Qwest Quickly Making Its Mark Spokane Gets New Product

Once upon a time, the only way you could get a call at home was if you were at home.

That’s not the case anymore, noted John Nichols, an executive director with U S West Wireless.

Nichols came to Spokane on Wednesday from company headquarters in Denver to launch Qwest Communications in Eastern Washington and North Idaho. Qwest merged with U S West a few weeks ago.

The Qwest launch brings to the region a phone that integrates wireless and wired technologies - allowing callers to use their cell phone not only to get home calls but also to access their computer and the Internet.

Although it is competing with about six other cellular providers, Qwest still sees the region as a promising market. “We expect good sales growth here,” Nichols said. “It is a real competitive market, but there is a lot of growth potential.”

Plans to expand to Spokane and Coeur d’Alene started last year. Some 140 cellular transmission stations have been installed, and a new office has been opened at 5924 N. Division.

Qwest already offers its service west of the Cascades, with a service area stretching from Blaine, Wash., to Eugene, Ore.

With service now available in Spokane, Coeur d’Alene and Boise, Qwest plans to bring Sandpoint and the I-90 corridor between Spokane and Seattle online by year end.

The merger of U S West and Qwest happened at a good time for the company’s Eastern Washington expansion, Nichols said.

“The timing was serendipitous,” he said, noting US West customers in the Spokane area will now be able to purchase Qwest services through their accounts. Also, the full service’s home range includes Seattle, Boise, and Portland, so calls to any of those areas wouldn’t be considered long distance.

To demonstrate the service, Qwest’s business and financial analyst Jeremy Segale used a Qwest phone that could connect with a personal computer.

“You can buy books and CDs from Barnes & Noble, you can log into ebay and bid on things, and you can look at your stock quotes,” he said, gesturing to the small, silver device.

He added you also can look up movie times. Well maybe not yet in Spokane. Several efforts to find downtown theaters came up empty. “They’re still expanding the service,” Segale explained.

Still, in just a few seconds he was able get Denver show times.

If anyone was wondering, Denver’s Pavilion theater will show “Scary Movie” at 9:30 and 10:30 p.m.