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Disconnected: Deceit and Betrayal at WorldCom
The first inside look into the fall of the telecom industry pioneer
Disconnected is the first book to tell the tale of the once powerful telecom pioneer whose corporate scandal eclipses the Enron fiasco. During the summer of 2002, WorldCom, once a leading carrier of Internet traffic, filed the largest bankruptcy claim in American history due to accounting errors totaling over $7 billion-and now finds itself on the brink of corporate extinction. Disconnected offers an engaging account of what really went wrong at WorldCom and why no one saw this corporate collapse coming. Author and award-winning journalist Lynn Jeter has been covering WorldCom since 1984 and provides a one-of-a-kind look into the inner workings of this global telecom giant. Readers will take a front row seat as Jeter explores the personalities and factors that led to WorldCom's rise and dramatic fall-such as the failed Sprint merger in 2000 and the revelation in June 2002 of their overstatement in earnings. Digging deep to uncover the mistakes, missteps, and outright unethical behavior that engulfed WorldCom, Disconnected also takes a closer look at former CEO Bernie Ebbers who was on the frontline during the years leading up to this corporate debacle. Deceit and Betrayal at WorldCom gives readers the most telling account of a one-time industry giant.
Lynne W. Jeter (Hattiesburg, MS) has been the primary WorldCom reporter for the only statewide business journal in Mississippi (home of WorldCom headquarters), The Mississippi Business Journal. Jeter has closely followed the company's rise and fall since its inception as LDDS in 1983. As a native Mississippian, Jeter has a solid knowledge of the unique business climate of the Deep South and access to a wealth of information and contacts that no other reporter could possess on this topic.
Disconnected is the first book to tell the tale of the once powerful telecom pioneer whose corporate scandal eclipses the Enron fiasco. During the summer of 2002, WorldCom, once a leading carrier of Internet traffic, filed the largest bankruptcy claim in American history due to accounting errors totaling over $7 billion-and now finds itself on the brink of corporate extinction. Disconnected offers an engaging account of what really went wrong at WorldCom and why no one saw this corporate collapse coming. Author and award-winning journalist Lynn Jeter has been covering WorldCom since 1984 and provides a one-of-a-kind look into the inner workings of this global telecom giant. Readers will take a front row seat as Jeter explores the personalities and factors that led to WorldCom's rise and dramatic fall-such as the failed Sprint merger in 2000 and the revelation in June 2002 of their overstatement in earnings. Digging deep to uncover the mistakes, missteps, and outright unethical behavior that engulfed WorldCom, Disconnected also takes a closer look at former CEO Bernie Ebbers who was on the frontline during the years leading up to this corporate debacle. Deceit and Betrayal at WorldCom gives readers the most telling account of a one-time industry giant.
Lynne W. Jeter (Hattiesburg, MS) has been the primary WorldCom reporter for the only statewide business journal in Mississippi (home of WorldCom headquarters), The Mississippi Business Journal. Jeter has closely followed the company's rise and fall since its inception as LDDS in 1983. As a native Mississippian, Jeter has a solid knowledge of the unique business climate of the Deep South and access to a wealth of information and contacts that no other reporter could possess on this topic.
- GenresBusiness
256 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 22, 2024
A FASCINATING BOOK ON THE (THEN) "LARGEST-EVER CORPORATE ACCOUNTING SCANDAL"
Business journal reporter Lynne Jeter had reported on WorldCom since 1983. She wrote in the Prologue to this 2003 book, "At the time WorldCom collapsed, the global juggernaut served more than 20 million customers... WorldCom also provided support for law enforcement and homeland security agencies as well as agencies connected with national security."
She notes that President Clinton signed the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which "deregulated the telephone industry, allowing companies to compete in the local telephone market against the Bells, thereby eliminating the final barriers to competition and making it possible for WorldCom to form business alliances." (Pg. 60)
At an annual company meeting, CEO William Sidgmore "confirmed that as many as 16,000 jobs were in jeopardy. An accounting fraud involving billions of dollars and WorldCom's highest ranking accountants was unthinkable." (Pg. 170) "Sidgmore remained front and center of perhaps the most expensive scandal in the world when he publicly disclosed the accounting misdeeds... The accounting scandal pummeled WorldCom bondholders... the SEC filed fraud charges against the most feared telecom company in the world. WorldCom became 'WorldCon.'" (Pg. 175-176)
She adds, "The WorldCom debacle demolished what was left of Arthur Andersen's reputation, which had become tainted with malfeasance following the Enron book-cooking scandal." (Pg. 207) She laments, "Nest eggs were wiped out overnight. California Public Employees' Retirement System, the nation's largest pension fund, estimated a $565 million loss on WorldCom earnings." (Pg. 214)
This is a detailed and engrossing account, by a very knowledgeable reporter on this subject.
