As many of you might know, Qwest Communications has won the contract to provide network services to both political conventions. The Democratic National Convention finished up last night with Barack Obama's acceptance speech at Invesco Field at Mile High Stadium. By all accounts, the 6,000 voice and data lines and video equipment (see http://press.qwestapps.com/index.cfm?fa=press.view&pressReleaseId=56825) that Qwest provisioned at Mile High Stadium/Invesco Field, as well as the Pepsi Center, did not experience much, if any, issues or downtime. This should score in the win column for Qwest. But most outsiders would say that, being in Denver, which is where Qwest headquarters are located, this was expected. So Qwest was basically in a situation where it could not pull off a big-time win - just a big-time loss, which did not happen.

As we turn toward the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota, next week, Qwest, again, will be providing voice, data and video capabilities to the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul (see http://press.qwestapps.com/index.cfm?fa=press.view&pressReleaseId=56820). Again, since Qwest is the predominant local provider in that region, it will be expected to deliver flawless service, and it will find it tough to gain positive credibility for a job well done.