LDDS WorldCom's EDE software records 10 millionth transaction

JACKSON, Miss. (September 13, 1995)-- WorldCom, Inc., the leading provider in carrier and reseller products and services under its WilTel brand, in August recorded its 10 millionth Electronic Data Exchange transaction -- more than any other U.S. carrier. The system, which was implemented in 1992, allows carriers and resellers to electronically provision customers onto the WilTel network through a computer software program. This minimizes potential exposure to errors and shortens the time before an end-user begins billing to the carrier or reseller.

Don Bolar, senior vice president of marketing for LDDS WorldCom, said the company's approach to EDE differentiates the company from the competition. "In short, what we are marking is the 10 millionth transaction to the WilTel network in less than three years from just the carrier and reseller markets that we serve," Bolar said. "That's a remarkable achievement in its own right. But more important, it underscores the value and benefit of the EDE system for the carrier and reseller market." EDE, which was the first electronic processing package of its type available to the carrier and reseller market, reached the 10 million milestone just as the average number of monthly EDEs exceeded 500,000 per month. During the month it was introduced, only 427 orders were placed using the software.

Now, a single EDE customer can place that many orders in seconds. The proprietary software, which is installed on a desktop computer, allows carriers and resellers to use the computer to add, change, delete or verify thousands of Automatic Number Identifications (ANIs), 800 numbers or account codes without any human intervention, eliminating one source of errors.

Before the software was developed, the orders were either mailed or faxed to WilTel, where they were then manually entered, said Wayne Jaggers, product manager for wholesale services. "That was one of the big reasons why EDE was important in the beginning. WilTel and our customers were looking for ways to minimize error exposure while allowing for quick customer turnaround. Before EDE, one of our resellers could wait days or even weeks to connect a customer. That translated into lost revenue," said Jaggers. EDE is already providing a 30-minute turnaround for 1+ numbers and Jaggers expects that within a few weeks, WilTel carrier and reseller customers will have an even shorter turnaround time for 800-number orders. "What that means for our carrier and reseller customers is their new accounts are generating revenue for them almost as quickly as they are signed up," he said. "That becomes even more important as the carrier and reseller markets continue to grow." The reseller market has been growing by nearly $1 billion per year and those figures are expected to increase, Jaggers said. EDE is free to WilTel customers. The customer must provide the computer and modem, while WilTel provides the software, training and support to the carrier and reseller customers.

WorldCom, Inc., does business as LDDS WorldCom in the retail marketplace while addressing the wholesale market through its WilTel brand. One of the four largest long distance telecommunications companies in the United States, WorldCom, Inc., offers domestic and international voice, data and video products and services to business customers, other carriers and the residential market. It operates a nationwide digital fiber-optic network and has worldwide network capacity. The common shares of WorldCom, Inc., trade on The Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol WCOM.