BOULDER - From broadband Internet and cell phones to land lines and data storage, most people don't give up their connectivity no matter how bad the economy is.

That's helped the telecommunications industry to stay afloat, and even grow, during the current recession, area managers said at the Boulder County Business Report's telecommunications CEO Roundtable held Oct. 20 at the offices of Ehrhardt Keefe Steiner & Hottman PC in downtown Boulder.

Zayo Group Inc. is one of those companies that grew.

The Louisville-based bandwidth, voice and managed-services provider has not only increased revenue but acquired companies since the economy went south.

Dan Caruso, the company's chief executive officer, said Zayo acquired New York-based FiberNet Telecom Group Inc., an interconnection service provider, for $90.7 million. The deal, which closed earlier this year, was a good fit for Zayo, but Caruso said it was good for FiberNet investors, too.

The previously public company (formerly Nasdaq: FTGX) wasn't a healthy company, and investors were looking for an exit that made sense, Caruso said.

Doug Hanson, president of Boulder-based Evolve Technologies, which specializes in IP phone systems and data networks, said his new clients are primarily small- and medium-size businesses.

While large companies have scaled back telecommunications upgrades or additional services, smaller businesses are taking advantage of lower prices and trying to close the technology gap on their larger competition, Hanson said.

But until about three months ago, companies weren't putting money on the table, he said. That doesn't mean funding isn't or wasn't available.

Companies like Zayo Group not only closed on series A and B financing rounds earlier this year for a total of $314 million. It also received $30 million of debt-financing.

And Dennis Grant, Boulder-based PureEnergy Solutions Inc.'s president and chief executive officer, said his company also closed a round of financing.

In September, PureEnergy closed a series A round of financing that brought the company's total amount raised to about $10 million. Grant said he's now in the process of raising an additional $5 million as part of a series B.

Banks, however, have been hesitant to fund companies, and the banks that are lending have more stipulations tied into the agreement.

Investors seem more willing to invest in companies that have survived the "dot bomb," said Barry Dykes, Denver-based ViaWest Inc.'s network engineering and operations vice president.

"That is exactly spot on," Caruso said.

Many companies are now working with tighter budgets and operating as a business should - something that didn't happen as much prior to the dot-com bubble bust in 2000. Investors like that frugality, the managers said.

Whether or not funding is an issue, telecommunications is a growing industry that has few, if any, signs of slowing down.

Shawna Fehlmann Callaghan, Boulder-based Earthnet Inc.'s chief operating officer, said the telecom industry isn't hugely impacted by the economy. She's seen more competition create better bandwidth prices because of the recession, but there is still a demand.

It's hard to predict what will happen more than five years in the future, but roundtable participants were certain the demand would remain.

Dykes said three years is an entire generation to the Internet, so he typically looks no more than five years down the road in order to stay current and prepare for the future.

"The problem is you can't just flip a switch and get there," Dykes said speaking of certain technologies.

With advancements in voice over Internet protocol technology and other Internet-based phone systems, like IP PBX, as well as Wi-Fi-enabled cell phones, broadband use will drastically increase in the next few years.

That's partially driven to laptops and mobile phones, like Apple's iPhone, that enable users to connect to the Internet from nearly anywhere whether via wireless Internet or cell service.

And as companies continually adhere to strict compliancy issues, whether it is related to credit card or health record security or a host of other standards, broadband, as well as data-storage and Internet access will be increasingly important.