronic switching before 1990 and they were the first to offer residential and business [[ISDN]] and later, [[DSL]] services to their customers by 1997. As a result of its rapid "bring-to-market" abilities and continued success in the advances in technology US West was one of the first companies in the United States to officially recognize and support its [[gay]] and [[lesbian]] employees. The Eagles, an [[employee resource group]] for gay and lesbian US West employees, was recognized in 1989. It had chapters in seven US states by 1990.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101054140/support-group-for-gay-employees-of-us-we/ |date=October 21, 1990 |title=US West practices 'good public policy' |work=The Des Moines Register }}</ref> == Criticisms == Line 66 ⟶ 72: US West was accused by critics{{Who|date=February 2012}} of failing to meet service needs within a reasonable time frame and of practicing predatory billing and collection methods. While the company often claimed that subscriber demands were often greater than their ability to fulfill orders, many critics pointed to high profit margins, spending on bring-to-market technology and lackluster investment in customer support. US West went through a period of union-management relations that bordered on positive during the early 1990s. After a failed re-engineering strategy, relations fell apart due to increasing hostility between company leaders and employees. An often-used nickname for the company was The company was fined multiple times by the State of [[Oregon]] for these practices during the 1990s. US West was also, at several times, involved in smaller litigation with other states within its service area for similar complaints from customers. Line 88 ⟶ 94: ==External links== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20000301114201/http://uswest.com/ https://uswest.com] *[http://news.qwest.com/centurylinkqwestmerger CenturyLink and Qwest Agree to Merge] *[http://www.thisisarecording.com/telco-us-west.html Archive of US West Intercept Messages] | |||