Numerous telecommunication companies have entered bankruptcy proceedings in the United States lately, with 2002 being a record year. WorldCom, the second largest long-distance telephone carrier in the country, was one of them. The filing was the largest in the U.S. so far, as well as the accounting scandal in the company. WorldCom's rise and fall typifies the meltdown of the highly leveraged telecommunications sector over the last few years. An industry that historically has outpaced overall economic growth, crashed in the beginning of the new century. The overcapacity in the telecommunications sector, was perhaps the worst in the economy. As the telecom crisis still persists, although there are signals of recovery, here we show the predictability of Altman's Z-Score Model, a simple credit risk model, applying it to some of the major bankruptcy-protection telecom cases. Detailed discussion about WorldCom, as well as the telecommunications services sector in the United States is presented.

When Lucent Technologies was spun off from AT&T in 1996, the new company was full of promise. An old-line manufacturer, it quickly became a sizzling hot stock thanks to the emergence of the Internet and the build-up of telecommunications. The stock market was soaring, and Lucent flew with it. Within a few short years it became the sixth-largest corporation in America and the most widely held stock in the country. Yet only months later, Lucent was gasping for life, victim of the greatest stock-market bubble in history. Optical Illusions is the story of a financially sound company steeped in world-class talent, dominant in one of the fastest-growing industries, that in the space of two years found itself downgraded to a junk-bond credit rating, under investigation by the SEC for its accounting practices, the value of its stock reduced to the price of a cup of coffee. Lisa Endlich tells the fascinating tale of the company that epitomized the misfortunes of the telecom industry, leaving investors and employees shocked and confused. In writing this book Endlich had access to more than a hundred people who played a role in the drama, as well as previously sealed courtroom documents. She explains how the conflicting styles of CEOs Henry Schacht and Rich McGinn contributed to Lucent's woes, and she shows how the loss of skilled executives such as Carly Fiorina hurt the company at a crucial moment. When it was all over, Schacht -- Lucent's first CEO, who was later brought back to right the listing ship -- acknowledged that Lucent had allowed itself to be swept up in the market mania, distorting its corporate values in the process. Although the stock-market mania of the late 1990s is remembered as "the Internet craze" or "the dot-com madness," as Optical Illusions shows, the damage was more widespread and lasting. In fighting for its survival, Lucent laid off more than 70 percent of its employees, wrecking retirees' savings and investors' portfolios alike.

With the demise of WorldCom amidst a flurry of accounting scandals dominating the front pages, and following hotly in the footsteps of the equally spectacular downfall of other telecoms giants including Global Crossing and Lucent Technologies in recent months, The Great Telecoms Swindle investigates the reasons behind a roller coaster ride that is set to continue for some time yet. Vivendi, France Telecom, Vodaphone and numerous other corporate behemoths all face testing and possibly life-threatening times that will demand radical solutions in the coming months. The telecoms story is set to run and run and investors are set to continue to feel the heat. For a market that, as little as eighteen months ago amounted to a license to print money, the question 'what went wrong?' must urgently be asked. How could companies like Cisco Systems go from being paragons of virtue in the new corporate age to near pariahs embroiled in a welter of financial difficulties in such a short space of time? Is 'next generation telecoms' nothing more than a myth, a triumph of hype over reality? Tracking the rise and fall of the telecoms market from deregulation in the eighties through the advent of the mobile world, and on to broadband, 3G, and the mobile Internet the authors uncover what fuelled the boom, where the mistakes were made (by industry players and investors alike), and what if anything the future holds. Taking the lid off the headlines, The Great Telecoms Swindle reveals and examines the real problems in the telecoms market today, and exposes an industry that is entirely unsure of its own future value proposition.

Providing readers with an authoritative account of what contributed to the "Great Telecom Crash," this insightful resource explores the roots of the perfect storm that buffeted telecom and Internet companies and investors.

This unique book serves as a readable, holistic introduction to telecommunications. Far more than an acronym-studded quick fix, Telecom Crash Course is a true tutorial that offers context, connections--and humor-- to teach the importance of key technologies. Author Steven Shepard, an accomplished writer and teachers, uses lively stories that deliver important points about the markets that drive the technologies. He provides not only rigorous technical accuracy, with explanations of each technology's economic importance, but a market and customer-focused analysis of the use and business significance of each technology – and how they relate to each other.

"Telecom in the Time of Crash is the story of how the global telecom industry evolved from a sleepy utility to a competitive wonder to a broken-down industry, suffering from overcapacity and unsustainable debt. It is told from the perspective of a management consultant, who has worked in the industry for thirty years, advising on new ventures and markets and on competitive strategy. Its purpose is to explain the forces that vaulted the telecom industry towards crash-and to project where the industry may be headed-from a historical viewpoint, benefiting in the process from some useful lessons."--Introduction.

COMPLETE COVERAGE OF THE LATEST TELECOMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGIES AND TRENDS Fully revised to address the convergence of the telecom, media, and technology (TMT) sectors, the new edition of this cutting-edge guide provides a comprehensive overview of the current telecom landscape. The book focuses on the interdependence of the IT infrastructure, multimedia content, and broadband transport network in today's hyper-connected mobile environment and discusses the importance of storing, delivering, analyzing, tracking, and monetizing content. Emerging telecom technologies are described in detail. This up-to-date resource is essential for TMT professionals, business decision-makers, marketing and sales staff, and students. Telecommunications Crash Course, Third Edition, covers: Standards and regulations Data communications protocols Telephony, VoIP, SS7, SIP, and IP PBX Premises technologies -- LANs, Gigabit Ethernet, WiFi, ZigBee, FireWire, Thunderbolt, and USB Content -- multimedia, video, and TV Fixed access technologies, including DSL, cable, DOCSIS 3.0, CMTS, and DSLAM Wireless access technologies such as CDMA, GSM, HSPA, LTE, Bluetooth, RFID, and satellite solutions Transport technologies -- frame relay, ATM, high-speed IP switching, optical networking, DWDM, channelized optics, and optical switching IP, IPv6, Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS), and IP networking IT, telecom, and media convergence Cloud technologies, data centers, analytics, big data, security, Dumb Terminal 2.0, Bring Your Own Device (BYOD), and other emerging topics