McLean, VA. July 28, 1999 - MCI WorldCom today announced that
the Social Security Administration has selected MCI WorldCom Government
Markets to provide all voice, data, and Internet and conferencing
services under the FTS2001 program. The selection has an approximate
value of $250 million over the eight-year span of the program.
The Social Security Administration is the third federal agency to
select MCI WorldCom for FTS2001 services this month. Earlier this month
the Department Commerce chose MCI WorldCom for all FTS2001 services.
Just five days ago, MCI WorldCom announced that the Department of Labor
had selected MCI WorldCom to provide all FTS2001 voice and advanced
data services. The combined potential value for the Departments of
Commerce and Labor is $175 million over the eight-year FTS2001
program.
The Social Administration becomes the ninth major federal agency to
select MCI WorldCom under the FTS2001 umbrella. Since Contract award,
MCI WorldCom Government Markets has successfully competed to provide
all voice, data, Internet and conferencing services to the Departments
of Interior, Agriculture, Transportation and Commerce. The Department
of Labor selected MCI WorldCom for all voice and advanced data
services. The Department of Defense, the largest single user of long
distance services under the old FTS2000 program chose MCI WorldCom to
provide voice service in March. Other significant wins under the
FTS2001 program include the Department of Education and Department of
Energy for voice services.
In January of 1999 MCI WorldCom captured the second of two awards
for the FTS2001 Contract. Under FTS2001, individual user agencies, such
as the Social Security Administration, may choose from either of two
companies to provide telecommunications services to the agency.
By selecting MCI WorldCom the Social Security Administration will be
able to capitalize on a full range of MCI WorldCom services including
its extensive toll free service capabilities. In addition, the Social
Security Administration can take advantage of MCI WorldCom's market
leading e-commerce solution for government agencies, FTSNet, which is
designed for customer order entry, network management and report
generation.
"We have a history of excellent past performance with the Social
Security Administration, which served us well in winning this
significant FTS 2001 customer," said MCI WorldCom Government Markets
director for civilian agencies Tony Bardo. "We look forward to building
a new legacy with the SSA by providing them with second to none
customer service and the latest telecommunications technologies."
MCI Government Markets successfully implemented the Social Security
Administration's first National 800 number service in 1988. Earlier
this year, SSA selected MCI WorldCom to provide a nationwide ATM
network under the FTS2001 program.
"The selections of Commerce, Labor and now Social Security clearly
demonstrate the strength of MCI WorldCom's FTS2001 program," said MCI
WorldCom Government Markets director for FTS2001 programs Rick Slifer.
"Our commitment to service, our technology as well as our very
competitive rates have made us the best choice for the majority of
federal government agencies."
MCI WorldCom Government Markets is a sales and marketing unit of MCI
WorldCom, serving the United States Government and its agencies, and
state governments. Offering managed network services, systems
integration, and other products, MCI WorldCom Government Markets is a
leader in providing communications solutions to government
organizations. For more information on Government Markets, visit its
home page at www.mciwcomgovt.com.
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.
