Charles Lee

So the MCI deal didn't go down. So what?

GTE still is a power to be reckoned with in local, long- distance and Internet services. Whether as a potential buyer or buyout candidate, GTE has the assets that partners want.

GTE's $616 million purchase of BBN Corp. was a coup. BBN was the pioneering company behind the Internet, and those visionaries now work for GTE and Charles Lee.

Instant Internet, indeed.

GTE also coughed up another $485 million this year to acquire a 13,000-mile slice of Qwest Communications Corp.'s fiber-optic network. This will let GTE extend its network to 92 metropolitan areas in late 1998.

These deals are part of Lee's bold plan to move beyond the industry's perception of GTE as little more than a LEC. Indeed, GTE now offers long-distance in all 50 states - without MCI's help. And the company also is bulking up its wireless offerings.

In Lee's grand scheme, GTE's revenue will reach between $34 billion and $38 billion by the year 2001. That's in contrast to $21.3 billion in 1996. Lee failed in his bid to acquire MCI. But that does not mean MCI should stop looking over its shoulder. In fact, if the WorldCom/MCI deal fails the tough regulatory reviews ahead, Lee may just swoop down to pick up the broken pieces.

NEXT: Dawn Lepore