ATLANTA-MCI Communications Corp. began offering cellular service in Dallas/Fort Worth and Houston on Wednesday, bringing its coverage footprint up to one-third of the U.S. population.
The company is expected to announce a new, billion-dollar alliance today, possibly with a U.S. personal communications service operator.
“By the end of the year, our cellular coverage area will be the largest of any U.S. carrier,” said MCI spokesman Paul Adams. The company claims to have 400,000 cellular subscribers.
MCI has resale agreements with A- and B-side carriers in more than 15 major markets of the country, or one-third of the U.S. population.
The two established cellular operators in Dallas are AT&T Wireless Services and Southwestern Bell Mobile Systems. In Houston, the cellular carriers are AT&T and GTE Mobilnet.
Reselling wireless gives MCI the ability to offer cellular in its MCI One package along with paging, e-mail, Internet software, a calling card, long-distance service and a personal 800 number. Paging service also is offered through resale.
MCI now offers cellular service in Chicago, Atlanta, New York, Los Angeles, Washington/Baltimore, Miami, Detroit, San Francisco, Boston, Philadelphia, San Diego, Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse, N.Y., and Milwaukee.
“The depth and variety of MCI’s telecommunications services is unmatched in our industry,” said MCI vice president Chris Manella. MCI said it intends to offer cellular in 30 local markets, reaching about 45 percent of the U.S. population, by year end.
