News Briefs

Attorneys for former Qwest Communications International Inc. CEO Joe Nacchio have asked a Denver court for an acquittal, a new trial and a change of venue in his insider trading case. Nacchios attorneys said the jury that convicted him on 19 of 42 counts in April was exposed to public attacks on the defendant. A judge has denied a request for acquittal twice before. Nacchio faces a July 27 sentencing where he could get hit with up to 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine for each guilty count.

Broadview Networks Holdings Inc. has closed its acquisition of InfoHighway Communications Corp. The deal, announced in February, was finalized May 31. Terms were not disclosed as both providers are privately held. Together, InfoHighway and Broadview form a $500 million CLEC.

Windstream Corp., a spinoff of Alltel, will buy ILEC CT Communications Inc. for approximately $585 million. The deal should close in the second half of 2007. Adding markets in North Carolina fits Windstreams growth strategies, executives said, noting the deal will give Windstream approximately 3.4 million access lines and 744,000 broadband customers.

PPL Corp. is selling PPL Telcom, its wholesale subsidiary, to Communications Infrastructure Investments (CII) for approximately $60 million. The company announced in May it wanted to sell PPL Telcom so it could focus on its energy business. CII is a holding company owned by Columbia Capital, M/C Venture Partners, Oak Investment Partners, Battery Ventures and Centennial Ventures. The deal is expected to close by the end of the third quarter.

Vercuity Solutions and Quickcomm Software have partnered to help Global 2000 companies combine and manage their telecom services. Financial terms of the partnership were not disclosed. Vercuity will use Quickcomms software to integrate users wireless, wireline, domestic and international services into one platform.

After 17 months of fast growth, hipster MVNO Ampd Mobile has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, blaming a lack of OSS/billing scalability for its troubles. The company expects to restructure more than $100 million in debt so it can pay for a back-end infrastructure overhaul Ampd still owes about $33 million to underlying network provider Verizon Wireless; $16 million to handset partner Motorola Inc.; and various sums to Universal, Best Buy and MTV.