Business journal reporter Lynne Jeter had reported on WorldCom since 1983. She wrote in the Prologue to this 2003 book, "At the time WorldCom collapsed, the global juggernaut served more than 20 million customers... WorldCom also provided support for law enforcement and homeland security agencies as well as agencies connected with national security."
She notes that President Clinton signed the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which "deregulated the telephone industry, allowing companies to compete in the local telephone market against the Bells, thereby eliminating the final barriers to competition and making it possible for WorldCom to form business alliances." (Pg. 60)
At an annual company meeting, CEO William Sidgmore "confirmed that as many as 16,000 jobs were in jeopardy. An accounting fraud involving billions of dollars and WorldCom's highest ranking accountants was unthinkable." (Pg. 170) "Sidgmore remained front and center of perhaps the most expensive scandal in the world when he publicly disclosed the accounting misdeeds... The accounting scandal pummeled WorldCom bondholders... the SEC filed fraud charges against the most feared telecom company in the world. WorldCom became 'WorldCon.'" (Pg. 175-176)
She adds, "The WorldCom debacle demolished what was left of Arthur Andersen's reputation, which had become tainted with malfeasance following the Enron book-cooking scandal." (Pg. 207) She laments, "Nest eggs were wiped out overnight. California Public Employees' Retirement System, the nation's largest pension fund, estimated a $565 million loss on WorldCom earnings." (Pg. 214)
This is a detailed and engrossing account, by a very knowledgeable reporter on this subject.
April 22, 2018
I can not really recommend this book. It summarizes and states a lot of different events. Imagine reading in the first one hundred pages a lot of different aquisitions that were made...
The book is also not written in a chronological style... it jumps all over. At one point it discusses events taking place after the bankruptcy and a few sentences further it discusses events 5 years prior to it...
It also doesn’t go into the real issue at hand: i.e. ot doesn’t discuss what went wrong at WorldCom and how the events took place. I wanted to learn how the books were really cooked and how the board and SEC etc reacted on it.
This book is merely a summation a facts you can find from googling the company. It misses a storyline and seems to be nothing more than a poorly written effort to bring a book ASAP to the market to sell whilst events just took place.
The book is also not written in a chronological style... it jumps all over. At one point it discusses events taking place after the bankruptcy and a few sentences further it discusses events 5 years prior to it...
It also doesn’t go into the real issue at hand: i.e. ot doesn’t discuss what went wrong at WorldCom and how the events took place. I wanted to learn how the books were really cooked and how the board and SEC etc reacted on it.
This book is merely a summation a facts you can find from googling the company. It misses a storyline and seems to be nothing more than a poorly written effort to bring a book ASAP to the market to sell whilst events just took place.
May 19, 2025
“To leave here at a time of such opportunity, Bernie must have really loved Mississippi, the religious feel down there.” - Page 4
“In the early years, Ebbers nurtured a family atmosphere, where every employee knew the game plan and clocked as many hours as necessary. Some outsiders never understood how he inspired such loyalty. Others saw Ebbers’ style as management by intimidation, which became markedly evident when he was contradicted.” - Page 40
“Who would have thought that this tiny start-up company from a rural community in the poorest state of the union would be responsible for linking Washington to Moscow via the Cold War ‘hot line’” - Page 58
“After a phenomenal run, WorldCom evolved from upstart underdog to the world’s most feared telecom company and then the world’s largest failure. The former took seventeen years; the latter took two.” - Page 225-226
“In the early years, Ebbers nurtured a family atmosphere, where every employee knew the game plan and clocked as many hours as necessary. Some outsiders never understood how he inspired such loyalty. Others saw Ebbers’ style as management by intimidation, which became markedly evident when he was contradicted.” - Page 40
“Who would have thought that this tiny start-up company from a rural community in the poorest state of the union would be responsible for linking Washington to Moscow via the Cold War ‘hot line’” - Page 58
“After a phenomenal run, WorldCom evolved from upstart underdog to the world’s most feared telecom company and then the world’s largest failure. The former took seventeen years; the latter took two.” - Page 225-226
June 14, 2025
This is a disorganized mishmash-redundancies galore. I am certain there are better volumes exploring the startling WorldCom fraud. Find them. Leave this one on the shelf.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews