wfn.org | UCC OC Inc. files appeal to deny WorldCom FCC licensing

[powellb@ucc.org]

UCC telecommunications advocacy group files appeal to deny WorldCom FCC
licensing

UCC-OC, Inc.
Robert Chase, press contact
(216) 736-2173
E-mail <chaser@ucc.org>
Web <www.ucc.org/ocinc>

For immediate release
Feb. 4, 2004

      WASHINGTON, D.C. ?? The Office of Communication of the United Church

of Christ, Inc. (OC, Inc.) announced today (Feb. 4) that it has filed an

appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals, Washington, D.C., Circuit, asking

the court to instruct the Federal Communications Commission to hold a

hearing to determine whether WorldCom's recent conduct disqualifies it from

continuing as an FCC licensee.

      The OC, Inc. appeal, filed in response to the FCC's Dec. 19 decision

to allow WorldCom (now MCI, Inc.) to retain its licenses, cites the

Communications Act of 1934, which requires the FCC to determine whether a

proposed license assignment or transfer will serve the public interest,

convenience and necessity. A license can be revoked if the FCC determines

that the proposed licensee does not meet those qualifications.

       "Companies that manage U.S. telecommunications and internet

facilities must operate in the public interest and maintain a corporate

character that assures honest and effective stewardship of current and

emerging technologies," said the Rev. Robert Chase, Executive Director of

OC, Inc. "This appeal asks the FCC to follow its own rules and policies in

determining whether WorldCom is fit to be a Commission licensee."

      In an earlier petition, OC, Inc. detailed WorldCom's conduct, which

cast doubt on the company's moral character and ability to continue as an

FCC licensee. Rather than conduct its own investigation and reach its own

conclusions as to WorldCom's qualifications, the FCC abdicated its role to

consider whether WorldCom is qualified under the Communications Act to hold

FCC authorization. In so doing, the FCC failed to adequately consider the

extent to which WorldCom engaged in disqualifying misconduct by knowingly

submitting fraudulent and inaccurate financial information in its FCC

filings.

      "OC, Inc. has demonstrated that WorldCom was and is unfit to serve as

an information age steward," said Chase. "We are confident that the court

will recognize these failures and remand the matter to the FCC, with an

order to conduct a hearing to determine, based on WorldCom's conduct and

character qualifications, whether WorldCom/MCI should continue to be a

licensee of the FCC."

      The Office of Communication of the United Church of Christ, Inc. (OC,

Inc.) has a long history of advocating for persons disenfranchised by the

mass media. In the 1960s, OC, Inc. petitioned the FCC to revoke the license

of Jackson, Miss., TV station WLBT for racist practices. The FCC rejected

the petition, but the decision was later overturned by the courts, which

found sufficient public interest violations in the racist practices of the

station to revoke its license. The case forever established that the

airwaves are public, that the public has standing in FCC proceedings, and

that the character and conduct of media companies are determining factors

in whether they are fit to serve in the public interest.

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