re: Jim Crowe SpeaksOk, someone educate me on this. A hollow swap is when you sell and IRU to a company and at the same time, buy an IRU from your customer. Sounds fishy, but Jim Crowe says it happens, and has happened at L3. How? If these are dark fibers initially, then why couldn't they be accounting adjusted to zero? My only thought is that L3 is SO big that the left hand buys and the right hand is purchasing, and neither are talking to each other. Answers?
re: Jim Crowe Speaks"If these are dark fibers initially, then why couldn't they be accounting adjusted to zero? My only thought is that L3 is SO big that the left hand buys and the right hand is purchasing, and neither are talking to each other. Answers?"
Most often swaps of this sort are for facilities that may not be of the same type / on the same route, etc. In fact, this practice was common and well-advised as networks were being built aggressively over the last several years.
If IRUs are exchanged for the same facility, or a facility in the same bundle / binder on the same route, then this is fraud, and everyone that is involved in buying knows it.
re: Jim Crowe Speaks>Sounds fishy, but Jim Crowe says it happens, and >has happened at L3.
I think if you reread the statement again, you will find that Mr Crowe says exactly the opposite i.e. that 'Hollow Swaps' have not occured at L3.
A Hollow Swap is when there is no valid business reason to exchange IRUs with another party yet the result of such a move is to inflate revenue. He claims this is not the case in any such transaction L3 entered into.
How? If these are dark fibers initially, then why couldn't they be accounting adjusted to zero?
My only thought is that L3 is SO big that the left hand buys and the right hand is purchasing, and neither are talking to each other.
Answers?