WorldCom Simplifies Traditional Data Services for Any Size Business

Unconventional Frame Relay Pricing and Packaging Unlock New Economical Business Solutions

CLINTON, Miss. - March 27, 2002 - WorldCom (NASDAQ: WCOM), the leading global business data and Internet communications provider, today unveiled two new frame relay packages designed to simplify and effectively price its data offerings for any size business customer requiring a proven network solution. With WorldCom Bundled Frame Relay and WorldCom Economy Frame Relay, WorldCom customers can take advantage of new economical networking alternatives to more costly conventional communications solutions.

"WorldCom is eliminating the complexity and cost barriers that in the past prohibited some businesses from taking the frame relay plunge and making their operations more efficient," said Frank Grillo, senior vice president of Business Marketing for WorldCom. "By making the frame relay purchase and implementation process easy, WorldCom is adding to the appeal of this highly efficient, secure and scalable wide area network solution that works well with other transport technologies including IP."

WorldCom's Bundled Frame Relay simplifies network offerings by tying together key frame relay service components including ports, circuits, and hardware, to deliver a simplified, economical solution for businesses to run various applications such as e-mail, point-of-sale transactions, and automated teller machines. WorldCom Economy Frame Relay provides a "one-stop, one-price" bundled access and service solution for geographically dispersed companies with low bandwidth requirements, such as point-of-sale transactions over a secure, reliable network.

WorldCom Bundled Frame Relay Service

WorldCom Bundled Frame Relay is the industry's premier comprehensive frame relay package that combines service and customer hardware, all for one competitive price. WorldCom Bundled Frame Relay is an ideal solution for small or mid-size businesses looking to expand, add new applications, or directly connect decentralized locations to address business continuity requirements. For companies that determine their existing connectivity solution is too expensive or inefficient for growth, Bundled Frame Relay takes the complexity and cost out of starting up a new network environment.

"WorldCom Bundled Frame Relay is so straightforward in pricing and structure that its like getting a 'network in a box' at a local store," said John Campanella, Chief Financial Officer of Market News International. "For one price, we get a port, all the PVCs we need, and hardware, resulting in significant savings and easy to understand bills."

Key features of WorldCom Bundled Frame Relay available are:

  • Shorter term competitive one- or two-year contracts to empower customers with more flexibility;
  • "All-you-can-use" unlimited circuits (PVCs) to move traffic wherever it needs to go;
  • Bandwidth up to 1.5 Mbps (T-1) with over-subscription up to 200% for applications like e-mail and point-of-sale functions; and
  • Valuable Verilink CPE set-up and maintained by WorldCom.

WorldCom Economy Frame Relay Service

WorldCom Economy Frame Relay Service enables larger regional and national businesses to obtain a basic package that includes local network access, local-to-global frame relay service, special service level guarantees, and short-term contracts from WorldCom. Geographically dispersed companies, such as retail chains, no longer need to waste time and money going to numerous local carriers for access to their multiple locations. Instead, WorldCom can offer a cost-effective alternative and deliver the essential connections for geographically dispersed stores to effectively conduct low bandwidth applications such as point-of-sale transactions on a secure and reliable network.

Key features of WorldCom Economy Frame Relay Service are:

  • Shorter term competitive one-, two-, and three-year contracts offering flexibility;
  • Bandwidth up to 56K ideal for point-of-sale and other bursting data applications;
  • Basic Service Level Guarantees; and
  • A WorldCom managed relationship from premise to premise.

"Enterprises, whether small or large, are looking for simplified solutions that address their networking needs and meet their budgets," said Liza Henderson, vice president of TeleChoice, Inc., a strategic catalyst for the telecom industry. "WorldCom meets these requirements by bundling frame relay components into easy-to-understand, rapidly deployable packages at cost-competitive price points."

WorldCom continues to evolve frame relay services to address the key issues facing businesses today. It has led the industry developing and delivering frame relay solutions, since launching the first nationwide frame relay service in 1991. Today, WorldCom frame relay circles the globe on six continents, pushes bandwidth at the highest available speeds (45 Mbps), and interacts with new technology like IP services that allow customers to maximize their frame relay networks with new applications including IP-enabled frame, find-me/follow-me communications, and video-conferencing. As frame relay matures, new packages like Bundled Frame Relay and Economy Frame Relay fuse proven technology with innovative packaging and pricing to make frame relay a more practical decision for new business customers.

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 http://www.worldcom.com.

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