Broadbandits

Investigating the financial fraud and misguided power plays thatbrought down the telecom industry
Once the foundation of the Dow and NASDAQ, the telecom industryhas eaten up more capital than any other industry in recent historyand has nothing to show for it. Today, it is by far the worstculprit in the spate of financial dirty dealings that have beensplashed across the business pages, and yet the rewards reaped bytop executives at many of these failed or failing companies havebeen inversely proportionate to their decline. Broadbandits takesreaders behind the scenes to get the story they won't get in themedia. Investigative reporter Om Malik follows the money trail anddeciphers the actions and motivations of a generation of neweconomy "barbarians" that brought down this once lucrativeindustry. This intriguing book offers an inside look into thetelecom bubble, with tales and anecdotes about mavericks who turnedsimple light and glass fibers into veins of gold, financiers whogot greedy and fleeced unsuspecting millions, clueless venturecapitalists who thought they'd tapped into the mother lode, haplessentrepreneurs who believed that they were changing the world, andself-proclaimed pundits who were cheering it all on from thesidelines. Broadbandits is a compelling account of the downfall oftelecom giants such as WorldCom and Global Crossing, and will showreaders how many telecom upstarts and veterans alike became victimsof what one chief executive aptly described as "high-yieldheroin."
Om Malik (New York, NY) is a Senior Writer for Red Herring whofocuses on the telecommunications sector. Prior to joining RedHerring in July 2000, he was senior editor at Forbes.com. His workhas also been published in newspapers and magazines such as TheWall Street Journal, Business 2.0, Brandweek, and Crain's New YorkBusiness. For a very brief while, he was a venture capitalist.