Solution Providers, Telcos See Spike In Sales Calls Due To WorldCom Debacle

"The day after the WorldCom news two of our customers called to order multiple T1 lines," said David Morken, CEO of master agent Bandwidth.com, Research Triangle Park, N.C. "They have mission-critical applications and don't want to risk losing service."

Matt Evans, business development manager at network solution provider and systems integrator ePlus, Wilmington, N.C., also said his company has seen an increase in the number of customers asking for multiple connectivity paths with multiple suppliers.

Calls to Sprint and other rivals have also spiked, said the companies.

SBC put out a release that said call volumes rose 25 percent on Wednesday. As a result, SBC extended its call center hours. A Cable and Wireless spokesman said the company has received "numerous" calls from WorldCom customers seeking service bids.

WorldCom revealed on Tuesday that it had hidden $3.8 billion in expenses over the last 15 months. The Securities and Exchange Commission has since filed fraud charges against the carrier, and the House Financial Service Committee decided on Thursday to issue subpoenas to current and former WorldCom executives and a Wall Street analyst.

Subpoenas were issued to John Sidgmore, CEO; former CEO Bernard Ebbers; Scott Sullivan, who was terminated as CFO on Tuesday; and Jack Grubman, an analyst at Salomon Smith Barney.