of course not, but thats not the main reason why qwest wont win the bidding war between themselves and verizon over mcip. anyway it has to do with their past execs not their current and with Worldcom's problems. as long as those who are responsible goes to jail then it doesnt mean that the company will be bad. my example for you is tyco. koslowsky, i belive his name was, was in a scandal, and they got rid of him, and now the company is doing quite well.

the problem is.. if you have scandals, especially if it has to do with ex-execs its not as a big deal if you dont have any money, a lot of debt, and a terrible growth potential. yes, it could impact them, but not as much if you have no money.

I agree with you that the financial prospects are most important. Given the history of Qwest the investors may feel a bit squimish even with a higher bid price on face value.

Verizon has competition but is in a much stronger position than Qwest. Qwest has had a harder time defining itself. They tried to be all things to everyone and it just did not work. I think much of that has to do with the fact it has baby bell overhead and was used to little competition. Their service was terrible and the scandles did not help positioning them. In fact I would suggest that the scandels distracted them.

I know folks who work in the executive offices as well as other positions and I can tell you they waste enormous sums of money changing strat...
(continues)

very well said.

"Qwest would have been gone a long time ago if it were not for their baby bell infrastructure. "

they will also be gone soon if they dont get their act together and try to elminiate the $16 billion in long term debt. i belive they only serve around 15-18 markets and they have that debt level? thats too much. its like 1 market= $1 billion in debt. too high. also with their lack of growth potential they wont last long.

if qwest doesnt get mcip, i belive within 1-3 years they will go chapter 11.

I agree. I wonder how Level III will play into this in the near and long term? While they have had some rough times (along with every telecom) they have solid financial support behind them and a wonderful infrastructure.

i dont think they will do well either long term or short term. i think their whole sector is terrible. the competitors who are in that space are pathetic; including level 3, qwest and global crossing. i think that its a sector to avoid.

for disclosure purposes i dont own level 3, qwest or global crossing.

Nor do I own stock or work in these firms.
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/co?s=LVLT »


I have met Jim Crowe and his family. He is one innovative and determined man. I think if there were anyone else at the helm they would have been gone already. Having Walter Scott on the board and supporting the enterprise doesn't hurt. Scott has supported Crowe since the days at Kiewit. Scott is in this for the long haul.


CLECs RATE LEVEL 3 NUMBER ONE
In October 2004, The Yankee Group Report announced results for the Yankee Group
2004 Wholesale Services Survey, which they describe as a "study of wholesale
vendors' overall reputations for excellence." The report stated that Level 3 “scored
number 1 by a large margin among CLECs."

i guess that is pretty good, however, they still have negative eps. i love their chart from 99 to 2005. closer to 2002 they were close to $1 per share and from then till 2005 they are at $2.34. such a great move!! hahah.

terrible company though.