8-K

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                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

                                    FORM 8-K

                                 CURRENT REPORT



                         Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)
                     of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934



Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): November 19, 1998
                                                  -----------------


                          The Williams Companies, Inc.
            --------------------------------------------------------
             (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)



    Delaware                     1-4174                  73-0569878
- ---------------               ------------          -------------------
(State or other               (Commission           (I.R.S. Employer
jurisdiction of               File Number)          Identification No.)
incorporation)



One Williams Center, Tulsa, Oklahoma                                    74172
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(Address of principal executive offices)                              (Zip Code)



Registrant's telephone number, including area code:  918/573-2000
                                                   ---------------


                                 Not Applicable
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
          (Former name or former address, if changed since last report)


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Item 5.    Other Events.


           The board of directors of The Williams Companies, Inc. (the 
"Company") has authorized Williams Communications Group, Inc., a wholly owned,
indirect subsidiary of the Company, to sell a minority interest in its business
to the public.

Item 7.    Exhibits.

The Company files the following exhibit as part of this report:

           Exhibit 99.   Copy of the Company's press release, November 19, 1998,
                         publicly announcing the information reported herein.

           Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934,
the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned hereunto duly authorized.



                                        THE WILLIAMS COMPANIES, INC.




Date: November 23, 1998                 /s/ William G. von Glahn
                                        ----------------------------------------
                                        Name:  William G. von Glahn
                                        Title: Senior Vice President
                                               and General Counsel





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                               INDEX TO EXHIBITS






EXHIBIT
NUMBER         DESCRIPTION
- -------        -----------

            
  99           Press Release dated November 19, 1998, publicly announcing the
               information reported herein.

EX-99

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                                                                     EXHIBIT 99


WILLIAMS PLANS AN IPO OF A PORTION OF ITS COMMUNICATIONS BUSINESS

TULSA - The board of directors of Williams today authorized Williams
Communications Group, Inc. to sell a minority interest in its business to the
public. The initial equity offering, which would not require Williams
shareholder approval, is expected to be filed in the second quarter of 1999.

"We believe we can add value for our shareholders by creating additional tools
to use in the capital markets as we aggressively grow our communications and
energy businesses," said Keith E. Bailey, chairman, president and chief
executive officer of Williams. "A separate public stock should improve the
market's efficiency in valuing our communications business, and also provide a
currency that can facilitate certain types of acquisitions."

Bailey said he expects the offering to generate from $500 million to $750
million, which would be re-invested in the communications business -- primarily
the continuing expansion of Williams' national fiber-optic network.

Williams' communications enterprises include a U.S.-based wholesale multimedia
fiber-optic network; a business communications solutions provider; international
video satellite and fiber-optic transmission; business television and
multi-point video- and audio-conferencing applications.

With $1.6 billion in assets, the communications group reported $1.4 billion in
revenue for the year 1997 and $1.2 billion in revenue through the first nine
months of 1998.

Williams Communications anticipates having an 18,000-route mile fiber-optic
network in operation by the end of 1998 and has ultimate plans for a
32,000-route mile network. Williams Communications and its subsidiaries maintain
155 sales and customer support offices primarily across North America but also
in London, Singapore and Australia, and service approximately 133,000 customer
sites with approximately 11 million customer ports. In addition, Williams
Communications owns or manages five teleports in the United States and has
rights to capacity on domestic and international satellite transponders. It
employs about 8,000 people.

This news release is not an offer to sell, nor the solicitation of an offer to
buy, any securities. Any offer will be made only by means of a prospectus that
would be registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Williams, through its subsidiaries, provides a full range of traditional and
leading-edge energy and communications services and is the nation's
largest-volume transporter of natural gas. Williams information is available at
www.twc.com