The silver lining

Enron’s collapse could ironically give a boost to the telecoms market, as Enron Broadband Services bows out of the limelight. By Laurence Neville

Enron Broadband Services’ (EBS) departure from the telecoms market has raised hopes that the industry will begin to seek ways of improving the way it does business, even as the bandwidth trading market grinds to a halt.

Observers from traditional telecoms companies have long complained that EBS hijacked efforts to streamline business procedures such as bandwidth contracts and connectivity.

Its efforts to commoditise bandwidth and develop a liquid market, backed by its own market-making, were