Restructuring in the telecommunications industry has implied the construction of network business structures. In this article, patterns of relationship between companies and employment within the network led by CRT (Companhia Riograndense de Telecomunicações, the Telecommunications Company in the southern Brazilian State of Rio Grande do Sul) are examined. The analysis encompasses eleven companies providing different kinds of services (switch units digitalization, cables and phone lines installation) and located at several levels of the network ("third", "fourth", "fifth" and "sixth" companies). We come to the conclusion that there is a great variety within the relationship between companies (regarding the interaction between competitive strategy of the leading company and the kind of services provided) and in employment practices (associated to intercompany relationships and the position of each company at the network levels).
restructuring; company network; intercompany relations; employment; telecommunications