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To: Neal davidson who wrote (4792)	7/20/1999 1:50:00 PM
From: puborectalis	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 11568

Tuesday July 20, 1:27 pm Eastern Time MCI WorldCom to acquire Wireless One JACKSON, Miss., July 20 (Reuters) - Wireless One Inc. on Tuesday said giant telecommunications company MCI WorldCom Inc. (Nasdaq:WCOM - news) will acquire the debt-laden wireless cable television operator, as part of a bankruptcy reorganization plan. Under the amended plan, Wireless One, which in February 1999 filed for bankruptcy protection seeking the elimination of $327 million of debt, will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of MCI WorldCom. Wireless One said its stockholders will receive from MCI WorldCom a total of about $22.6 million, or $1.31 per share. Shares of Wireless One traded at $1.28 a share, off $0.59 in early afternoon trade on Tuesday. Wireless One expects to soon file the plan reflecting the terms of the agreement, which must be approved by the courts and the Federal Communications Commission. In June, MCI WorldCom agreed to provide Wireless One with $36 million in financing. In a press release, Wireless One said that MCI WorldCom has previously stated that it holds at least two-thirds of its outstanding senior notes. An MCI WorldCom spokeswoman declined to comment on the financial terms of the agreement with Jackson, Miss.-based Wireless One, which owns and operates wireless cable TV systems, primarily in small markets in the U.S. South. Telecommunications companies have recently been snapping up wireless cable firms, whose so-called ''fixed wireless'' technology they will use to bypass local phone companies' networks and connect their own to customer's homes and businesses. ''Wireless One provides (MCI WorldCom) with another link to be able to provide services directly to customers, (including) broadband data services,'' the MCI spokeswoman said. In April, Sprint Corp (NYSE:FON - news). said it would buy wireless cable TV companies American Telecasting Inc. and People's Choice TV Corp. for about $168 million and $103 million, respectively. And in the spring, MCI WorldCom reportedly spent about $200 million to $300 million to buy bonds of several small wireless cable companies, including Wireless One. A Wireless One spokesman said he was expects the company, which serves more than 100,000 customers in an 11-state area in the Southeast, to continue to operate as usual should the proposal be accepted.