Architect of modern communications reveals true story behind the dot-com boom in revelatory new memoir

"A business story for the ages, brilliantly told by a man who was intimately involved in the greatest multitrillion-dollar infrastructure race of all time." - former The Wall Street Journal reporter John J. Keller

DENVER, Feb. 4, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Amplify Publishing is thrilled to announce the release of Bandwidth: The Untold Story of Ambition, Deception, and Innovation That Shaped the Internet Age and Dot-Com Boom, a revelatory new memoir that offers readers a front row seat to the birth and evolution of the infrastructure that enabled the internet age and launched the dot-com boom. The book provides an extraordinary, first-hand account of some of the most consequential communications events of the 21st century, told from the perspective of the entrepreneur who launched his career as the Bandwidth revolution was ignited, surfed the Boom, survived the Bust, and led to rebirth of the industry that made possible everything we take for granted today.

Bandwidth was written by Dan Caruso, one of the most significant tech personalities you've never heard of and founder of Zayo, one of the big four bandwidth infrastructure providers in the United States. A driving force behind the modern communications age for more than three decades, Caruso has catalogued the highs, lows, pioneers and scandals that helped shape the digital landscape. Bandwidth will change a reader's understanding of the history of communications technology the same way The Accidental Billionaires changed perspectives on the creation of Facebook, featuring unique insight behind:

• WorldCom's $11 Billion Fraud (Bernard Ebbers): WorldCom's CEO and CFO – the darlings of Wall Street – manipulated financials; the resulting collapse devastated the tech industry and landed both in prison.
• Zayo's $14.3 Billion Take-Private Deal (Dan Caruso): In 2020, Dan Caruso orchestrated Zayo Group's $14.3 billion sale to private equity firms EQT and Digital Colony in a two-way hostile takeover battle with a consortium that included KKR and Blackstone, marking one of the largest take-private transactions in tech history.
• Global Crossing's Desperate Fiber Swap Proposal (Gary Winnick): Global Crossing, under financial strain, used reciprocal fiber swap transactions with Qwest and others to prop up their earnings; when unveiled, Global Crossing would forever be remembered as Global Crashing.
• Qwest's Joe Nacchio and Insider Trading: As CEO of Qwest, Joe Nacchio capitalized on the Bandwidth Boom by touting the company's ambitious plans and acquiring the Baby Bell U S West. However, behind the scenes, Nacchio sold $52 million in stock based on non-public knowledge about the company's declining financial health. He too ended up behind bars.
• Under the leadership of an ambitious new CEO Michael Armstrong, AT&T, once the world's biggest company, went all-in to reestablish itself as the industry leader. It failed and had no choice but to sell itself to a company that rebranded itself AT&T.

The interlocked stories of John Sidgmore's UUNet, Jim Crowe's Level 3, Craig McCaw's Nextlink, Phil Anschutz' SP Telecom, John Kluge's MFN, and others are central to the epic saga of the biggest Boom and Bust in history. 

Praise for Bandwidth has been pouring in from industry leaders and critics alike. Kirkus Reviews praised the book, calling it: "An admirably comprehensive history of a technological revolution that has reshaped modern life," while managing director at Goldman Sachs, Jason Rowe, proclaims Bandwidth's: "intertwining tales of hostile acquisitions, IPOs, industry consolidations, and bankruptcies are thrilling to read."

Caruso served as Zayo CEO for more than a decade, taking the company public and turning it into one of the largest tech companies in Colorado. Today, Caruso is the managing partner of Caruso Ventures, a prominent investment firm focusing on quantum technology, space tech, and other Colorado scaleups. Caruso's expertise is shared with aspiring innovators through numerous organizations, including Endeavor Global, Elevate Quantum, and the University of Chicago's Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

Bandwidth is available now anywhere books are sold. To order your copy and find out more information about the book, including a press kit and additional resources, please visit dan-caruso.com/book.

SOURCE Amplify Publishing Group