Broad HorizonsFor a while, it looked like the sun was setting on broadband. Now be prepared for the dawn of a new, improved marketplace.

This was supposed to be the year broadband made the Internet a truly super highway. The fiber optic backbone of the New Economy was going to deliver lower operating costs, new pathways to consumers and new entrepreneurial opportunities.

Instead, some of the largest custodians of broadband have been struggling just to stay afloat-and many didn't. A good chunk of the nationwide broadband infrastructure has changed, with billions of lost investment dollars, thousands of discharged telecom workers and plenty of creditors simply blown off.