MCI Ranked #1 As Most Connected Internet Network Provider For Fourth Consecutive Year

Independent TeleGeography Research Confirms MCI's Role as the Internet's Most Central Player

ASHBURN, VA. - OCTOBER 13, 2004--MCI (NASDAQ: MCIP) today announced that its global IP network has been recognized for the fourth consecutive year as the world's most connected Internet backbone network. TeleGeography, a research division of PriMetrica, Inc., in its annual 2005 Global Internet Geography Database and Report, found that MCI's global network continues to serve the Internet with the greatest number of Autonomous System (AS) network connections of any IP network by more than 50 percent, playing a critical role in the movement of Internet traffic. MCI's expansive IP footprint, coupled with its direct interconnections, enables its customers to reach more destinations directly through its global IP network than any other carrier.

"Our number one ranking illustrates MCI's role in delivering critical Internet services for our customers and the entire Internet community," said Vint Cerf, MCI senior vice president of Technology Strategy. "MCI delivers a comprehensive range of public and private IP services to businesses and government agencies and this distinction reinforces MCI's ability to carry digital information quickly and reliably around the globe."

Alan Mauldin, senior research analyst for TeleGeography added, "The Autonomous System ranking is a measure of the connectedness of an IP network to the rest of the public Internet. While all networks can reach each other on the Internet, the AS ranking demonstrates the closeness of a network to the rest of the Internet, as in number of hops data must take to reach its destination. Since TeleGeography began tracking AS-connectivity in 2001, not only has MCI ranked first each year, but consistently has held a wide margin over the nearest service provider."

In late-July, MCI announced that it had raised the bar on Internet Service by increasing its performance threshold. The company introduced new guarantees for traffic between key global business centers and set new standards for Internet service around the world. These Service Level Agreements reinforce MCI's ongoing commitment to delivering high performance IP-based services and provide additional confidence for businesses evolving their communications to an increasingly IP environment.

MCI, the company that pioneered the commercial Internet in 1987 as UUNET, has an IP network that spans six continents and supports more than two million global dial modems. MCI's Internet backbone provides more than 4,500 IP PoPs throughout North America, Latin America, UK-Europe, Africa and the Asia-Pacific region.

MCI also played an integral role building a trans-Pacific submarine cable named Southern Cross that opened up direct Internet traffic routes from California to Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand and Fiji in 2000. The company continues to be at the forefront developing and implementing leading-edge networking technologies that move the Internet forward. Just this year, MCI was the first data communications company to deploy an Ultra Long Haul Network; first to field test 40G over both a short haul and long haul network; first to announce a Converged Packet Access Strategy; and first to deploy the industry's latest state-of-the-art fiber, Medium Dispersion Fiber. MCI is also transitioning all its voice and data networks to an all IP core.

For more information regarding TeleGeography and its 2005 Global Internet Geography Database and Report visit: http://www.primetrica.com.

About TeleGeography

TeleGeography is a research unit of PriMetrica, a supplier of data-driven research and consulting services to thousands of clients in over 100 countries. For more information, go to http://www.telegeography.com.

About MCI

MCI, Inc. (NASDAQ: MCIP) is a leading global communications provider, delivering innovative, cost-effective, advanced communications connectivity to businesses, governments and consumers. With the industry's most expansive global IP backbone, based on the number of company-owned points of presence, and wholly-owned data networks, MCI develops the converged communications products and services that are the foundation for commerce and communications in today's market. For more information, go to www.mci.com.