We're signing up people faster than we thought on the data services and faster than we thought possible on telephony. We also had very successful market trials of fixed wireless technology in two cities in Texas. Our broadband schedule is going great. The truth may be that integration will only happen on a piecemeal basis. They'll leave things such as billing until later, perhaps much later, and a lot of the operations in the merged companies will stay distinct.
Integration is also adjustable.
The perceived success of mergers is increasingly determined by stock prices. If it can be shown that the merger is increasing revenue, he says, companies can stretch the time they have to integrate. The goal of most of these mergers is to offer bundled services, regardless of whether integration takes place or where the services themselves originate. The ultimate goal of any merger is improved delivery of service, says Covad's Moya. We'll solve some problems, but then others will appear on the horizon.