MCI's original corporate logo

MCI Communications was an American telecommunications company that was instrumental in legal and regulatory changes that led to the breakup of the AT&T monopoly of American telephony. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (701x1076, 104 KB)Kansas City International Airport Diagram File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... BlackBerry 7100t Telecommunications is the communication of information over a distance. ... AT&T Inc. ...

Founded in 1963, it grew to be the second largest long-distance provider in the U.S. It was purchased by WorldCom in 1998 and became MCI WorldCom, until WorldCom's financial scandals and bankruptcy led that company to change its name in 2003 to just MCI. The MCI name disappeared in January 2006 after the company was bought by Verizon. For a time, WorldCom (WCOM) was the United States second largest long distance phone company (AT&T was the largest). ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... MCI logo MCI, Inc. ... This article or section should include material from Bell Atlantic This article or section should include material from GTE Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) is a local exchange telephone company formed by the merger of Bell Atlantic, a former Bell Operating Company, and GTE, which was the largest independant local exchange...

History

Founding

MCI corporate logo before WorldCom merger

MCI was founded as Microwave Communications, Inc. on 3 October 1963 with John D. Goeken being named the company's first president. The initial business plan was for the company to build a series of microwave relay stations between Chicago, Illinois and St. Louis, Missouri. The relay stations would then be used to interface with limited range two-way radios used by truckers along U.S. Route 66 or by barges on the Illinois Waterway. The long distance communication service would then be marketed to shipping companies that were too small to build their own private relay systems. In addition to the radio relay services, MCI soon made plans to offer voice, computer information, and data communication services for business customers unable to afford AT&T's TELPAK service. This is a copyrighted and/or trademarked logo. ... This is a copyrighted and/or trademarked logo. ... For a time, WorldCom (WCOM) was the United States second largest long distance phone company (AT&T was the largest). ... October 3 is the 276th day of the year (277th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (the link is to a full 1963 calendar). ... Listen to this article · (info) This audio file was created from the revision dated 2005-09-22, and does not reflect subsequent edits to the article. ... Chicago, Illinois is the current Good Article Collaboration of the week! Please help take it from Good to Featured article status. ... Nickname: Gateway City, Gateway to the West, or Mound City Official website: http://stlouis. ... U.S. Route 66 or Route 66 was a highway in the U.S. Highway system. ... The Illinois waterway system is consisted of 336 miles of water. ...

The fledgling business began a process of raising capital and submitting applications to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for appropriate licenses. Hearings on Microwave Communications' initial application occurred between 13 February 1967 and 19 April 1967 resulted in a recommendation that the FCC approve MCI's application. The FCCs official seal. ... February 13 is the 44th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ... April 19 is the 109th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (110th in leap years). ... 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ...

Another FCC ruling that would affect the company was the 26 June 1968 ruling in the Carterfone case that deemed AT&T's rules prohibiting private two-way radio connections to a telephone network were illegal. AT&T quickly sought a reversal of the ruling, and when the FCC denied their request brought suit against the FCC in the U.S. Court of Appeals. The FCC's decision was upheld thus creating a new industry: privately (non-Bell) manufactured devices could be connected to the telephone network as long as the manufacturer met interface standards. June 26 is the 177th day of the year (178th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 188 days remaining. ... 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ... This is a device which was invented by Thomas Carter. ... The United States Courts of Appeals (or circuit courts) are the mid-level appellate courts of the United States federal court system. ...

In 1968 William G. McGowan, an investor from New York with experience in raising venture capital, met with the board of Microwave Communications to discuss financing plans for the business. As a result of meetings in June and July, Microwave Communications of America, Inc (MICOM) was incorporated on 8 August 1968 as an umbrella corporation to help build a nationwide microwave relay system. McGowan also made an investment into the new corporation large enough to pay off all outstanding debts of the combined businesses and create a cash reserve. The investment also provided McGowan a stake in the company and a seat on the board. William G. McGowan (10 December 1927 – 8 June 1992) was an American entrepreneur and chairman of MCI Communications. ... August 8 is the 220th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (221st in leap years), with 145 days remaining. ... 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ...

Licensing and build out

Despite a 1967 recommendation that MCI's application be approved, final authorization for MCI to begin operations was delayed until after H. Rex Lee became an FCC Commissioner in October 1968. Following Lee's joining of the commission, MCI began a series of submissions including a proposal for a low-cost educational television network designed to show MCI as being more flexible to public needs than AT&T. While MCI was performing this lobbying, the President's Task Force on Communication Policy issued a report recommending that specialized common carriers be allowed free access into the private line business. Hiram Rex Lee (1910 2001) was the governor of American Samoa from May 24, 1961 to July 31, 1967 and from May 28, 1977 until January 3, 1978. ... A common carrier is an organization that transports a product or service using its facilities, or those of other carriers, and offers its services to the general public. ... In telephony, a private line is a service that involves dedicated circuits, private switching arrangements, and/or predefined transmission paths, whether virtual or physical, which provide communications between specific locations. ...

