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For Charles Lee, its all about wallet share.
In the Verizon Communications chairman and co-CEOs lexicon, corporations have a telecommunications wallet filled with money earmarked for their local phone company, long-distance carrier, wireless provider, cable service, and on and on.
Verizons goal is to increase that wallet share by expanding its traditional phone services to include long-distance, wireless and international fiber-optic networks. The plan is to provide end-to-end connectivity to customers, particularly large multinational corporations that dont want to shop for different telecom providers. But at the moment, “for many enterprise customers, we cant even compete for business,” Lee laments.
Lee, along with president and co-CEO Ivan Seidenberg, have a plan to add long-distance in Washington, D.C., and the 13 states once served by Bell Atlantic before it merged with GTE to form Verizon.
The company plans to offer seamless international voice, data and Internet service through its new Global Solutions division. Its building a European fiber-optic backbone with British carrier Flag Telecom, and plans to launch in six European cities in the second half of this year. Verizon also has a presence in Hong Kong; Sydney, Australia; and Tokyo, and plans to move into Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Singapore within two years.
The goal is to increase revenue by 8 percent to 10 percent this year and next year, up from $64.7 billion in 2000. Lee predicts 2003 revenue will be $85 billion, and anticipates that the company will hit the $100 billion mark in 2005. Analysts believe Verizons revenue increases may be hampered by debt and increased capital spending. The company plans to spend roughly $18 billion on capital projects this year, up from $12.1 billion in 2000.