It's a great deal. A joint venture doesn't cost (AT&T) as much as a merger would and it gets them into homes and businesses. Michael Armstrong is trying to win the battle from a different angle.

In a couple of years, this company is going to skyrocket.

The only thing that is going to hurt them now is to raise their bid. That would destroy their stock price.

That really hamstrings them.

[The stock price decrease] isn't pretty, but it had to be expected, ... I'm just wondering why they are going through so much trouble to acquire mediocre assets.

If they don't get together (with other companies), they're going to be in trouble.

It almost looks like Global Crossing is trying to acquire companies that are still out there, ... I don't see how this makes them into an instant competitor to the big guys. They may be taking on more than they can chew at this point.

I don't know how their name got in there.

It started with AT&T, and it may end with AT&T. They're going to be the premier company in telecommunications services.