ACS: A Leader in Telecommunications.

• Author: SMITH, DAWNELL
• Position: Alaska Communications Systems Group Inc. - Communications Systems Group Inc.

This company went from being an idea to being an industry leader in less than three years.

When telecommunications veteran Charles Robinson pitched the idea of a full-service, statewide telecommunications business to a group of associates in 1998, he planted the seed for Alaska Communications Systems Group Inc. That dinner conversation started a growth spurt that turned his vision into what now ranks as the state's leading diversified, facilities-based telecommunications carrier.

Today, ACS offers everything from local telephone, long-distance and wireless services to directory assistance, wireless cable television, Internet access, phone repair and equipment sales. More pointedly, ACS handles about 75 percent of the state's phone lines.

"What happened just goes to prove that dreams can come true if you have the determination to make them happen," said Wesley Carson, president and chief administrative officer.

Determination makes things happen, but success usually needs nurturing through expertise and experience. Before founding and serving as president and CEO of ACS, Robinson spent four decades in the industry, including a stint as president of Alascom from 1979 to 1982. He also took over as president and chief operating officer of Alascom's parent company, Pacific Telecom, from 1981 until the company's sale to CenturyTel in 1997.

Back in the late 1950s, he even played an integral role in developing the state's long-distance communications systems through projects like the White Alice Communications System.

When it came time to bring his ACS vision to the drawing board, he brought other former Pacific Telecom managers to the table. Wes Carson got his start in 1980 with TRT Telecommunications Corp., an international data and voice carrier that was acquired by Pacific Telecom in 1988. Once with Pacific, he spent about a decade as vice president of human resources before joining the ACS venture.

Still another former manager for Alascom and Pacific Telecom, John Ayers now works as executive vice president and chief operating officer of ACS. These three men alone, combined, have spent more than a century working in the industry.

As a result, they knew ACS had to hit the ground running. With equity access and debt financing from Fox Paine & Co., a San Francisco investment firm that helped form ACS, they made the move to buy PTI Communications from Century Telephone Enterprises in 1998 and out-bid competitors for Anchorage Telephone Utility in...