Is Qwest ripe for a takeover? A remote corner of the blogosphere has taken notice of an investor newsletter that says Qwest’s customers are attractive targets for an up-sell to advanced services.

The Turnaround Letter, published by investor George Putnam, says that Qwest is successfully increasing revenues and cutting costs. Other fundamentals are sound, Putnam noted.

Putnam argues that makes Qwest an attractive takeover target for either AT&T or Verizon. He notes that the opportunity represented by Qwest’s customer base is also a “challenge,” without going into exactly why it’s a challenge.

While there are a few densely populated metropolitan areas in Qwest’s territory, among the largest phone companies, it has one of the most widely dispersed populations, with many rural customers difficult or expensive to reach.

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