Telco Communications Group Inc

Excel Communications Inc. on Friday said that it agreed to buy Telco Communications Group Inc. for $1.2 billion to strengthen its position as the fifth-largest long-distance company in the United States. The deal will create a communications company with 6.3 million customers, a 100,000-mile fiber-optic network and revenues of about $2 billion. It will also generate substantial cost savings for Excel, company executives said. Excel stock jumped $2.375 to close at $21.

Excel Communications Inc. on Friday said that it agreed to buy Telco Communications Group Inc. for $1.2 billion to strengthen its position as the fifth-largest long-distance company in the United States. The deal will create a communications company with 6.3 million customers, a 100,000-mile fiber-optic network and revenues of about $2 billion. It will also generate substantial cost savings for Excel, company executives said. Excel stock jumped $2.375 to close at $21.

With a "carpet bombing" approach to marketing, hundreds of small long-distance carriers are chipping away at the market share of AT&T and the other big long-distance telephone companies--but they're leaving consumers baffled as to who really offers the best deals. The enormous growth of carriers such as Excel Communications Inc. and Telco Communications Group Inc.