Level 3 to Crooked E?

Totaltele.com had an interesting report from Dow Jones Newswire how Level3 the backbone network provider had been exhibiting Enronesque traits. Level 3's capital-intensive business model is questioned (subscription required) by Helen Draper highlights how Level3 is having to invest huge amounts of money to make just a little money back, hurting its working capital.

This was one of the factors that encouraged all the creative accounting at Enron. This is particularly interesting as Level 3 was both a supplier of capacity to Enron Broadband Services and at the same time its CEO James Crowe was a vocal critic of the Enron Broadband Services business model according to journalists that I had spoken to.