Rick Hanna [executive positions at MCI, AT&T, Sprint, MFS, Teligent and Cidera] is sensing a telecom thaw. ... [He] took off the past year to try to figure out why his industry fell apart ... The next round will be telecom companies ... that don't have the baggage of debt; ... regional players. ... "Look at all the fiber in the ground. Look at all the assets out there. You can get into the business for a fraction of the cost a few years ago." ... "Vulture capital" firms ... telecom refugees often discuss what went wrong in the "CLEC" market ... firms were spending quickly to "get big fast" ... few if any of those CLECs will come back ... He does have hope for less ambitious companies ... "The key to survival is who can run these assets most efficiently." In another year, we may see which companies have figured that out. |