MCI today laid out its 2003 product strategy, to which it has attached the name Convergence Networking.
“Clearly IP has won the game, it’s where the future is going,” says Ron McMurtrie, vice president of global marketing for MCI. “It’s where computing is moving, and it’s where devices are moving.”
On the transport side, that means MCI is moving its backbone to a single IP core, and building convergence from the inside out, he says. But the company is also using an interworking gateway that will sit on its various data networks to enable customers to blend legacy and new services into what appears to the customer as a seamless solution, he says. For example, it can allow a customer to interconnect frame relay and IP VPN services.
Also under its Convergence Networks strategy, the company plans to add new managed services products throughout the year. Managed services is a “blossoming opportunity for us,” says McMurty, adding that the company expects to announce new investments in this space later this year.
Also this week MCI filed its February and March 2003 monthly operating reports with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. During the month of February, MCI recorded $2.03 billion in revenue, reflecting fewer business days than the previous month. In March, MCI recorded $2.1 billion in revenue. Operating income was $44 million in February and $84 million in March.
In February, MCI posted a net loss of $332 million. In March, the company posted net income of $43 million. MCI ended February with $3.1 billion in cash on hand, an increase of approximately $300 million from the beginning of the month. The company ended March with $3.3 billion in cash on hand, an increase of $200 million from the beginning of the month.
"We are continuing to make steady and measured progress against our business plan," said Michael Capellas, MCI chairman and CEO. "Our customer service levels are the best in the industry, revenues are stable, and we have strong cash flow. While we are on a fast track to emerge from Chapter 11 later this fall, we know there is still much more work to do and there will be ups and downs along the way."
