New Survey Reveals Economy and Safety Concerns Are Affecting Business Communication

CHICAGO, March 6, 2002 - According to Meetings in America IV:
The New Road Warrior, a national survey released today by WorldCom, the
leading global business data and Internet provider, one in four
business travelers has reduced air travel since the events of last
September. Instead, 55 percent of these meeting goers have adopted
audio, video or web conferencing as a means to conduct business; 62
percent expect to conference more in the future.

Today's business travelers are under more pressure than ever,
causing them to re-evaluate the necessity of air travel. According to
WorldCom's new survey, safety has become a major concern for these
travelers. Thirty percent said personal safety or concerns expressed by
a family member influenced their travel plans in recent months. In
fact, travelers with children living at home were the most likely to
have reduced trips (one in three respondents). Reduced company travel
budgets brought about by the slowing economy, clearly a factor before
September 11, remain the primary reason for reduced business travel,
cited by 40 percent of the survey respondents. Airport security delays
(as noted by 21 percent of respondents) and reduced flight schedules
(21 percent) were also factors influencing travelers to fly less.

"During challenging economic times, travel budgets are the first to
get trimmed," noted Tim Reedy, WorldCom vice president of conferencing
marketing and finance. "What we found significant in our study is that
since last fall a large number of frequent business flyers have elected
to travel less for personal safety reasons as well. We've never seen
these factors co-exist before.

"Companies are turning to a variety of remote solutions to stay
connected. Whether it's dialing into the Internet, connecting to a
corporation's virtual private network (VPN) or using conferencing
services, individuals today can use a combination of remote solutions
to stay connected to their business."

"Major corporations are substituting air travel with conferencing
because of a confluence of factors," said Kevin Mitchell, chairman of
the Business Travel Coalition, an advocacy organization that represents
the interests of customers of the business travel industry.
"Skyrocketing business airfares, a slowing economy and heightened
security concerns have converged, encouraging businesses to rethink how
they best use the variety of business communications tools currently
available to them."

Travel Budgets Not Expected to Rebound with Economy

Although business travelers are optimistic about the economic
resurgence, they are not as bullish on the prospects for their
companies' travel budgets.

· Some 73 percent cautiously believe the economy will turn around by
the end of the year.

· However, 35 percent of respondents affected by corporate travel
budget cuts do not anticipate their companies' travel budgets will
bounce back this year, if ever.

Industry experts agree that the economy and business travel are not
expected to begin rebounding until much later this year. In the
meantime, conferencing will enable business people to conduct
cost-effective meetings no matter where the attendees are located.

A New Type of Family Pressure

While many business travelers influenced by personal safety concerns
are somewhat hopeful about the future, those with families, and their
families themselves, feel differently.

· Travelers with children living at home were the most likely to have
reduced trips.

· About 70 percent of business travelers expect their own concerns will
lessen in the next year and they will feel safe flying again.

· In contrast, 42 percent of travelers say their families expressed
lingering fear, with one in five (21 percent) stating that they will
never feel comfortable again about their loved ones flying.

Conferencing Allows Business as Usual - From Anywhere

· One-third (33 percent) of travelers who have reduced their travel in
recent months have used audio, video or web conferencing as a
substitute for flying.

· Two in five (42 percent) have used these tools to maintain
productivity since the September events. · Of those who are traveling
less as a result of recent events, 62 percent say they will use
conferencing more in the next year.

"With a slowing economy and the events of September, we task
employees with managing costs and if they can accomplish a meeting by
phone, we encourage it," stated Cathy Lin, telecom director for
Corporate Express, the world's largest business-to-business
supplier of office and computer products and services. "By using
WorldCom's audio conferencing, we have been able to maintain a high
level of productivity. Now we use conferencing on a more regular basis
just because it's the most efficient way to stay connected."

About the Study

Meetings in America IV: The New Road Warrior was commissioned by
WorldCom, a global leader in business communications. This year's study
was conducted by Taylor Nelson Sofres Intersearch, headquartered in
Horsham, Pa. Data collection was conducted from Dec. 12, 2001 - Jan. 5,
2002, among 323 qualified respondents representing a cross section of
business travelers in the U.S. who have taken three or more trips by
air for business purposes in the past 12 months. Complete results of
the study can be viewed online at
www.worldcom.com/conferencing

.

WorldCom offers a diverse range of remote access solutions and
extensive global reach. In addition to Conferencing, other product
solutions include: Internet Dial and Remote LAN Dial that provide
flexible connectivity to the Internet and corporate data networks; IP
VPN and Private IP, which enable secure high-performance communications
between multiple locations; Paging and Voice services. For more
information, visit:
www.worldcom.com/us/resources/remote

.

About WorldCom Group

WorldCom group (NASDAQ: WCOM) is a pre-eminent global communications
provider for the digital generation, operating in more than 65
countries with annualized revenues exceeding $21 billion. With one of
the most expansive, wholly owned IP networks in the world, WorldCom
provides innovative data and Internet services for businesses to
communicate in today's market. For more information, go to
www.worldcom.com

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