Ever since it became obvious, about a year ago, that the telecom industry was about to undergo a major transformation, companies hoping to compete with the "new" AT&T and the "new" Verizon have supposedly been champing at the bit.

"Just you wait," they croon. These new behemoths will be so focused on their internal integration process and so shaken by the thousands of job cuts pending that their customers will get lost in the shuffle. And as those customers wander helplessly through the forest of forgotten accounts, signed checks falling out of their pockets, any number of competitors will be lurking nearby, drooling at the chance to do business like so many wolves coveting the keys to granny's front door.

Verizon served notice this morning that it plans to hit the ground running and insists there will be no confusion among its customers. AT&T is claiming much the same, although to date, most of what we've seen is ads. At the Citigroup conference earlier this month, CFO Rick Lindner said his company will particularly be focused on the small- to-medium-sized business.

But what large company executives say and what large company employees do can be very different animals. How these two large companies handle their internal integration processes, the disruption their employees face and the confusion and uncertainty their customers experience will be the telling tale.

At this stage, Verizon is talking a better game but facing a bigger challenge. MCI never quite mastered the integration of all the companies acquired by WorldCom before it was acquired by Verizon. AT&T has all the bells and whistles--no pun intended--but what's behind the curtain?

A year from now, we'll have a much better idea.

E-mail me at CWilson3@prismb2b.com.