Williams back from Chapter 11

Williams Communications emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy last week with a new name, no debt and $375 million available in credit.

The carrier will now be known as WilTel Communications Group. It will continue to serve a customer base consisting mostly of other carriers, but also including large corporate network accounts. WilTel's business focus and product portfolio will remain the same.

The carrier, which operates a national fiber-optic network and provides connectivity to some international customers, filed for bankruptcy in April.

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Williams Communications emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy last week with a new name, no debt and $375 million available in credit.

The carrier will now be known as WilTel Communications Group. It will continue to serve a customer base consisting mostly of other carriers, but also including large corporate network accounts. WilTel's business focus and product portfolio will remain the same.

The carrier, which operates a national fiber-optic network and provides connectivity to some international customers, filed for bankruptcy in April.

After spending billions of dollars building out its network, the company was struggling under a debt load of about $6 billion.

Williams didn't lose any major customers during its bankruptcy, and its past financial woes aren't likely to scare off clients, says Russ McGuire, chief strategist with TeleChoice and a Network World columnist.

"Who among their competitors hasn't been in bankruptcy or some sort of financial trouble?" he asks.

Williams competes most directly in the wholesale market with carriers such as Global Crossing and Level 3 Communications.

Seth Libby, a senior analyst with The Yankee Group, says Level 3 might have an edge over the others just because it has avoided filing for bankruptcy protection.

"They have some huge debt, but they've lasted longer than many people expected," he says.

Observers also are curious to see what effect the newly debt-free carriers will have on service pricing. The concern is that they will continue to force prices down, making it even more difficult for carriers to turn a profit.

"There needs to be some consolidation in the industry," McGuire says. "If nothing changes, in two years all those companies that filed for Chapter 11 will be filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy."

(In a Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing, a business' assets are liquidated, instead of the business reorganizing as it does under Chapter 11.)

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