Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Woldcom rears its head for a wireless partner

From: [email-masked]
Date: Tue, 04 Nov 2003 13:13:53 -0500

Woldcom rears its head for a wireless partner

CEO, Capellas, says that it is on the lookout for wireless carrier and
has also had talks with a few prospective partners, but is not close to
signing a deal. Reuters Tuesday, November 04, 2003

Jeremy Pelofsky

ARLINGTON: MCI Chief Executive Michael Capellas said on Monday that the
No.2 long-distance and data telephone company is looking for a wireless
partner to add to its bundle of services to offer consumers.

MCI, whose legal name is WorldCom previously had wireless resale
operations, but sold off the unprofitable business last year. The
company has been in bankruptcy protection since July 2002 after becoming
embroiled in an accounting scandal.
"We have had informal chats with a few people in the industry ... we are
not close to signing" an agreement, Capellas told a small group of
reporters after speaking to the Yankee Group Telecom Industry Forum.
"It's unlikely you'll see some explosive deal."

He said that a deal would not likely be with a wireless carrier that has
ties to a local telephone giant, like Verizon Wireless and Cingular
Wireless, the two biggest U.S. companies. That leaves AT&T Wireless,
Sprint PCS, Nextel Communications Inc. and T-Mobile.

Capellas also said that the company was extending its footprint for
high-speed Internet service, via cable operators as well as digital
subscriber line (DSL) service provided through traditional telephone
lines. At this point he said he did not see adding video service unlike
its competitors.

SBC Communications Inc., the No. 2 local telephone company, recently
entered into an agreement with EchoStar Communications Corp. to bundle
satellite television service, trying to compete with cable companies
that now offer telephone service.

TAKEOVER TALK

The MCI executive brushed aside speculation that he was cleaning up the
company so it could be sold, despite analyst expectations that MCI, as
well as rival AT&T Corp. are ripe takeover targets.

"I don't think it's us who is at the forefront of the 'for sale' sign,"
Capellas told reporters after speaking to the Yankee Group Telecom
Industry Forum. "We are really focused on an internal plan, we have a
three-year plan, an 18-month product deliverable plan."

Talks for a tie-up between BellSouth Corp. and AT&T fell apart last
week.
MCI last week won approval of its plan to reorganize its assets and shed
all but about 10 percent of its $41 billion debt. The company plans to
emerge from bankruptcy protection, probably in January, and some
competitors are worried about being undercut in pricing.

Capellas denied that that the Ashburn, Virginia-based company would
engage in a price war. He did say that it was evaluating its assets in
Latin America and looking at whether to be partners in operations there
or to actually own assets.

He also told reporters that despite a U.S. economy storming ahead in
recent months, expanding 7.2 percent in the third quarter, that he was
"not anticipating any particular change in the global economy."

Information technology professionals are looking at new projects and
while there is a little more interest, "at this point, we say plan for a
flat economy but the indications are that we are certainly seeing signs
of pick-up, particularly in the U.S."
http://www.ciol.com/content/news/2003/103110406.asp

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