MCIP Mci (MM)

New SEA-ME-WE4 Submarine Cable System to Open Doors in Emerging Markets ASHBURN, Va., Dec. 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- MCI, Inc. (NASDAQ:MCIP) today announced its latest global IP network expansion to deliver much needed bandwidth to South East Asia, the Middle East and Western Europe (SEA-ME-WE) has been completed and customer traffic is being transmitted on the new SEA- ME-WE4 submarine network cable system. The next generation undersea cable spans 20,000 kilometers and links France to Singapore via the Middle East and Indian sub-continent. MCI is the only U.S.-based service provider participating as an initial member in the SEA-ME-WE4 cable system. MCI is joining 15 other SEA-ME-WE4 Consortium members during a kickoff ceremony in Dubai, UAE, on Tuesday. The members are celebrating the launch of the state-of-the-art submarine network cable system that links Algeria, Bangladesh, Egypt, France, India, Italy, Malaysia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tunisia and UAE. "We know how important it is to deliver critical IP, data and voice communications services to all regions of the world for our customers," said Fred Briggs, president of MCI Operations & Technology. "This new cable system will give our customers the bandwidth, flexibility, route diversity and fast service activation needed to compete in today's environment. This becomes even more important in the developing countries that now will be serviced by MCI and this cable system." MCI customers now can take advantage of seamless on-net connectivity in Asia, Europe and the United States. In addition to being a consortium member, MCI also is a landing/terminal party for the new submarine cable system in Marseilles, France. The team landed the cable in Marseilles in July, and MCI connected the cable directly to its European IP backbone infrastructure. This allows all MCI customers to reach both European and Transatlantic destinations across MCI's existing network infrastructure. MCI also has connected the submarine cable system directly to its network in Singapore. "Our MCI customers have the opportunity to enjoy a single end-to-end global seamless network connection," said Ihab Tarazi, vice president of MCI International Network Engineering. "This cable system greatly enhances the capacity available in an important region of the world that is showing impressive growth and demand for communications services." The SEA-ME-WE4 cable network has been designed as a terabit system so it can grow with the emerging regions of the world. Today, as the system is commissioned, the initial capacity is 160 GBPS. SEA-ME-WE4 is a complement to MCI's existing submarine network cable systems serving this route including SEA-ME-WE3 and FLAG. MCI will continue to operate capacity on these systems in parallel to SEA-ME-WE4. These cables will work in unison with each other, and traffic can be routed from one to the other efficiently, if needed. MCI continues to own capacity on almost every major submarine network cable system in the world. About MCI, Inc. MCI, Inc. (NASDAQ:MCIP) is a leading global communications provider, delivering innovative, cost-effective, advanced communications connectivity to businesses, governments and consumers. With one of the most expansive global IP backbones and wholly-owned data networks, MCI develops the converged communications products and services that are the foundation for commerce and communications in today's market. For more information, go to http://www.mci.com/. DATASOURCE: MCI, Inc. CONTACT: Linda Laughlin of MCI, Inc., +1-800-644-NEWS, +1-703-886-9310, Web site: http://www.mci.com/

Copyright