NEW YORK-The Telecommunications Executive Leadership Council, a group of 18 executives, is working with Deloitte & Touche L.L.P. and The Economist to analyze factors critical to success in the next century.
The council has met twice, most recently in February, to identify key issues for further study, among them:
Whether new breakthroughs like the Internet, fixed wireless applications and/or low Earth orbit satellites will create a new economic paradigm for the industry.
Whether incumbent carriers or non-traditional players like computer companies and/or retailers will lead innovation and possibly establish first mover advantages in the new marketplace.
How industry life-cycle insights and the balance between full-service players and niche-focused category killers will play out in the telecommunications market during the next five years.
What signs telecommunications players should be on the lookout for that will indicate whether evolution or revolution will dominate the communications industry’s progress.
The council members now have turned over detailed research into the key issues they have identified to the Telecommunications and Media Group of Deloitte & Touche Consulting, Atlanta, and the Intelligence Unit of The Economist, New York. The two companies will conduct in-depth, one-on-one interviews with council members.
There are tentative plans for a conference in late May reviewing preliminary results of the research, said Jennifer Grimes, marketing and communications director for Deloitte & Touche’s Telecommunications and Media Practice. There are definite plans to hold several conferences in September to discuss conclusions from the research, which The Economist will sell in the form of a report in the fall, she said.
The Telecommunications Executive Leadership Council is comprised of those executives of wireline and wireless companies who accepted an invitation to join: Christopher Bantoft, president and managing director of ACC Telecom Europe; Terri L. Compton, vice president of national business development for GTE Business Development & Integration; Neil E. Cox, president of Ameritech Information Industry Services; Marshall M. Criser III, vice president of strategic initiatives for BellSouth International; Jerry A. DeMartino, senior vice president of global strategy and development for MCI Telecommunications Corp.; Denis Gilhooly, vice president of business development for Teledesic; Edward L. Glotzbach, president and chief executive officer of SBC Services; Tim Harrabin, strategy executive for Vodafone Group; Robert E. Grant, vice president and general manager of small business retail markets for U S West Communications; Maureen McNally, director of business strategy and programs for Eircell; Jesus Mallol, director of planning, control and investments for Telefonica Internacional; Robert M. Neumeister Jr., chief financial officer of Sprint Spectrum L.L.P.; Tony Harris, director of strategy and business planning for British Telecom; Liane Pelletier, vice president of corporate strategy for Sprint Corp.; Gerald L. Pond, president and chief executive officer of Bruncor; Sohail Qadri, director of mobility strategy for British Telecom; Javier Ros, general director of telecommunications for Telefonica Internacional; and Lauren Virol, senior adviser for France Telecom.