The FCC issued a final ruling on Docket 16509, MCI's licensing request, on 14 August 1969. By a decision of 4–3 MCI was licensed for operation. This ruling was quickly appealed by AT&T, and after a denial of the appeal by the commission AT&T filed a suit with the U.S. Court of Appeals to have the ruling overturned. August 14 is the 226th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (227th in leap years), with 139 days remaining. ... 1969 (MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1969 calendar). ... A lawsuit is a civil action brought before a court in order to recover a right, obtain damages for an injury, obtain an injunction to prevent an injury, or obtain a declaratory judgment to prevent future legal disputes. ... The United States Courts of Appeals (or circuit courts) are the mid-level appellate courts of the United States federal court system. ...

Following the FCC approval for MCI to begin building microwave relay stations between Chicago and St. Louis, Microwave Communications of America began to form subsidiary corporations and file applications with the FCC to create microwave relays between other city pairs. Between September 1969 and February 1971 fifteen new regional carriers were created allowing for interconnection between a number of major cities in the United States. In July 1969, MICOM also purchasing an equity position in Interdata, an independent regional carrier that was applying to build a microwave relay chain between New York City and Washington, D.C. MCI began selling data transmission services to paying customers on 1 January 1972. See stock (disambiguation) for other meanings of the term stock In financial terminology, stock is the capital raised by a corporation, through the issuance and sale of shares. ... Nickname: The Big Apple Official website: City of New York Government Counties (Boroughs) Bronx (The Bronx) New York (Manhattan) Queens (Queens) Kings (Brooklyn) Richmond (Staten Island) Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Geographical characteristics Area Total 468. ... This article is the current U.S. Collaboration of the Week. ... January 1 is the first day of the calendar year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. ... 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1972 calendar). ...

To pay for the microwave transmission and relay equipment needed for build out, MICOM began a series of private stock offerings on May 1971. In July 1971 MICOM was restructured into MCI Communications, and the restructured company began the process of absorbing the regional carriers into a single corporation. MCI went public on 22 June 1972, selling an initial offering of 3.3 million shares. A public company is a company owned by the public rather than by a relatively few individuals. ... June 22 is the 173rd day of the year (174th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 192 days remaining. ... 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1972 calendar). ...

Anti-trust suits

When it ran into problems competing with AT&T, which at the time had a government-supported monopoly in telephone service, it moved to Washington, D.C. to be close to federal regulators and lawmakers. The joke is that in its early years, MCI had more lawyers than land lines or that it was "A law firm with an antenna on the roof". The antitrust lawsuit that it filed against AT&T eventually led to the company's breakup by regulators, reshaping the nation's telecommunications. Antitrust or competition laws are laws which seek to promote economic and business competition by prohibiting anti-competitive behavior and unfair business practices. ...

In 1991, British Telecommunications PLC purchased 20% of the company and later made an offer to purchase the rest in 1996. At the same time, GTE, now a part of Verizon, made a bid to purchase MCI for an all-cash purchase. Instead, MCI merged with WorldCom, Inc. on November 10, 1997 in a stock-swap deal valued at US$34.7 billion, creating MCI WorldCom. On September 15, 1998 the new company, MCI WorldCom, opened for business. 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... BT Group plc (which trades as just BT, and is commonly known by its former name, British Telecom) is the privatised former British state telecommunications operator. ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... Categories: Corporation stubs | Communications companies of the United States | Defunct companies | Telephone companies | Public Utilities ... This article or section should include material from Bell Atlantic This article or section should include material from GTE Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) is a local exchange telephone company formed by the merger of Bell Atlantic, a former Bell Operating Company, and GTE, which was the largest independant local exchange... For a time, WorldCom (WCOM) was the United States second largest long distance phone company (AT&T was the largest). ... November 10 is the 314th day of the year (315th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 51 days remaining. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII in Roman) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... For a time, WorldCom (WCOM) was the United States second largest long distance phone company (AT&T was the largest). ... September 15 is the 258th day of the year (259th in leap years). ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... For a time, WorldCom (WCOM) was the United States second largest long distance phone company (AT&T was the largest). ...

