From corporate icon to corporate orphan, MCI Inc. was at the center of the revolution that swept the telecommunications industry over the past 30 years.
An innovator in regulatory policy as much as in technology, its legal challenge to AT&T Corp.'s monopoly laid the groundwork for changes that would lead to Ma Bell's breakup and, ultimately, to its proposed purchase by regional phone company SBC Communications Inc.
_____Archive: Looking Back_____
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Cyracle Technologies Inc. (The Washington Post, Jan 29, 2003)
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Matrics Inc. (The Washington Post, Jan 15, 2003)
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Capital Genomix Inc. (The Washington Post, Jan 8, 2003)
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Avalon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (The Washington Post, Dec 18, 2002)
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Pharmion Corp. (The Washington Post, Dec 11, 2002)
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Last week, MCI announced that it too was being swept up by another, larger company, Verizon Communications Inc.
The deal must still be approved by shareholders and regulators, and a second company, Qwest Communications International Inc., is still maneuvering for control of MCI.
But last week clearly was the end of an era for MCI, and for Washington. Since its founding in 1968, MCI left a deep mark on the Washington region -- first helping stamp the area as a telecommunications hub, and later adding to an industry bust that the area felt deeply. The company survived a bankruptcy, but its former owner, WorldCom Inc., will be remembered largely as the subject of an accounting scandal.
• INSIDE A look at the people and companies connected to MCI, and a review of its history. Page E10
