BIRMINGHAM, Ala., February 3, 1999
- MCI WorldCom is striking up competition in Alabama's local toll
calling market. Beginning in February, consumers will be able to choose
their local toll carrier just like they choose a long-distance provider
today.
For the first time, consumers who live in areas of the state where
BellSouth provides local phone service will be able to select a company
other than BellSouth to automatically carry their local toll calls.
Previously, in order to choose another carrier, consumers had to dial a
cumbersome access code before placing these calls.
Competition Brings Lower Rates "Now consumers have a
choice," said Joyce Dorris, MCI WorldCom director of brand
marketing. "Beginning in February, MCI One Savings residential
long-distance customers who live in Alabama can enjoy a low rate of
just seven cents per minute on their local toll calls during evenings
and weekends, which is a 19% savings over BellSouth's standard
rates."
Local toll calls, also referred to as local long-distance calls or
intraLATA calls, are calls within a Local Access Transport Area (LATA)
in the state of Alabama, yet are outside of the local calling area. For
example, calls from Birmingham to Tuscaloosa or from Montgomery to
Auburn are local toll calls. Charges for these calls are not included
in a consumer's monthly charge for local phone service. These types
of calls generally are itemized on phone bills as local long-distance
or local toll calls. Alabama Is In Good Company Historically, local
toll calls were solely handled by local telephone monopolies, but
competition has gradually taken hold across much of the country with
the entry of companies like MCI WorldCom into this market. Consumers
are seeing lower prices and other benefits of competition with the
advent of choice. Beginning this month, consumers in Colorado, Indiana,
Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio,
Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee and Washington will be able to
pre-select their local toll provider for the first time -- joining the
20 states that already have local toll presubscription available for
all their consumers. Consumers are invited to call 1-800-754-3002 to
sign up for MCI WorldCom's local toll rates.
MCI WorldCom
MCI WorldCom is a global communications company with revenue 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 38,000 buildings worldwide. For
more information on MCI WorldCom, visit the World Wide Web at
http://www.mciworldcom.com
.
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