Qwest Communications International Inc. (Qwest is pronounced "Quest") is a large telecommunications carrier serving 14 western U.S. states: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and WyomingWyoming State nickname: Equality State Other U. States Capital Cheyenne Largest City Cheyenne Governor Dave Freudenthal Area Total Land Water % water Ranked 10th 253,554 kmē 251,706 kmē 1,851 kmē 0. 7% Population Total ( 2000) Density Ranked 50th 493,782. It trades on the NYSE under the symbol " QQ is the 17th letter of the Latin alphabet. The Semitic sound value of Qop was /q/. In Greek this sign (called Qoppa in Greek) probably came to represent several labial plosives, among them /k_w/ and /k_w_h/. These sounds changed to /p/ and /p_h/ respecti".The company provides local telephone service, long distance , and backboneIn general usage, the backbone is a synonym for the spine of an animal. It is also slang for " courage". In telecommunication, the term backbone has the following meanings: The high- traffic-density connectivity portion of any communications network. services. They also provide wirelessWireless is an old-fashioned term for a radio receiver, referring to its use as a wireless telegraph. The term was widely used in the UK, long after radio was being used for other signals, such as music. In modern usage, the term refers to communication w, DSLDSL is a TLA that can stand for # Digital Subscriber Line # Damn Small Linux TLAs. and digital televisionSee TV (disambiguation) for other uses and Television (band) for the rock band Television is a telecommunication system for broadcasting and receiving moving pictures and sound over a distance. The term has come to refer to all the aspects of television p service in some areas.
Founded in 19961996 was a leap year starting on Monday (see link for calendar), and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty''. Events January January 5 Hamas operative Yahya Ayyash is killed by an Israeli-planted booby-trapped cell phone Jan by Philip Anschutz, Qwest merged with long-established telephone company US West on June 30, 2000. Anschutz owns 17.5% of the resulting company.
Qwest (and previously US West) has been plagued by an image of poor customer service after years of complaints, earning it the nickname "Qworst" in some circles.
One of the historically significant mass complaints regarding Qwest involved the company's tendency of switching its local telephone service customers over to Qwest's long-distance service without their permission, an illegal practice known as " slamming". In July 2000 , Qwest paid a $1.5 million fine to the Federal Communications Commission to resolve slamming complaints. In April 2001, they paid a $350,000 fine to the Pennsylvania Bureau of Consumer Protection after the state cited them for deceptive advertising and slamming practices.
Dick Notebaert, who took over as CEO in 2002, introduced the "Spirit of Service" campaign which promotes the company as being refocused on customer satisfaction.
In 2004, Qwest became the first local phone company to offer naked DSL , i.e. DSL Internet service that does not require the customer to have local landline phone service.
