News Release

MCI Seals U.S. Postal Service Pact; MCIS Largest Single Contract to Date Business

Eleven-year Agreement Names MCI as Managed Network Service Provider
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Mar 26, 1997



MCLEAN, Va.--March 26, 1997-- The U.S. Postal Service announced that it hasawarded MCI its Managed Network Services (MNS) contract. A five-year agreementwith two three-year options, the MNS program will allow the Postal Service toobtain a vast array of telecommunications services and represents MCIs largestcontract award to date. The award is an indefinite delivery, indefinite quantitycontract with a guaranteed minimum of $100 million and is potentially worth $3billion over its term.

As part of the contract, MCI will establish and manage a telecommunicationsnetwork that will connect up to 34,000 Postal Service locations. The MNS willimprove service to USPS customers by streamlining operations and enabling newservices.

"The Postal Service has a long-standing legacy of service to the Americanpublic," said Jerry A. Edgerton, vice president, MCI Government Markets. "Injoining forces with MCI, the Postal Service will build on that legacy, providingmanaged network service into the next century."

The MNS program will provide the following benefits to the USPS:

  • - improve access to data and information across multiple applications;
  • - improve end-user support by centralizing software distribution,help-desk, and remote management; and
  • - support future business applications by incorporating capacity forgrowth.

Rick Weirich, vice president of Information Services for the USPS, refers to theMNS contract as an enabling platform for the launch of new products and services."The MNS program is a critical component of our information services strategy inthat it will allow both USPS internal users and USPS customers to benefit fromrapid access to information and new service capabilities," said Weirich. "The MCInetwork will give us the availability and responsiveness we need to meet ourcustomers' expectations."

As the network manager, MCI will support the Associate Office Infrastructure(AOI) Program, the Postal Services vehicle for extending the existing informationtechnology to post offices, branches, and stations. The AOI program supports thedeployment of the Point of Service (POS) ONE Program, a state-of-the-art retailpoint of sale system that will replace and expand the function performed by theIntegrated Retail Terminals (IRTs).

MCIs team for the MNS contract includes Cisco Systems, Inc., DynCorp I&ET, Inc.,Digital Equipment Corporation, and JIL Information Systems, Inc.

MCI Government Markets

MCI Government Markets, based in McLean, Va., is the sales and marketing groupserving the U.S. Government, its agencies, and other global organizations in thepublic sector. For more information on MCI Government Markets, visit its homepage at www.governmentmci.com. MCI, headquartered in Washington, D.C., provides afull range of integrated communication services to more than 20 millioncustomers. Credited with opening up the U.S. long distance market forcompetition, MCI is now leading the charge to bring competition to the $100billion local market, offering American consumers for the first time the freedomto choose their local carrier. With 1996 revenue of $18.5 billion, MCI is one ofthe largest and fastest growing telecommunication companies in the world. OnNovember 3, 1996, MCI announced a definitive agreement to merge with BT to formConcert, the world's first global communications company.

Cisco Systems

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO) is theworldwide leader in networking for the Internet. News and information areavailable at http://www.cisco.com.

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