Though Mr. Seidenberg joined New York Telephone as a cable splicer and spent a decade in a series of engineering jobs, he started on the road to upper management when he joined AT&T's regulatory department in 1976.

The dozen or so years Mr. Seidenberg spent dealing with lawmakers in Washington, some analysts say, taught him to be cunning and flexible.

Consider the handling of the debate over whether the Bell companies should be allowed to charge Internet content providers for faster connections to their customers.

Mr. Whitacre of AT&T drew loud criticism in November when he told Business Week that "for a Google or Yahoo or Vonage or anybody to expect to use these pipes free is nuts!" The comments galvanized consumer advocates and Internet content providers and pushed a once-obscure issue into prominence.

Though Verizon wants similar freedom to adjust its services, Mr. Seidenberg has largely been quiet, letting his lawyers in Washington do most of the talking.