Ron Frieson Quotations

When you look at a number that large over three separate entities, that's attrition. AT&T has that kind of attrition in a year.

We have a commitment from AT&T that we will continue, as we have historically, to be a very engaged partner in the community. From a culture perspective, these companies really look alike.

The vast majority of our employees should be just fine at the close of this deal. Having said that, obviously in any kind of merger ... there is an opportunity to pick up some synergies. There will be some consolidation.

Just 20 years ago, 95 percent of our revenues came from wired phone lines. Today, 35 percent comes from voice lines and 65 percent comes from broadband, wireless and Yellow Pages.

When I started in this business, Blackberry was a fruit. Blackberries, with instant messages and e-mail, actually replaces 40 percent of what used to be traditional telephone calls. People are absolutely communicating in different ways and as a result of that, you have competitive technologies that in many cases are replacing the formal voice communication channel.