The meltdown continues
.According to the report, more than nine times as many Internet companies closed up shop in the past six months - a total of 330 - than in the comparable period last year. Meanwhile, the number of shutdowns held steady in June-53 firms went under, vs. 54 in May-suggesting that the dot-com death rate may be plateauing.
Among ISPs, ASPs and consultancies, however, the shutdown pace is quickening. In June alone, leading casualties included ISP PSINet, which filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition; Covad's Southeast regional ISP Bluestar Communications; Minnesota-based hosting provider Dantis; and human-resources ASP iTango Software. Overall, so far this year 14 ASPs have shut down, compared with only a few in 2000.
In addition, 48 infrastructure companies have closed their doors this year, compared with 17 in the previous 12 months. In the professional e-services space, 26 consultancies have gone belly-up since Jan. 1,as compared with only seven such firms during all of last year.