MCI Communications Corp.

From the April 28, 1997 Washington Post

	'96 (in $ 000s)	% Change From '95
Revenue	18,500,000	20.9
Net Income	1,200,000	119.0
Rank Last Year: 3

Description:
MCI is the nation's second-largest long-distance telephone company. It also offers paging, Internet access and wireless communications and designs customized computer systems. It is beginning to enter the local telephone service business.

Business Resume: Contact Info -- 1801 Pennsylvania Ave., NW Washington, D.C. 20006 202-872-1600 Main Business -- Telecommunications Founded -- 1968 Chairperson -- Bert C. Roberts Jr. President -- Timothy F. Price Employees -- 55,000 D.C.-Area Employees -- 4,785

Developments:
In November, MCI struck a deal to be acquired by British Telecommunications PLC for $21 billion, in what would be the largest foreign investment ever in a U.S. company.

The merger awaits approval from U.S. and European regulators. Leaders of both companies say MCI would retain its Washington headquarters and continue to market under its well-known MCI brand name. But together the companies would operate under the name Concert PLC, whose shares would trade in London, New York and Tokyo and whose headquarters would be in Washington and London.

MCI continued to make healthy financial gains in 1996, with revenue increasing 20.9 percent over 1995. The company experienced rapid growth in offering packages of cellular, paging and Internet services, in part through its MCI One program. It also struck a deal to offer next-generation "personal communications services" through NextWave Telecom Inc., a San Diego-based wireless carrier.

MCI plans by the end of 1997 to invest $1.7 billion in building local phone service systems in 31 cities. It plans to market other companies' local circuits under its own name in California, Illinois and New York. MCI began to back away from experiments in owning the content that travels along its fiber-optic communications links. After little more than a year in operation, lack of consumer interest led the company to pull the plug on its MarketplaceMCI online shopping mall and a music retailing service called 1-800-MUSIC-NOW.

MCI also decided to reduce its relationship with News Corp., the media conglomerate owned by Australian Rupert Murdoch. MCI canceled an online news project it was developing with News Corp. and announced it would reduce its stake in Murdoch's American Sky Broadcasting from 50 percent to 20 percent.