Qwest Holds on to Long-Haul Network

After unsuccessfully trying to auction it off, Quest Communications International Inc. has decided to hold on to its long-haul network for now. This network transfers large amounts of voice and data between customers, and interestingly enough, it is the service that Qwest was originally created to provide.
 
Qwest employs over 33,000 people and made $681 million in profits last year alone. Because of this, it carries some leverage when entertaining bids. According to Qwest, the company received one unspecified offer for the network and then decided to open a competitive bidding process to see how much it could get. Unfortunately for Qwest, none of the bids were large enough to be able to justify the acquisition.
 
Although Qwest had not yet stated publicly their desire to sell the network, this development seems to confirm that Qwest will not be intensifying their search for a buyer. This means that, at least for now, Qwest will still provide the service it was born to offer.

Qwest Field from the air (Image: Flickr)