MCI Jacks Up Rates Again

Some Long-Distance Increases Hit 80%

November 27, 2002
In its third price hike this year, MCI Group, a unit of bankrupt WorldCom, is dramatically raising some of its long-distance rates.

"MCI consumers now are being asked to foot the bill for the accounting fraud and other legal woes of WorldCom," Kate Dean of the Telecommunications Research and Action Center in Washington said. "The steep increases that MCI is putting in place marks a sharp departure from its previous role as an industry leader in cost cutting.

The new MCI rates - such as the increase in MCI Everyday savings for evening and weekend state-to-state calls from 5 to 9 cents and the 13 percent hike for direct-dialed international calls -- are high enough that consumers who use MCI should evaluate whether or not they need to switch long-distance providers, Dean said.

MCI rates will rise as much as 80% on long-distance calls, with new charges for operator-assisted calls and bills more than three weeks overdue. The move is in response to declining revenues across the industry which have forced competitors AT&T and Sprint to make similar rate hikes in recent months.

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