JACKSON, Miss., May 15, 1998
-- WorldCom, Inc., (NASDAQ: WCOM) announced this week it has
forged new territory as the first of the major interexchange
carriers to offer nationwide local telephone service for resale by
carriers and resellers. WorldCom made the announcement at the TRA
tradeshow in San Francisco.
The passage of the Telecommunications Act of 1996
accelerated local service competition. WorldCom was the first
telecommunications company to effectively enter the retail local
market in direct competition with the monopoly Regional Bell
Operating Companies (RBOCs) and GTE.
"Entering the wholesale local market
underscores WorldCom's end-to-end network advantage," said
Bernard J. Ebbers, WorldCom president and chief executive officer.
"We're staking our claim as a truly full service provider
for our wholesale customers -- offering long distance, Internet, and
now, local service from one carrier.
"WorldCom's recognition of the success of
resellers in bringing competitive benefits to customers within two
years of the signing of the Telecommunications Act is indicative of
WorldCom's 15-year history of serving the wholesale
market."
Initially, local switched and private line service
will be offered in selected U.S. cities where WorldCom has local
facilities. Beta testing in these cities has begun. Service will be
available in all domestic locations where WorldCom owns local
facilities during 1999.
UniDial Communications, a privately-held
telecommunications company based in Louisville, Ky., will be
WorldCom's first beta customer for local service.
"We're very excited about expanding our
relationship with WorldCom," said J. Sherman Henderson III,
president and CEO of UniDial. "Innovative and committed partners
such as WorldCom have helped UniDial grow. As WorldCom's first
local service beta customer, we believe we have enhanced our ability
to offer a more complete bundle of telecommunications
services."
Because WorldCom is using its own local
facilities, the company will control calls end-to-end, maintaining
the highest quality of transmission.
This product is targeted toward wholesale
customers. Resellers and other long distance carriers will be able to
purchase facility-based local service from WorldCom to sell to end
users.
"Our 500-plus carrier and reseller customers
have been asking us to provide this service. They recognize WorldCom
as the only facilities-based carrier which could provide this service
in a cost-effective manner and with the depth of back office support
for which WorldCom is known," said John W. Barnett, president of
WorldCom Wholesale Services.
WorldCom local services will offer the same simple
billing and ordering, rapid provisioning, and dedicated customer
support as its long distance service, but more importantly, will
offer nationwide local service from one carrier.
Adding local service to its already wide array of
products and services allows WorldCom's wholesale customers the
ability to provide a single telephone bill, containing both local and
long distance charges for customers. This service reflects
WorldCom's responsiveness to customer requests for a single bill,
allowing its wholesale customers to remain competitive and grow the
wholesale market.
WorldCom (NASDAQ: WCOM) is a global
telecommunications company with 1997 annual revenues of $7.35
billion. Operating in more than 50 countries, the company is a
premier provider of facilities-based and fully integrated local, long
distance, and international voice and data services.
