MCI WorldCom commences network construction in Melbourne - Opens office.
MELBOURNE - 24 August 1999
MCI WorldCom announced the opening of its office in Melbourne and the commencement of its communications network construction in the central business district. The company's Melbourne office in Spencer Street will house the technical operations centre for the network, and local sales, support and customer service personnel.
The first loop of the high speed fibre optic network in Melbourne will span approximately eight kilometres in the city centre, delivering the full range of MCI WorldCom's voice, data and Internet services to Melbourne businesses.
In Melbourne for the announcement MCI WorldCom's President for Asia Pacific, Mr Bill Barney, said Melbourne would now join the ranks of more than 80 key business centres around that world where MCI WorldCom has deployed metropolitan networks.
"The Melbourne technical centre and network will be completed and operational for customers by the end of 1999," said Mr Barney. "With our recently completed network in Sydney's CBD, and this new operation in Melbourne, we view Australia as a key market in MCI WorldCom's pan-Asian strategy to deliver end to end managed, local to global to local communications services to our customers."
Ms Suzanne Campbell, MCI WorldCom Australia's Managing Director added that several local sales, customer service, engineering and operational support staff have already been recruited for the Melbourne operations, with the number swelling to 30 by 2000.
"Since opening MCI WorldCom's Australian office in 1998, we've achieved some significant milestones and expansion to Melbourne is certainly one of these," said Ms Campbell.
"Access to excellent, competitive communications infrastructure is an essential criterion for a financial and business centre of any standing in the global economy. MCI WorldCom's expansion to Melbourne is further demonstration of our commitment to Australia and its future as a significant regional and global commercial player."
MCI WorldCom is a global leader in communications services with 1998 revenues of more than US$30 billion and established operations in over 65 countries in the Americas, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific regions. MCI WorldCom is a premier provider of facilities-based and fully integrated local, long distance, international and Internet services. MCI WorldCom's global networks, including its trans-oceanic cable systems provide end to end high-capacity connectivity to more than 40,000 buildings worldwide. MCI WorldCom is traded on NASDAQ under WCOM.
MCI WorldCom's international growth is projected at 40 per cent annually. The company currently has a presence in 12 countries in Asia, including wholly-owned fibre optic networks in Australia and Japan. MCI WorldCom is the lead partner in the Japan-US undersea cable and a partner in the Southern Cross Cable Network that links Australia, New Zealand and the US.
