MCI WorldCom To Provide The Industry Data Exchange Association With A Fully Managed Extranet For E-Commerce Among Electrical Manufacturers And Distributors

Rosslyn, VA, June 8--Officials of MCI WorldCom and the Industry
Data Exchange Association (IDEA) today announced an agreement to build,
deploy and manage IDXchange, an extranet that will carry electronic
traffic to and from the electroindustry's new Industry Data
Warehouse (IDW) and facilitate electronic commerce applications among
its members. The three-year agreement calls for IDEA to make an initial
capital investment for construction and deployment of the network and
to pay a monthly service fee thereafter.
Electroindustry leaders created IDEA - an organization collectively
formed by the National Association of Electrical Distributors (NAED)
and the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) -- to
manage the funding, development and administration of the IDW and
IDXchange. Together, the IDW and IDXchange will enable manufacturers
and distributors to conduct electronic commerce and reduce the current
20 percent rejection rate of electronic orders placed due to missing or
incorrect information. Already, more than 100 member IDEA companies
have agreed to utilize the extranet.

"This arrangement puts the electroindustry on the cutting edge
of e-commerce," said David Crum, IDEA chairman. "The
e-partnership of manufacturers and distributors will be a boon to the
industry, as well as consumers. The IDW and IDXchange will bring down
the cost of doing business, enhance the competitiveness of IDW members
and raise the level of customer service."

IDXchange is based upon standard Internet protocols as well as MCI
WorldCom's industry-leading frame relay technology. It is a closed,
members-only extranet dedicated to facilitate electronic commerce
between electrical manufacturers and distributors providing privacy and
security for all members. IDXchange will permit the transmission of
batch EDI transactions, Quick Response transactions (i.e.
process-to-process inquiries) and other member-to-member IP
applications. The extranet can also support future functionality --
such as web hosting, on-line distance learning, media streaming and
other innovative IP-based applications.

"IDXchange is a marquis example of how MCI WorldCom continues
to deliver next generation solutions for an entire industry," said
Bob Hartnett, president of MCI WorldCom Global Accounts. "With our
world-class managed services capabilities, we will deliver one of the
largest, most sophisticated and secure e-commerce extranets to the
market. IDEA is a pioneer, breaking new ground in the burgeoning world
of business to business e-commerce."

"We selected MCI WorldCom because they were able to deliver a
fully managed end-to-end solution, with robust features and an
attractive flattened fee structure," said Clyde Moore IDEA vice
chairman. "Manufacturers and distributors who have agreed to
participate in the extranet-companies of all sizes-have run the
numbers, and found that the IDXchange solution allows them to recover
set-up costs in as little as six months and offer dramatic savings
thereafter."

"IDXchange is an elegant, effective way for manufacturers and
distributors to do business together. Companies should move quickly to
lock in the efficiencies the extranet offers," Jim O'Hallaron
NAED president.

MCI WorldCom's state-of-the-art solution is based on the
cohesiveness of its integrated frame relay, EDI*Net and managed
services and strengthened by a consolidation of its best-of-breed
partners including Netscape, Cisco, Compaq, Sun and VeriSign. MCI
WorldCom selected each solution provider to deliver a key component to
the centralized network solution. Additional support for specialized
E-Commerce services are available from Eventra, Triad Systems
Corporation and Research Triangle Consultants.

To access the extranet, participating IDEA members will rent a data
router, which will be supplied and supported by MCI WorldCom. (Small
distributors will be able to dial into the extranet via a modem for
limited access.) The connection between the router and the MCI WorldCom
managed centralized data facility will be made by MCI WorldCom's
high-speed frame relay connections. The monthly fees for this
connection will range depending on connection speeds that range from
56K to T1.

Electrical manufacturers and distributors paying more than $850 a
month in value added network (VAN) fees today will see tremendous cost
savings since current VAN traffic can be switched to the new extranet,
as well. Members will receive additional savings since the extranet can
be used to replace terminal-to-host SNA data communications. These
savings will compound as electronic data exchange and communications
usage escalates, while the extranet fees remain constant.

"Compared to current practices, industry-wide savings could
exceed tens of million of dollars in the first few years alone,"
said Malcolm O'Hagan, president of IDEA and NEMA.

The Industry Data Exchange Association was formed by the National
Association of Electrical Distributors and the National Electrical
Manufacturers Association. IDEA was established to create and manage
the Industry Data Warehouse (IDW) -- a repository of product
information for the electrical industry, which provides for centralized
management and retrieval of data warehouse information. The IDW serves
as the foundation for e-commerce by creating a standardized method of
defining and communicating product data to the channel. IDEA will build
and manage the infrastructure for electronic commerce within the
electrical industry. For more information about IDEA, visit
http://www.idea-inc.org

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.