“This is a fight for the total telecommunication system, and we’re not going to play defense,” said John E. Rooney from his new office as president of Ameritech Consumer Services.
Rooney has been president of Ameritech Cellular and Paging since 1992. But a recent, rapid shuffle has put him in the front lines of the landline division. The new president of cellular is Herbert Hribar, formerly vice president of Ameritech International-Europe.
Ameritech Cellular is facing intense competition from new personal communications services, and at the same time is installing expensive digital equipment into its analog networks.
But Ameritech Cellular’s fight to preserve its 2 million mobile subscribers is small compared with the threat facing Ameritech’s core business, providing residential landline local telephone service.
At stake in that battle are 12 million customers. Rooney saw the chance to lead more troops into a tougher, more critical battlefield, and it appealed to him. “This is a very, very positive move for me. I am given every opportunity to be successful,” he said.
“Right now I’m kind of drinking from a fire hose, but this will be one of the winning, dominant pieces of Ameritech,” Rooney said.
He wouldn’t say whether he has been courted during the last few years by any of the PCS companies in search of wireless expertise. Why would he go with any of them when Ameritech has just as good a chance of succeeding? Rooney said.
AT&T Wireless Services Inc. and PrimeCo Personal Communications Inc. are the two PCS carriers for the Chicago major trading area. Ameritech holds the PCS license for neighboring Indianapolis, where it will compete with Sprint Spectrum L.P.
Rooney isn’t deeply concerned about PrimeCo, saying it probably won’t be a major player. He thinks the Sprint partnership has cultural problems. MCI Communications Corp. has no facilities in wireless, and that could be a weakness, Rooney said.
But AT&T-now that’s a worry.
“The seven big RBOCS-well, there’s five now, with the mergers-and AT&T can be expected to go hammer and tong,” Rooney said. “But competition and winning is the name of the game.
“I’m walking into one of the greatest opportunities and I’m going to have some fun. Some regionals will fail but some regionals will be successful, like Ameritech,” Rooney said. “And some nationals will fail. It’s going to be a massive, competitive battle.”
Rooney first joined Ameritech in 1990 as vice president and treasurer. Prior to that he held senior management roles with Bridgestone Firestone Inc. He was in charge of 1,500 retail tire stores. Before his Firestone experience, Rooney held financial management positions with Pullman Inc. of Chicago.
