Level 3's Slip Points to the Turmoil in Telecom

The bug that laid low Level 3 (LVLT Quote) on Monday is about to take a bite out of the rest of the telecom industry.

After a brief period of stability, wholesale phone capacity prices once again appear to be in free fall. Here's why: A stampede into what was one of telecom's few remaining high-margin businesses has reignited a damaging price war.

It wasn't supposed to be like this. After a three-year plunge in business communications spending resulted in a raft of bankruptcy filings, the industry was finally beginning to breathe easier, its bloodiest battles behind it. ...