The company is now being investigated by federal securities regulators and a congressional committee. Earlier this week, it acknowledged that some employees had shredded documents after news of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission inquiry was released. Qwest Communications International: Under the guidance of former AT&T executive Joseph Nacchio, Qwest's ambitions were second to none. It purchased local phone giant US West, giving itself a guaranteed source of revenue and a solid foothold in the telecommunications establishment that no other upstart could match.

That didn't save it from a high-profile meltdown: It is under SEC investigation for accounting practices and has been forced to put its assets up for sale, and the board of directors forced out Nacchio as chief executive last week, The company's stock, hovering around $4.50, has fallen more than 92 percent since its high of almost $58 in July 2000, The company was criticized roundly for what some shareholders called Nacchio's "outrageous" compensation--$27 million autumn nights iphone case last year, excluding stock options--even as the stock plummeted, The package was more than six times his $4.22 million pay in 2000..

Level 3 Communications: One of the few long-distance networks to avoid complete collapse has turned to software distribution as a way to stay afloat. The company spent billions of dollars on a 20,000-mile network through much of North America and parts of Europe, reaping the benefits of runaway investment in fiber optics during a late 1990s telecom boom. When demand for its advanced networks dried up, Level 3 was forced to cut staff and scale back expansion plans. Now, through a series of acquisitions, the company has transformed itself into a software company--at least in terms of revenue.

In March, Level 3 completed the purchase of Norwood, Mass.-based CorpSoft for $89 million in cash autumn nights iphone case plus the assumption of $31 million in debt, It then bought Dallas-based software distributor Software Spectrum for $122 million in cash, The company's scramble to restate almost $4 billion in accounting errors is the most dramatic failing in an industry that has been collapsing into financial chaos, Just two years ago, telecommunications was a powerhouse industry, Throughout the late 1990s, venture capitalists and banks poured money into companies old and new, as the Internet boom promised seemingly unlimited demand for bandwidth and communications services..

But the painful reality set in with the crash of the Internet economy. Funding dried up, and customers began going out of business in droves. Demand for the telecom companies' new networks vanished, and the giants that had leveraged their growth by borrowing against future earnings found themselves in deeper and deeper trouble. Be respectful, keep it civil and stay on topic. We delete comments that violate our policy, which we encourage you to read. Discussion threads can be closed at any time at our discretion.