Backbone Rates Going Up?

"Level 3 Communications reported ongoing improvement in wholesale transport pricing trends in a sector long plagued by cutthroat pricing." I guess by buying WilTel (and rumors have it Broadwing) at the same time the RBOCs are buying AT&T and MCI, IP pricing should be going up. "The company reported a net loss of $204 million (or $0.29 per share) for the third quarter, an 8% sequential increase. Revenue was down 12% sequentially to $799 million." Has L3 ever had a quarter without loss? Now this is funny: 'In the mean time, Level 3 has also worked hard to sell customers on value rather than price, O’Hara said. “We developed the ability to say, ‘No,’ and know when to walk away.”