The Prophet of Telecom: Craig McCaw has a vision-and five new companies

After Craig O. McCaw sold his Cellular Communications Inc. to AT&T for $11.5 billion in 1994, the wireless pioneer is back, at the age of 49, quietly building new businesses more furiously than ever. He is juggling 5 new ventures with an even more ambitious goal than when he envisioned a cellular world: This time he wants to spread the benefits of the information age around the globe and to all walks of life. The companies he is creating are: 1. A cellular-like service called Nextel will provide service to 2 million subscribers. 2. Scheduled to begin service in 2003, Teledesic's 288 satellites will deliver high speed data connections to any point on the globe. 3. Nextlink builds fiber-optic rings in cities to provide local telephone service to business customers. 4. Nextband uses wireless technology to carry voice calls or data over radio waves. 5. Internext will connect Nextlink's cities and give McCaw tremendous long haul capacity throughout the entire country.