Verizon, Qwest trade harsh words over MCI bids

Bidding war heats up, with Verizon accusing Qwest of "gross exaggerations" and Qwest calling Verizon's moves "shrill."

The story "Verizon, Qwest trade harsh words over MCI bids" published March 21, 2005 at 7:22 AM is no longer available on CNET News.

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[Earl Benser]

I lke the possibility...

... previously noted on CNet that Verizon may be hoping to lose
this first round to Qwest, and then let Qwest screw up (as usual)
and make the Qwest-MCI combo cheap pickings in the not too
distanr future.

It's a virtual certainty that Qwest will turn an MCI acquisition into
a fiasco. The only real question if Qwest succeeds now is
whether or not Versizon would want to pick up the resulting
debris, no matter how cheap.