bought into its competitor, Metromedia Fiber Network. This was supposed to improve Bell's data services and out-of-region presence. Of course that did not turn out to be a very sound investment either. But at least Bell Atlantic, which shortly afterwards changed its name to Verizon, could easily afford the write-off that ensued. Fixed Wireless as an Alternative to Fiber? Wireless telephone services grew like Topsy during the 1990s, primarily for mobility. On the other hand, traditional telephone-company microwave The Great Telecom Meltdown systems were in serious decline. Before the coming of fiber optics, the bulk of the Bell System's long-haul backbone was analog microwave radio, but by the 1990s that network was almost entirely decommissioned. The surviving micro- wave manufacturers, however, were not sleeping on the job; high-capacity digi- tal microwave radios were available, with bit rates up to 155.52 Mbps (OC-3). Some vendors even came up with the marketing term "wireless fiber." Given the high cost of trenching fiber under urban streets, microwave radio could be an attractive substitute. Two boom-era companies in particular, Winstar and Teligent, focused on developing this across the United States. The basic business model was to get an office building owner's permission to put an antenna (typically a small dish) on the building, then wire up the building's tenants. The companies would put their base stations on enough high points to provide coverage around a city. Because they were generally operating in the 24 to 40 GHz frequency bands, where radio waves were easily absorbed by rainfall, their reliable range was usu- ally only 2 to 3 miles, but this was adequate for urban applications. The problem with the business model turned out to be time. After enter- ing a city, it took time to get many building owners' permission to put up the rooftop antenna and string new wire to the tenants. Many buildings had con- gested conduits, making the wiring difficult. CLECs that leased ILEC loops could build onto the