What's cooking with the carriers

Enterprise IT execs love to ask me, "Which carrier's the best?" I hate that question, because the only honest answer is "It depends." Specifically, it depends on how big you are, what services you require, what geographies you require them in, how much you're willing to pay, and how long you want to spend in negotiations.

But I've learned that when folks ask that, what they really want is a snapshot of how the carriers are doing overall. So with the caveat that the right carrier for you depends on the answers to all the questions above, here's the current snapshot:

AT&T : From what executives at enterprises report, the new AT&T has been doing formidably well at winning and retaining enterprise business. Whether it's the incumbent, or trying to entice new customers, AT&T seems to be willing to go to the mat during negotiations to deliver premium services at affordable prices. And it's more proactive and responsive than ever before - good news for current and prospective customers.

The only apparent downside: accounting and legal systems seem to have reverted to the (bad old) days of yore, so getting contract terms and conditions nailed down and processed through accounting isn't as painless as it could be. But overall, AT&T seems to be growing its enterprise leadership position.

Verizon : Verizon's continuing to stay highly competitive in enterprise wireless - it's the de facto standard for companies with the right geographical footprint (albeit with prices to match). Moreover, Verizon Business (the former MCI) is living up to its historical track record by moving forward aggressively with a portfolio of advanced service offerings.

Where the company seems to stumble is in execution. Too often, for instance, the wireless and wireline sales teams don't engage each other, meaning that business is left on the table.

I'm also hearing grumbles about installation times and SNAFUs - something the old MCI was notorious for but that we'd hoped Verizon's process-orientation had overcome.