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Did Verizon Wireless Force Amp'd Mobile To Declare Bankruptcy?

Maybe. Staci Kramer at mocoNews.net points out that the carrier may have played a hand in the event. Verizon Wireless -- Amp'd Mobile's host carrier -- reportedly played a key role in Amp'd Mobile's decision to file. Is this real or is this just Amp'd trying to spin the story?

Here is what Kramer reports:

Verizon played a key role in Amp'd Mobile's decision to file for bankruptcy late Friday—and the timing, according to an affidavit by Bill Stone, president of Amp'd Mobile, filed Monday in federal bankruptcy court in Delaware. The affidavit is meant to support various motions that would allow the company to continue operating without interruption. Keep in mind: this is the Amp'd side of the story.

Stone's sworn affidavit proffers an outline of events that show a company growing too fast in too short a time without the right systems in place. After a growth spurt in late 2006 and early 2007, Amp'd wound up with a large number of new subs—the sub total hit 100,000 by the end of 2006—and, within months, an equally high number of non-paying customers (approaching 80,000 by late May) leading to what Stone describes as a "liquidity crisis."

It looks like it was those 80,000 non-paying customers that was one of the real culprits here, not Verizon Wireless.

Of course yesterday, Alex Besen on Over The Air claimed it was Amp'd Mobile's excessive spending, fickle subscriber base, and lack of a viable model that killed Amp'd.

Some of you wrote in with your comments. One reader claimed that the Amp'd Mobile bankruptcy was just a business tactic, and another claimed that the iPhone killed Amp'd -- pretty impressive considering that the iPhone has yet to launch.

What do you think? Why did Amp'd Mobile flop?

ADD ON: Here is a link to the court affidavit in question.

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