AT&T; BREAKUP II : Voices

“AT&T; is reinventing itself once again.”

--Robert E. Allen, Chairman, AT&T;

“That’s a heck of a jump in stock price for one action ... but I don’t think it’s going to have much impact on the industry. They were a formidable company when they were improperly structured and they will be a formidable competitor now. They’ve just, in essence, opened up the kennel door and let out their worst and mangiest flea-bitten dogs.”

--Tim Price, president, MCI Telecommunications Corp.

“This is largely a public relations exercise. They were looking for the most graceful way to get rid of the computer business. Wall Street is having a party, and I think that is a very major overreaction.”

--Sheldon Grodsky, Director of Research, Grodsky Associates

“AT&T; had become a huge and sluggish monster which had become disadvantaged. This is the biggest telecommunications news of the decade.”

--Jeffrey Kagan, who runs his own telecommunications consulting firm

“This is a clear signal that the surviving AT&T; is preparing to focus on its entry into the local exchange business, which would be packaged with its long distance and wireless capabilities.”

--Raymond W. Smith, Chief Executive, Bell Atlantic Corp.

“People are very anxious. It’s a trying time.”

--David Rose, veteran employee with AT&T;’s Global Information Solutions, which will lose 8,500 jobs in the restructuring

“In general, corporate spin-offs of this kind do not raise significant antitrust concerns.”

Anne K. Bingaman, chief of Justice Department’s antitrust division