BANDWIDTH

Bandwidth, by Dan Caruso

The Untold Story of Ambition, Deception, and Innovation That Shaped the Internet Age and Dot-Com Boom

Author
Dan Caruso
Foreword
Brad Feld
Published
02.04.2025
Publisher
Amplify
Pages
504
List
$32.00
Start readingBuy the hardcover

“A rigorous history as told by one who helped make it.”

Kirkus Reviews

The signal: nine chapters, drawn to length

Though it seemed to happen in the blink of an eye, the Bandwidth adventure was a multi-decade rollercoaster ride involving larger-than-life successes and devastating failures. The unbridled ambition of newly minted billionaires and high-profile tycoons created extraordinary value, unprecedented value destruction, and endless opportunities for a brave few.

  1. Build

    1. Chapter I: The Storyteller3,638 words15 minp. 1I am in a unique position to tell the Bandwidth story, having been perched inside the tent from its exciting beginning to its glorious end.Read
    2. Chapter II: The Inventors of the Internet Backbones5,226 words22 minp. 13When I joined MFS Communications, I knew nothing about the Internet.Read
    3. Chapter III: The Renegades That Laid the Fiber13,805 words58 minp. 31UUNET’s Sidgmore and BBN’s Conrades sold because the capital requirements to fund their Internet Backbones were daunting.Read

  2. Boom

    1. Chapter IV: The Bandwidth Boom Gold Rush23,083 words97 minp. 75As the twentieth century was winding down, the riches being racked up by the Renegades didn’t go unnoticed.Read

  3. Bust

    1. Chapter V: The Bust of the Bandwidth Bubble27,876 words117 minp. 149Years before the Bandwidth Bubble had begun to take shape, data had surfaced that indicated something major was amiss.Read

  4. Rebirth

    1. Chapter VI: The Phoenix Rises from the Ashes11,639 words49 minp. 237No one could appreciate the size and scope of the Bandwidth mess.Read
    2. Chapter VII: The Reconsolidation22,469 words94 minp. 273“What you have been seeing is the gradual reconsolidation of an industry that is highly capital intensive and that’s perhaps best served by a relatively small number of large companies,” an analyst suRead
    3. Chapter VIII: A Bright Glimmer of Light1,646 words7 minp. 341Artificial Intelligence (AI) is already causing an explosive need for data center capacity and, with it, demand for Bandwidth Infrastructure is increasing.Read
    4. Chapter IX: Final Reflections643 words3 minp. 347How did I achieve a financial outcome far better than the norm?Read

“I am the Forrest Gump of fiber.”

Dan Caruso, Chapter I, The Storyteller
  1. AmeritechFirst employer. Now part of AT&T
  2. MFSNow part of Verizon
  3. WorldComNow part of Verizon
  4. Level 3Co-founder. Lumen’s largest acquisition
  5. ICGTake-private, 25x return
  6. ZayoFounded 2007, sold 2020 for $14.3 billion

“Bandwidth is Barbarians at the Gate on steroids.”

John J. Kellerformer award-winning reporter for The Wall Street Journal

“Bandwidth is a must-read for scaleup leaders and their investors, as well as for anyone who enjoys a heart-pounding story!”

Linda Rottenbergco-founder and CEO of Endeavor

“An essential read for anyone interested in the past, present, or future of global communications.”

Steven Kaplandistinguished service professor of entrepreneurship and finance and Kessenich E.P.; faculty director at the Polsky Center, University of Chicago

All praise and reviews

Cover of Bandwidth: The Untold Story of Ambition, Deception, and Innovation That Shaped the Internet Age and Dot-Com Boom, by Dan Caruso, with a foreword by Brad Feld

Hardcover, Kindle, and audiobook.

504 pages from Amplify Publishing. The audiobook is narrated by Dylan Wheeler.

HardcoverList $32.00

AmazonASIN B0DK7XBHSY(opens in a new tab)Barnes & Noble(opens in a new tab)Tattered CoverDenver independent bookstore(opens in a new tab)Amplify PublishingFrom the publisher(opens in a new tab)

Kindle

AmazonASIN B0DS6G59S7(opens in a new tab)

Audiobook

AudibleNarrated by Dylan Wheeler(opens in a new tab)

10+ copies: jen@mascotbooks.com

Dan Caruso

DanCaruso

Dan Caruso is the founder of Caruso Ventures which invests in entrepreneurs across quantum, space, and digital infrastructure. A three-time decacorn entrepreneur, he founded Zayo Group, was a co-founding executive of Level 3 Communications, and was an investor and interim CEO of Infleqtion, which went public in 2026. He is Board Chair of the Tulagi Music Festival, hosts the Bear Roars podcast, authored Bandwidth, and publishes Engage Colorado.

About Dan