McLeodUSA

McLeodUSA, based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was one of the nation’s largest independent competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs) during the years preceding its acquisition in 2008. The company also had offices in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and The Woodlands, Texas.

McLeodUSA provided integrated communications services, including local services, in 25 Midwest, Southwest, Northwest and Rocky Mountain states. The company is a facilities-based telecommunications provider with, as of September 30, 2005, 38 ATM switches, 38 voice switches, 697 collocations, 432 DSLAMs and approximately 1,700 employees.

The company was founded by Iowa school teacher Clark McLeod who entered into the long distance re-sale business. Eventually he sold that business and went into Local Exchange Carrier (LEC), using the State of Iowa funded fiber backbone as a helpful parallel. The company went public during the dot com boom, entered Chapter 11, reorganized, and then met the same fate a few years later. The company no longer trades on NASDAQ exchange. At one point the company had a market value in the billions. The former CEO was Chris A. Davis.