Getting MCI WorldCom, Sprint to Merge Right.(Company Business and Marketing)

Business Communications Review, November, 1999 by Krapf, Eric

It seems as if hardly anybody is happy with the announced merger of MCI WorldCom and Sprint--except for the principals, of course. Customers see their choices dwindling as competition narrows, and they express fear over the impact of piling still more overlay networks on top of a system that's just getting over a major frame relay outage.

Regulators also were quick to express skepticism. FCC chairman William Kennard responded with a statement that, "Competition has produced a price war in the long distance market. This merger appears to be a surrender....The parties will bear a heavy burden to show how consumers would be better off." What's more, the MCI WorldCom-Sprint announcement came just as SBC was finalizing its purchase of Ameritech, which the...