A piece of Philly Tech history: Digital Access, Inc.
Private Equity Hub (published by Thomson Reuters) ran a piece this week, on the heels of solar panel maker Solyndra's bankruptcy filing, on what it calls the 10 of the largest VC busts over the last 20 years. (Its slideshow doesn't seem to be working). Third on its list was Bala Cynwyd-based Digital Access Inc., which raised $490 million between 1999 and 2001 before shutting down in 2001.
Digital Accees was building broadband fiber networks to compete with companies such as Comcast in several midwestern cities. As the telecom bubble burst, there was an oversupply of fiber capacity and the company simply could not raise more money. Digital Access also blamed regulatory delays that slowed buildouts in some cities. Investors included Goldman Sachs and Bala Cynwyd-based Bachow & Associates, which still has a website up but with very little information on it other than past investments. Joseph W. Cece, who previously ran Suburban Cable (acquired by Comcast in 1999), was its CEO.
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