MCI innovations

After the opening of the long distance market in 1984, companies such as MCI and Sprint were able to compete for customers with AT&T. One of MCI's early advertising success stories was to hire the same actors used in a previous AT&T commercial. As in the AT&T commercial, the woman actor was crying. In the AT&T version, when the husband asked why, the wife replied "he said he loved me" referring to the conversation just ended with a son who was in a distant part of the country. It was part of AT&T's very effective "Reach Out" ad stategy. In the MCI version, when the husband asked the wife why she was crying, she replied "I just received my phone bill"... after which an announcer's voice stated "You're not talking too much, you're just paying too much. MCI: The Nation's New Long Distance Telephone Company". 1984 (MCMLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Sprint Nextel Corporation (NYSE: S), headquartered in Reston, Virginia, is one of the largest telecommunications companies in the United States. ... AT&T Inc. ...

Even before the competitive long distance market came into existence, MCI created (in late 1970) a subsidiary company named MCI Satellite, Inc. The idea was that satellites could provide 'long distance' service from anywhere to anywhere without having to build thousands of miles of terrestrial network facilities. In early 1971, MCI and Lockheed Missiles and Space Company created a joint venture named MCI Lockheed Satellite Corp. which was the first company to request FCC authorization as a Specialized Common Carrier using satellite based communications. A year later, MCI and Lockheed sought an additional source of funding and Comsat Corp. entered the venture which was renamed CML Satellite Corp. In need of cash, MCI sold its share of the venture to IBM Corporation in 1974 (Lockheed also subsequently sold its share to IBM). IBM and Comsat brought in Aetna Insurance Company as a third partner and renamed the company Satellite Business Systems (SBS). In a twist of fate, IBM, which years later became the sole owner of SBS sold the satellite subsidiary back to MCI in 1985.

MCI was the first company to deploy Single Mode Fiber Optic Cable (the standard had been Multi-mode) which was manufactured by Siecor, a joint venture between Siemens Telecom and Corning Glass Company. The fiber cable ran between New York City and Washington D.C. and was turned up for service in 1984. Eventually, Single Mode fiber became the standard for US Telecom carriers.

A later marketing strategy employed by MCI was the Friends & Family plan, an early type of loyalty program. In this program, customers would receive a reduced rate when both the caller and callee were MCI customers. It has been suggested that Product marketing be merged into this article or section. ... Relationship marketing is a form of marketing that evolved from direct response marketing in the 1960s and emerged in the 1980s, in which emphasis is placed on building longer term relationships with customers rather than on individual transactions. ...

The company also introduced a dial-around collect calling service called "1-800-COLLECT". AT&T quickly responded with "1-800-OPERATOR" but AT&T's ineffective marketing campaign combined with people misspelling operator (either as "operater" or by dialing 1-800 then pressing the "0" (Operator) button) allowed MCI to benefit. Subsequently, AT&T renamed and re-introduced their dial-around collect service as 1-800-CALL-ATT ("Dial down the middle!") but this was also apparently too confusing for consumers and never came close to the success enjoyed by 1-800-COLLECT.

In 1995 MCI introduced 1-800-MUSIC-NOW, a short-lived telephone-based and online music store. 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1-800-MUSIC-NOW was a short-lived venture by MCI Communications to open a music store operated through automated telephone prompts. ...

In the early 1980's, MCI developed a data network using the CCITT X.25 Packet protocol and sold a service called MCI Mail. There were other commercially available Electronic Mail systems, such as IBM's Professional Office System (PROFs), but they didn't interface with each other until the development of the CCITT X.400 standard in 1984. During this time, Vint Cerf (one of the developers of the TCP/IP protocol) was head of MCI Digital Information Services and led the effort to interconnect MCI Mail with the Internet- the first commercial e-mail service to do so. Vinton Gray Cerf (born June 23, 1943 in New Haven, Connecticut) is an American computer scientist who is commonly referred to as the father of the Internet for his key technical and managerial role in the creation of the Internet and the TCP/IP protocols which it uses. ... The Internet protocol suite is the set of communications protocols that implement the protocol stack on which the Internet runs. ...

In the mid-to-late 1980's MCI partnered with several universities and provided the high speed telecommunications links between their computer systems. This network, operated under the auspies of the National Science Foundation was called NSFNet, used the TCP/IP protocol that had been developed by the U.S. Department of Defense ARPANet and was the immediate forerunner to the Internet. From the early 90's on, MCI's network was an intregral part of the global Internet backbone. National Science Foundation Network (NSFNet) was a major part of early 1990s Internet backbone. ... The Internet protocol suite is the set of communications protocols that implement the protocol stack on which the Internet runs. ... ARPANET logical map, March 1977. ...

See also

• Bell System divestiture

The break up of AT&T was initiated in 1974 by the U.S. Department of Justice anti-trust suit against the telephone monopoly. ...

References

• Cantelon, Philip L. (1993). The History of MCI : 1968-1988, The Early Years, Dallas: Heritage Press. LCC HE8864.M375C36 1993.

• Kahaner, Larry (1987) On The Line, Warner Books. ISBN:0446385506