Launches MCI WorldCom Korea
SEOUL, October 27, 1999 - MCI WorldCom today announced the
creation of a new, wholly owned operating company to serve the business
community in Korea. Based in Seoul, the company will provide Korean
customers with international data communications services as well as
connectivity into Korea for the company's worldwide customer base.
Korea is the fifth Asian country where MCI WorldCom now operates on
a local to global basis and alongside its operations in Australia, Hong
Kong, Japan and Singapore, the company has extensive coverage within
the Asia Pacific region.
"Korea is a key strategic location in MCI WorldCom's
international expansion plans," said Mr. William Barney, President
of MCI WorldCom Asia Pacific. "As e-business becomes a reality
throughout Asia Pacific and in Korea, the need for effective, data
bandwidth is becoming a key issue. No other telecommunications company
can match MCI WorldCom, in the Asia Pacific region or globally, on the
delivery of high bandwidth, end to end managed services, local to
global to local."
MCI WorldCom will be providing a mix of International Frame Relay,
International Business Link (IBL) and Facilities Management services in
Korea. These services improve business productivity by reducing the
cost of high-speed data communications.
In addition MCI WorldCom Korea will provide the service portfolio
offered by the company's Internet division, UUNet, satisfying the
full spectrum of customer requirements with a customized bundled
service.
"Korea represents the fourth largest telecommunications market
in the Asia Pacific region, and as it continues to move toward
telecommunications deregulation, it provides us with the opportunity to
deliver the latest business solutions to its business community,"
said Howard Chow, Director North Asia, MCI WorldCom Asia Pacific.
According to IDC in July 1999, Korea's Internet-based businesses
are expected to maintain their growth over the next few years with
combined sales amounting to about US$5 billion in 2003. This growth
increases the need for bandwidth and effective, reliable data
communications services.
Mr. JJ Song, General Manager, MCI WorldCom Korea, said:
"Korea's telecommunications industry has recently undergone
significant restructuring, including a process of deregulation and the
introduction of competition to the sector. MCI WorldCom believes that
liberalization will continue to stimulate Internet usage at a
significant pace. High bandwidth connectivity for the business sector,
and for the multinational corporations working in Korea, is a critical
communications need, MCI WorldCom is delighted to meet that
need."
Note to editors
Frame Relay is a method of transmitting high-speed data over virtual
rather than dedicated connections. Its capability to handle busy LAN
traffic makes it ideal for wide area networks giving organizations
increased productivity by improving response times through reduced
congestion. MCI WorldCom's IBL service provides customers with
high-quality international end-to-end private circuit capabilities.
Besides the one seamless platform, which supports all international
private network requirements, the company also offers Facilities
Management Plus service to take care of on-site support, equipment
maintenance and after-hours support for customers to relieve them from
the burden of facilities management.
As a new breed of telecommunications company, MCI WorldCom's
Asia Pacific strategy is to broaden bandwidth capacity to the region.
The company aims to provide truly pan-Asian connectivity through
metropolitan and submarine cable systems.
MCI WorldCom is a leading participant in the Japan-US submarine
cable scheduled for completion by mid-2000, bringing an extensive
capacity to the region. The China-US cable and the Southern Cross cable
will also be completed in 2000. MCI WorldCom owns capacity on all these
major systems and many others in the region.
MCI WorldCom has successfully built its own network in more than 115
cities worldwide. Control over the network allows the company to give
its customers a fully managed end-to-end solution for all of their
voice and data traffic globally.
MCI WorldCom is a global leader in communications services with 1998
revenue of more than $30 billion and established operations in over 65
countries in 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 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.
The company currently has a presence in 12 countries in Asia,
including wholly-owned fibre optic networks in Australia and Japan, and
its World Centre in Hong Kong which monitors all Asia Pacific
operations.
For more information, visit the World Wide Web:
www.mciworldcom.com.
