TELECOMMUNICATIONS : McCaw Cellular, Southwestern Bell Hold Marketing Talks

McCaw Cellular Communications Inc. has held talks with Southwestern Bell Corp. on how to create a more unified national cellular telephone network, a McCaw official said Thursday.

“We have had discussions with them, and we have had discussions with a lot of companies about how to increase our footprint,” said McCaw Vice President Bob Ratliffe.

While industry analysts did not expect any kind of deal between the two companies immediately, they said the talks appear to be heading toward a new marketing arrangement that would take effect after AT&T; Corp. completes its planned $12.6-billion acquisition of McCaw.

“You’re not talking about a business combination,” said William Deatherage of S.G. Warburg Securities. “But there is a potential for a strategic marketing agreement.”

McCaw and Southwestern Bell currently are partners with Vanguard Cellular Communications Inc. in Cellular One Group, a national brand name for cellular telephone service.

Dallas-based Southwestern Bell Mobile Systems markets cellular telephone services under its own name in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri and Arkansas but uses the Cellular One name in more distant markets such as Chicago, Boston and Washington.

But if the merger of AT&T; and McCaw goes through as analysts expect, the Cellular One name will probably be changed as AT&T; seeks to benefit from its own name-brand recognition.

“Cellular One would survive somewhere in the picture, but AT&T; would have to be prominent and dominant,” said Steve Yanis of Kidder Peabody.

That would potentially put Southwestern Bell, formed in the 1984 breakup of AT&T; Corp., in the unusual position of promoting a service carrying the name of its former parent.

But industry analysts believe Southwestern Bell has little choice but to maintain its cellular alliance as the industry consolidates.

Talks between Southwestern Bell and other regional Bell companies have been fruitless so far.

Meanwhile, Nynex Corp. has announced plans to merge its cellular operations with those of Bell Atlantic Corp., and US West Inc. plans to combine cellular operations with AirTouch Communications Inc.