WhISPers: January 15, 2001

Making Tracks

The Ear hears that longtime hosting chief Mitch Ferro has left WorldCom to pursue other goals, following his predecessor Paul Hoffman out the door. The brain drain may be one sign that WorldComs hosting business is going through a stage of “telco-ization,” a process that normally brings big company politics into the business unit and scares away technical talent.

Making a List

Make room for a brand new directory of Internet service providers from Boardwatch. WhISPers department of advanced ISP research has been informed by Cable & Wireless that Boardwatch gave in to years of whining by large backbones that say their directories are flawed. So now, the Penton Media pub will publish not just statistics gathered from small ISPs, but also stats supplied by large backbones.

Righting Wrongs

Kudos to Colleen Millsap, ex-CFO and COO at DigitalNation, for doing the right thing. Upon learning that her company would be acquired by Verio a couple of years ago, Millsap acquired 1,100 Verio shares, as did her sister and parents. The move raised eyebrows at the Securities and Exchange Commission, and Millsap eventually was charged with insider trading. On Jan. 3 — and without admitting guilt — Millsap agreed to pay $54,000, which accounts for profits on the stock sale and penalties.