AAFES, MCI WorldCom Announce Residential Long Distance Service For Military Community
McLean VA, May 25, 1999 - - MCI WorldCom Government Markets and
the Army Air Force Exchange Services (AAFES) announced today new
residential long distance service specifically tailored to the military
community. As part of the Best Connections partnership with AAFES, MCI
WorldCom will provide long distance service to all military ID card
holders, including active duty military personnel, National Guard,
reservists, retirees and their families.
The new service falls under an estimated $1.5 billion pact forged
with AAFES earlier this year. Under terms of the seven-year agreement,
AAFES granted MCI WorldCom a concession to provide a full suite of
telecommunications services to 7.8 million eligible AAFES customers.
This is the first time a military exchange service has awarded a
contract to provide residential telecom services to members of the
military community living outside of military barracks.
By purchasing long distance through the Best Connections program
members of the military community will see 10 cents out of every dollar
spent on long distance returned to them through morale, welfare, and
recreation (MWR) programs on U.S. military installations worldwide. In
addition, service members and their families will enjoy the benefits of
MCI WorldCom's MCI One Advantage, 5 cents per minute all day Sunday
plus 10 cents a minute on all state-to-state calls Monday through
Saturday.
"We're thrilled to provide this world class service under
one banner with MCI WorldCom," said AAFES chief contracting
officer for telecommunications Michelle Priester. "By offering
residential long distance service through AAFES, the military community
has the opportunity to take advantage of some the best deals in
consumer telecom services while simultaneously contributing to their
quality of life programs."
The military community can immediately take advantage of the new
offering by calling 1-800-723-8134. Information on all Best Connections
products and services are also available on the AAFES web site at
http://www.aafes.com.
"With the launch of our residential product under the Best
Connections banner, military personnel and their families will have
more choices and better value when calling home or reaching
friends," said MCI WorldCom executive director for DoD programs
Diana Gowen. "This is the first step in building a strong
relationship with our valued partner at AAFES, and providing the best
connections for our best customers."
AAFES is a global military organization that provides quality
merchandise and services at uniformly low prices to active duty, guard
and reserve members, military retirees and their families. AAFES
returns its earnings to the military community to improve quality of
life for service members and their families.
MCI WorldCom Government Markets is a sales and marketing unit of MCI
WorldCom, serving the U.S. Government and its agencies, and state
governments. Offering managed network services, systems integration,
and other products, MCI WorldCom Government Markets is a leader in
providing communications solutions to government organizations. For
more information on Government Markets, visit its home page at
www.governmentmci.com.
MCI WorldCom is a global leader in communications services with 1998
revenues of more than $30 billion and established operations in over 65
countries encompassing the Americas, Europe and the Asia-Pacific
regions. MCI WorldCom is a premier provider of facilities-based and
fully integrated local, long distance, international and Internet
services. MCI WorldCom's global networks, including its
state-of-the-art pan-European network and transoceanic cable systems,
provide end-to-end high capacity connectivity to more than 40,000
buildings worldwide. MCI WorldCom is traded on NASDAQ under WCOM. For
more information on MCI WorldCom, visit the World Wide Web at
http://www.wcom.com.
