WorldCom Continues To Deliver On 100-Day Plan

-- The Neighborhood Expands to 48 States; Makes MCI The First Nationwide Local Phone Company -- -- The WorldCom Connection Reaches New Markets; Provides a Clear Business Choice for Converged Voice and Data Solutions -- CLINTON, Miss., March 17, 2003 -- As part of its 100-Day Plan, WorldCom Inc. (WCOEQ, MCWEQ), today announced it has achieved two important milestones for its flagship products - MCI's The Neighborhood and The WorldCom Connection. The Neighborhood is now available in all 48 contiguous states plus Washington, DC, making MCI the first nationwide local phone company. The WorldCom Connection is now available in all 94 metropolitan service areas where WorldCom has owned-local service facilities, enabling more business customers to immediately benefit from converged local, long distance and data services. Both The Neighborhood and The WorldCom Connection offer an innovative choice to customers through integrated services, single source billing and support, and unlimited use flat rate pricing. As one of the industry's largest competitive local exchange carriers, WorldCom customers no longer need to rely on the incumbent local service monopolies to meet their communications needs. The Neighborhood The Neighborhood - MCI's revolutionary "any-distance" service - was first launched in April 2002 in 32 states, reaching more than 50 million households. Today, less than one year later, The Neighborhood is now available in all 48 contiguous states, plus Washington, DC, and is available to more than 78 million households. In celebration of this milestone, MCI is offering 48 Neighborhood Complete customers one year of free service. Sweepstakes rules and additional eligibility information will be available by calling 1-800-RULES4U (1-800-785-3748) after March 26, 2003. To join The Neighborhood, call 1-800-JOIN MCI or visit http://www.TheNeighborhood.com "When MCI launched The Neighborhood 11 months ago, we outlined four goals we wanted to accomplish in one year: reach more than 70 million households, expand throughout the U.S., have a customer base of 3 million integrated local and long-distance customers, and remain profitable," said Wayne Huyard, president of MCI Mass Markets. "We have accomplished everything we set out to do, and we've done it ahead of schedule. Now we plan to add broadband to the mix, which we expect to accomplish this year." New states added to The Neighborhood's reach include Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, South Dakota and Wyoming. The WorldCom Connection The addition of more than 50 new metropolitan service areas (MSAs) to the WorldCom Connection platform enables WorldCom to offer the full benefits of this award-winning service in all 94 MSAs where it operates its own local facilities. "The WorldCom Connection is one of the most compelling business service offerings to date," said Jonathan Crane, executive vice president of WorldCom Strategy and Marketing. "Our expanded service platform enables more businesses to simply consolidate all their communications needs over a single network solution, allowing them to better manage their networks, reduce costs and take advantage of new multimedia applications." Capitalizing on its extensive facilities-based local service footprint, WorldCom is now offering Connection customers flat rate pricing for local and long distance voice, and data in 37 states and the District of Columbia. Additionally, businesses can leverage WorldCom dedicated Internet, Frame Relay and ATM connections to streamline their services and diminish costs commonly associated with access charges. "The features and flexibility of The WorldCom Connection are what initially appealed to us," said Ludwing Najera, president of SharperBrand.com. "We are reaping the benefits of voice-data integration while reducing our operating costs - all without having to sacrifice the voice functions we've become accustomed to. We are looking forward to maximizing all that this technology has to offer down the road." WorldCom also announced today that it has expanded its bundled Connection offering to support Private Branch Exchange (PBX) systems and a choice of IP phones. The package has been redesigned to enable WorldCom Connection customers to use their existing network configuration to support more users at lower price thresholds. About WorldCom, Inc.
WorldCom, Inc. (WCOEQ, MCWEQ) is a leading global communications provider, delivering advanced communications connectivity to businesses, governments and consumers. With one of the world's most expansive, wholly-owned data networks, WorldCom provides innovative data and Internet services that are the foundation for commerce and communications in today's market. With products such as The Neighborhood built by MCI and the award-winning WorldCom Connection - the industry's first comprehensive managed voice and data network service - WorldCom continues to lead the industry in converged communications solutions for the 21st century. For more information, go to http://www.worldcom.com