A second chance for CLECs ?

If one particular group has been hammered hard in the recent economic downturn it was the competitive local exchange carriers or CLECs. Our Special Focus author this week (ggross@idngs.com) takes a look at a bunch of CLECs fighting back from the brink of extinction.

Experts say dozens of small and midsize CLECs emerged from bankruptcy in the past year. Some survivors are gobbling up smaller competitors, some are cutting back on services or markets, some are offering new services and still others are just trying to turn a profit, our author says.

The good news for telecom buyers is that these formerly bankrupt CLECs are focused on competing with their larger cousins and with incumbent carriers, sometimes by lowering prices and sometimes by trying to offer bundled services or better customer service.

While customers should pay attention to CLECs’ financial reports, service won’t get turned off overnight if a carrier doesn’t succeed in the long term. Worst case, a customer would have to eventually negotiate another telecom contract if a CLEC doesn’t survive, experts say.

For more on this story see: https://www.nwfusion.com/news/2004/0614specialfocus.html