MCI today announced it has expanded its Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service, MCI Advantage, to immediately include access via the company's fa...

MCI today announced it has expanded its Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service, MCI Advantage, to immediately include access via the company's fastest growing VPN service, Private IP. In addition, the company is working with BroadSoft, Inc. to provide extended hosted communications capabilities, delivering enhanced voice and data applications in a secure corporate network environment. These capabilities will enable businesses to increase employee productivity both in and out of the office.

"By integrating MCI Advantage with Private IP, we are helping companies achieve the immediate benefits of converged voice, data and video afforded by a flexible IP network environment," said Nancy Gofus, senior vice president and chief marketing officer for MCI. "Our relationship with BroadSoft will take VoIP one step further by eliminating costly PBX equipment and going beyond the realms of traditional voice systems by adding an array of new Web-based features."

With the domestic introduction of Private IP to the MCI Advantage product suite, companies that traditionally use frame relay and ATM networks can simply transition to IP and achieve more secure, converged voice, data and video communications among their employees. MCI's Private IP delivers an ideal VPN environment for high bandwidth, high priority applications while enabling customers to achieve greater functionality and a higher return on investment from their current network operations and streamlined network management. MCI's recent Private IP network expansion provides companies with an advanced MPLS platform for converged communications. Private IP allows businesses to gain better control over their networks and enhance efficiency by leveraging the inherent security and traffic management capabilities of MPLS along with Quality of Service (QoS) to deliver an ideal environment for carrying time-sensitive applications like voice so it receives higher priority than data when traveling over a single network.

Available since 2001, MCI Advantage is the first network-based business VoIP solution designed to allow customers the ease and efficiency of one network for both voice and data services. By consolidating local, long distance and data services, MCI Advantage customers simplify billing; reduce equipment and management costs; and streamline day-to-day operations. In addition, MCI Advantage customers benefit today from new multimedia applications, such as voicemail that can be viewed as an email attachment or through a Web interface and unified messaging with find-me-follow-me services. MCI Advantage can be accessed via Private IP or MCI's dedicated access IP services.

Through its relationship with BroadSoft, MCI plans to expand its commercial hosted IP Centrex capabilities, enabling MCI Advantage customers to experience the same reliability, quality and calling features they have come to expect from traditional business telephone services, with all the cost savings and multimedia applications that VoIP makes possible. With the expansion of its hosted PBX and IP Centrex capabilities MCI can integrate new functionality, including call screening, simultaneous ring, auto attendant, third-party conferencing, and Web-based receptionist services. This enables MCI to offer large enterprise customers the voice features they demand in a consolidated package, while delivering cost-effective new communications capabilities to smaller organizations. MCI will begin customer trials of BroadSoft's capabilities in April 2004.

In addition, MCI Advantage customers will be able to set up remote offices providing teleworkers with the same network access and functionality on the go that are standard in a typical office setting. MCI's remote office capabilities will also enable customers to distinguish personal from business calls.

About BroadSoft
BroadSoft is the leading provider of network communications platforms for enterprise and residential markets. With the largest market share in its space worldwide, the company's flagship product, BroadWorks, provides a comprehensive range of applications including residential broadband, collaborative conferencing, Hosted PBX, and IP Centrex, fully integrated into a single platform. BroadSoft was recently named to Boardwatch's list of "The Top 10 Private Companies," and BroadWorks has been recognized as the "Product of the Year" by the leading telecommunications industry publications including Communications Solutions, Internet Telephony and Network Magazine. BroadSoft is located near Washington, DC, in Gaithersburg, Maryland, and maintains a research and development facility in Montreal, Canada.

For more information on Broadsoft, please visit www.broadsoft.com

About WorldCom, Inc.
WorldCom, Inc., which, together with its subsidiaries, currently conducts business under the MCI brand name, is a leading global communications provider, delivering innovative, cost-effective, advanced communications connectivity to businesses, governments and consumers. With the industry's most expansive global IP backbone, based on the number of company-owned points-of-presence (POPs), and wholly-owned data networks, WorldCom develops the converged communications products and services that are the foundation for commerce and communications in today's market.

For more information on MCI, please visit www.mci.com