As the company's president and chief executive, he delighted in meeting with clients and chasing deals.

Others are chasing separate deals with cable television companies, which also hope to provide personal communications services.

More Internet venture dollars are chasing deals than ever before.

Since then, the pool of capital available to chase deals has diminished considerably.

Money chased deals and there were plenty of deals to chase.

"Now, we have too much money chasing too few deals."

Q. Are there too many dollars chasing too few deals?

And if too much venture money chases too few deals, the industry may have another mess on its hands.

"We were wasting time and money chasing small deals," he added.

All this money, meanwhile, is chasing fewer and more expensive deals.