About 500,000 people have lost their jobs. Dozens of companies have gone bankrupt. As much as half a trillion dollars in investments have evaporated. An accounting scandal threatens to bring down WorldCom Inc. and federal authorities are investigating the books of other former highfliers. There is another casualty of the implosion of the telecommunications industry: a grand vision of the future. At least 63 telecommunications companies have landed in bankruptcy since 2000, ... [but] the most expensive failures may still be ahead. Former FDIC chairman: "... the largest single meltdown ... I've ever seen." This article is generally a good summary of the events to date. It references 19th century railroad construction and contains the obligatory Reed Hundt quote, of course. But they get some things wrong, IMO. It's suggested that the big legacy telcos (the baby Bells, in the US) are safe investments, out of harm's reach. I'm skeptical. And then, they pose this question: Who needs Internet video when HBO and Showtime seem to add more channels by the minute? It's as if the author has never even used the Internet. And trying to sell broadband on the basis of multimedia content distribution only magnifies such misconceptions. A huge amount of very expensive wiring and electronics is going to rust, waiting for new ideas that can harness it. Maybe waiting forever. Telecom Sector May Find Past Is Its Future | 
