MCI COO was ADC CEO, AT&T honcho

MCI last week hired ADC Telecommunications Chairman and CEO Richard Roscitt as its president and COO. Roscitt also spent 28 years at AT&T and served as the president of AT&T Business Services. MCI is under fire for allegedly routing calls to avoid paying fees to local access providers like AT&T, Verizon and SBC. MCI denies that charges, claiming its call routing techniques are industry standard practice. MCI alleges the carriers are trying to derail its reorganization plans as it prepares to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy. MCI is also barred from competing for new government contracts. http://www.nwfusion.com/news/2003/0813mcinames.html http://www.nwfusion.com/edge/news/2003/0805mcirebut.html

MCI last week hired ADC Telecommunications Chairman and CEO Richard Roscitt as its president and COO. Roscitt also spent 28 years at AT&T and served as the president of AT&T Business Services. MCI is under fire for allegedly routing calls to avoid paying fees to local access providers like AT&T, Verizon and SBC. MCI denies that charges, claiming its call routing techniques are industry standard practice. MCI alleges the carriers are trying to derail its reorganization plans as it prepares to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy. MCI is also barred from competing for new government contracts. (Read more here and here)

Verizon Wireless this week turned up a nationwide “push-to-talk” service. Verizon Wireless becomes only the second mobile operator to offer the walkie-talkie-type service. Up to now, Nextel differentiated itself on its push-to-talk service, which observers attribute to the wireless operator’s industry-low customer churn rate. Analysts expect Sprint PCS to launch a similar service later this year. The monthly access fees for the service – which is an add-on to Verizon Wireless’ America’s Choice plans and includes unlimited one-to-one push-to-talk – range from $60 to $220, depending on the number of America’s Choice voice minutes, which range from 400 to 3,200. (Read the story)