MCI Chairman Bert Roberts – during his keynote address today at COMDEX/Spring '98 – called for competition and convergence to deliver the full promise of the Communications Revolution.
The future chairman of MCI WorldCom outlined the challenges and
opportunities facing the telecommunications industry and the role MCI
WorldCom will play in shaping the new global era of communications.
In his remarks, titled "From the Networked Nineties to…Where?"
Roberts stressed that the Communications Revolution is not complete
due to a lack of seamless networks and systems currently in place.
He cited competition and convergence as the best solutions for
individuals and businesses to realize what he termed will be "the
seamless Century."
Roberts identified the Internet as a centerpiece in the trend
toward convergence as well as an area where competition is
flourishing.
"While we are truly in an era of integrated messaging services
and new levels of functionality, the biggest problem is the
disconnected networks," said Roberts.
"Organizations of all kinds are focusing on the many ways they
can leverage the Internet to make their businesses run more
efficiently and more competitively," he said. "The impact of
Internet on businesses is really a function of how IP tools are
integrated with a company's other enterprise tools including
LANS/WANS, mainframes and data networks."
"Network convergence is creating demands for new combinations,
new platforms and new business models," said Roberts.
Roberts also emphasized that, "one of the most appealing features
of the Internet is precisely the fact that its continuing development
and formation are in the hands of its users … not dominated by any
one or two companies. In that way, it nicely mirrors the nature of
free and competitive markets."
Roberts also pointed out that "since the birth of MCI and
WorldCom, our common mission has been to pursue exactly those kinds
of conditions in our industry."
"Competition does not lead toward network dominance, but toward
creative varieties of network convergence," he said.
"As the Internet continues to grow, the distinctions we make
between types of traffic, and the uses of communications networks
will continue to blur and fade. Just as the distinction between the
telephone system and the Internet will eventually disappear, so will
the distinctions between messaging types.
"In the end, we will continue to see the development of
communications applications that will allow users to exercise greater
control over how they live, work and play."
Competitors Waging Internet Dis-information Campaign
Roberts also addressed what he termed, "a dis-information
campaign," being conducted by MCI competitors that claims that a
"single Internet backbone provider will exert monopolistic control
over the Internet."
According to Roberts, that argument "falls of its own weight" in
light of several realities:
1) The Internet is simply too large, and growing too fast, to be
controlled or dominated by a single player.
2) New entrants like Qwest, IXCs, Williams, Level 3 and others
are aggressively entering the market, building new Internet capacity.
3) The large backbone providers are essentially carriers' carriers,
providing the backbone used by a lot of other ISPs, and would have no
business reason to charge for peering or sharing networks, in a way
that would alienate or block out those customers.
On the subject of Internet telephony, Roberts pointed out that
the anti-competitive nature of the local monopolies have created
false pricing schemes related to IP telephony.
"…The price differential between phone calls over the two
networks does not derive from technological differences," Roberts
said. "Instead it derives in large part from the fact that the local
monopolies are still getting obscene profits on the traditional
network under so-called access charges. That access system is doomed
whether or not our brethren at the local monopolies recognize the
fact."
As part of his presentation, Roberts also highlighted MCI
customers which he referred to as examples of "communications
intensive companies" carrying the future in their actions by
"reaching fastest toward the future."
Nasdaq was cited as a leading edge technology leader. The Nasdaq
electronic trading network, fully designed and managed by MCI, is one
of the world's largest intranets. The network enables Nasdaq members
to receive simultaneous, time-sensitive information on which
important trading decisions are based.
"Nasdaq and MCI have our origins about the same time, and we're
rooted in the same basic impulse: the impulse to challenge and
provide real competition to established institutions," said Roberts.
"The door of the future is already open far enough to see the
potential," said Roberts. "But to walk through the door and fully
seize that potential will require exactly the kind of seamless,
end-to-end intelligent network, that MCI WorldCom is committed to
providing – a system that will take you around the globe as easily as
around the corner."
Roberts said it is essential for policy makers to work hand in
hand with the industry to bring the benefits of competition to
communication users, "because customers are going to demand local
platforms that are fully integrated, with a single order and
provisioning platform, consistent pricing, and a single salesforce.
They're going to demand a network that reaches all the key domestic
areas. And the company that can provide that kind of service will
rewrite the rules for global competition."
"That's exactly why you're seeing the recent trend toward global
alliances, strategic partnerships and plain growth, as companies seek
the size, scale and scope to meet your expanding needs," said
Roberts. "The MCI WorldCom merger is the perfect example. We will
put in place a single network to deliver local to global services,
sophisticated technologies supporting a seamless network."
MCI, headquartered in Washington, D.C., is a leading provider of
local-to-global communication services to business, government and
residential users. The company's fast-growing portfolio of advanced
data, Internet and IT services now accounts for nearly a quarter of
MCI's $19.7 billion in annual revenue.
MCI operates one of the world's largest and most advanced digital
networks, connecting local markets in the U.S. to hundreds of
locations worldwide. MCI has agreed to merge with WorldCom, one of
the world's fastest-growing communications companies.
The merger, which is expected to be completed in mid-1998, will
create MCI WorldCom, a company uniquely positioned in the U.S. local
and long distance markets as well as the global data and Internet
markets.
