Qwest Communications International - Originates As Subsidiary Of Southern Pacific, 1988-1995

Qwest Communications International originated as SP Telecom, a subsidiary of the giant railroad company Southern Pacific Transportation Co. SP Telecom was established in San Francisco in 1988 to construct telecommunications lines along Southern Pacific's 15,000 miles of railroad right-of-way. Later in 1988 Southern Pacific was acquired by reclusive Denver billionaire Philip Anschutz, who reorganized SP Telecom as a subsidiary of Anschtutz Corp. In 1992 Anschutz negotiated an easement agreement with Southern Pacific to lay fiber-optic cable along 11,700 miles of its tracks. By 1993 the privately held SP Telecom had annual revenue of more than $50 million and 410 employees. During the early 1990s SP Telecom built fiber-optic linkups for other carriers, sold space on its fiber-optic network, and introduced commercial products.