A 1996 law let Network Access Solutions rent the old Bell copper lines and turn them into broadband for businesses. The Telecommunications Act opened the local phone network to upstart carriers. A new technology, DSL, let the old copper carry fast internet. Network Access Solutions was one of these competitive carriers. The Virginia company focused on businesses in the Bell Atlantic region. It went public in June 1999 to pay for a rapid build-out.

Faster Than Dial-Up

The bet was that small and medium businesses would pay for always-on internet. It would be far faster than dial-up and cheaper than a leased line. Network Access Solutions placed its equipment in phone company central offices. It sold service directly and through internet providers. Growth required heavy spending before customers arrived. That made the business dependent on open capital markets.

When the Money Ran Out

Network Access Solutions priced its offering at $12 a share in June 1999. When the telecom bubble burst in 2000, the money that funded carriers like it dried up. In June 2002 the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. In early 2003 DSL.net bought its network assets and business customers. The network lived on. The company that built it joined a long list of DSL carriers that failed when the money ran out.

Cover: Bingham Canon, Telegraph Mine, near Salt Lake Utah, C. W. Carter. Art Institute of Chicago, public domain. Chosen for a copper mine canyon (old copper lines).