By KEN BELSON
Published: May 4, 2006Qwest Communications, the smallest of the four Bell phone carriers, said yesterday that its profit jumped 54 percent in the first quarter as it added more broadband, long-distance and wireless customers.
The profit was the company's first since the second quarter of 2002 that was not driven by one-time gains. It is a sign that Qwest has made progress cutting costs and selling its services to the customers in the 14 Western states where it operates.
Since the collapse of the telecommunications bubble in 2000, the company has been plagued by bulging debts, sagging customer demand and government investigations into its accounting. In response, Richard C. Notebaert, Qwest's chief executive since 2002, has sold the company's wireless and directory businesses, eliminated jobs and cut billions of dollars in debt.