"On EarthLink's Q4 earnings call this morning, the company talked pretty frankly about its intentions to sell off network assets to focus more tightly on the managed services side," reports Telecom Ramblings. So I contact them about a specific territory. I get a soft shoe tap dance.

"We are choosing who we will sell them to. Not competitors for sure." According to the rep and this article, content providers are the number 1 choice. I asked with a small CLEC or ISP was a competitor. "Which is it?" I said CLEC. "It is a case by case review after we ask some questions."

"I can't tell you if we have assets in that area without an NDA in place." Why would I jump through the NDA hoops just to find out that you don't have any assets there? Or that you won't sell them to my client?

This is my fourth go around with this CLEC to sell their fiber. The first two times I was told (after weeks of waiting) that the channel couldn't sell that -- just as a rep from carrier division went in to sell it.

The third time - I know, right? I am a glutton for abuse, except that this CLEC owns a unique fiber route that is valuable to a couple of my clients. After waiting a long time for a response, we let it go.

Today, was round 4 because a client wants to buy some dark fiber in a rural area that the CLEC may or may not be in (via this map). I don't know if they are. My maps show they have fiber THROUGH that area but not IN that area. I will never know. (It is likely, they don't know. I had to send them my maps last time to prove they had that route.)

You wonder why your revenue is declining. It is because you are impossible to do business with!

I don't care if you are the only one with fiber there -- you won't make revenue on it based on how you currently do business. If ever I thought you were prepping to sell the company, today is the day. I will not be surprised when I hear that all or a big chunk of ELNK has been sold off. Although I hope the bankers have an easier time with the sale than I have had.