FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM Hawaiian Telecom, owned by the Carlyle Group of Washington, D.C., officially started business yesterday, taking over from Verizon Hawaii. At a ceremony at its Bishop Street offices, new CEO Mike Ruley unveiled the company's new sign.

---

Hawaiian Telcom
hits the ground
running

The firm that bought Verizon
Hawaii intends to invest $104M
over the next two years

Hawaiian Telcom, which completed its $1.6 billion purchase of Verizon Hawaii yesterday, said it plans to add about 250 jobs over the next year.

Michael Ruley: Says the firm's investment will add about 250 jobs during the next year

Hawaiian Telcom Chief Executive Michael Ruley said the company recently began hiring new employees for back-office functions that were previously handled on the mainland by Verizon Hawaii's parent, Verizon Communications Inc.

The new jobs -- which include marketing, information technology, human resources and finance positions -- will increase Hawaiian Telcom's payroll to about 1,900 workers, Ruley said.

The hirings come after previous owners Verizon and GTE Corp. shipped off scores of back-office and service jobs to the mainland during the past two decades.

"We'll have to ramp up for the remainder of this year so we can have a full staff to operate the company," Ruley said.

Ruley's remarks came during a ceremony at Hawaiian Telcom's downtown headquarters in which the company showed off its new blue and green corporate logo to hundreds of employees and members of the local community.

Ruley said that the company will invest $104 million over the next two years to build up its back-office operations to make Hawaiian Telcom "a fully stand-alone company in early 2006."

Hawaiian Telcom also will spend about $12 million on a rebranding campaign.

The rebranding costs will includes a new seven-figure, year-long advertising campaign by Milici Valenti Ng Pack Advertising, redesigned wireless retail outlets, new corporate uniforms and repainted service trucks with the new Hawaiian Telcom corporate logo.

"At a time when there's considerable pressure and industry consolidation -- with mergers and acquisitions of the world's largest telecom companies -- Hawaiian Telcom is bucking that trend," Ruley said. "We're carving out a terrific company from Verizon and now will be investing and giving the company and this state the full attention they deserve."

The completion of the $1.6 billion deal marked the end of a year-long effort between Verizon and Hawaiian Telcom's owner, the Carlyle Group of Washington, D.C.

The process included public hearings, legislative resolutions and a 2-1 decision by the state Public Utilities Commission to grant conditional approval for the deal.