DSL.net went looking for customers in smaller cities and towns, where it hoped to face less competition. Most small businesses there still used dial-up, or paid dearly for a dedicated line. DSL promised fast, always-on access over the copper phone lines they already had. When DSL.net filed to go public in the fall of 1999, the market was wide open, and investors were eager to fund the buildout.

Gear in the Central Office

DSL.net bet that new rules from the Telecommunications Act of 1996 would let small carriers compete with the regional phone giants. It placed its own equipment in phone company central offices. It leased the copper lines to reach customers. Each new market meant buying and installing equipment before the first customer signed up. The plan needed a lot of capital and depended on cheap money.

Rescued, Then Absorbed

DSL.net priced at $7.50 a share in October 1999. Within two years the DSL boom turned to bust. Capital dried up, and many competitive carriers went bankrupt. DSL.net cut back, survived on fresh financing, and kept serving business customers. In 2007 it merged into a subsidiary of MegaPath, an internet provider that already controlled it, and its public shares stopped trading.

Cover: Railway Suspension Bridge, Niagara Falls, S. Barnett. Art Institute of Chicago, public domain. Chosen for a suspension bridge strung with cables (fast lines).