Thanks for all the VERY helpful replies to my query about the backbone that sucks the least. As a followup, I've been asked to locate clueful sales reps for UUnet, MCI, and C&W. Sales people (and others) from those named organizations are given explicit permission to reply to me directly, and techies are encouraged to contact me with the contact info of any sales rep they trust. I already have contacts for AT&T and Genuity, but still need C&W and UUnet/MCI. This is for a company headquartered near Silicon Valley that needs connectivity at 12 US locations plus London and Tokyo.