AT&T falsely claimed that national security was jeopardized by improper routing of government calls through Canada. The truth is secure government traffic travels over MCI's network via a dedicated connection and encryption, not through gateways. National security has not been compromised.

AT&T attempted to make it appear that MCI was illegally routing traffic through Canada to avoid paying access fees. The truth is MCI does not and has not itself routed traffic through Canada, though there would be nothing illegal if the company did. AT&T has itself been accused of improperly routing traffic through Alaska and Mexico.

AT&T and other competitors have attacked the practice of "least cost routing." The truth is least cost routing is an acceptable and legal industry practice. In fact, when allegations related to AT&T's handling of calls in Alaska and Mexico surfaced on Aug. 6, AT&T then admitted using least cost routing and said it was worldwide practice broadly sanctioned by the FCC.

AT&T has suggested that the amounts of money at issue are somehow material to MCI's plan of reorganization. The truth is that MCI routes only a small percentage of its traffic through Least Cost Routing companies, and only 0.5 percent of that traffic through Onvoy, yielding a savings to MCI of 0.02 percent of the company's total telecommunications expenses.

While our competitors' claims seem salacious, the fact is none of them will have a material impact on MCI's plan of reorganization or inhibit its emergence from Chapter 11 protection.