Qwest Communications Urges MCI Board to Level Playing Field, Declare Its Offer Superior.

DENVER -- In BW5629 issued April 01, 2005: Fourth graph, first sentence of release should read: "In a dubious example of corporate governance, the Board of MCI has ceded its ability to terminate its agreement with Verizon for a Superior Proposal, a concession that is inconsistent with its obligation to maximize value for MCI shareholders (sted "In a dubious example of corporate governance, the Board of MCI has ceded to Verizon its obligation to maximize value for MCI shareholders).

The corrected release reads:

QWEST COMMUNICATIONS URGES MCI BOARD TO LEVEL PLAYING FIELD, DECLARE ITS OFFER SUPERIOR

Qwest Communications International Inc. (NYSE:Q) issued the following statement in response to comments made earlier today by MCI and Verizon.

"The recent series of bids and counter bids make it clear this has become an auction in all but name -- the very process that Mr. Seidenberg said Verizon would not be drawn into. Given this fact, we urge the MCI Board to cease its favoritism, stop attempting to tilt the regulatory playing field and run a fair, transparent, complete and timely sales process. Only such an auction is consistent with the MCI Board's execution of its fiduciary responsibilities and in the best interests of all involved.

"On Tuesday, March 29, after several weeks of discussions, Mr. Capellas informed us that the MCI Board did not require any additional information or discussions regarding its ability to evaluate Qwest and that they had received all of the information they needed. In addition, Qwest informed Mr. Capellas that it had completed its due diligence process. Therefore, it is questionable what additional information the MCI Board would require at this time.

"In a dubious example of corporate governance, the Board of MCI has ceded its ability to terminate its agreement with Verizon for a Superior Proposal, a concession that is inconsistent with its obligation to maximize value for MCI shareholders. In fact, they now no longer have the right to negotiate and conclude a value creative transaction on behalf of their owners. We believe our latest offer of $27.50 per share is clearly superior, and we have provided a significant amount of detail surrounding it. Therefore the MCI Board should now declare that our offer is superior.

"Based on today's press reports, we note with interest that some of MCI's largest shareholders consider our offer to be superior. We believe that any attempt to deny shareholders the value we are offering would be a dereliction of fiduciary duty on the part of the MCI's Board.

"We fully expect the MCI Board to notify us of its decision by April 5."

About Qwest

Qwest Communications International Inc. (NYSE:Q) is a leading provider of voice, video and data services. With more than 40,000 employees, Qwest is committed to the "Spirit of Service" and providing world-class services that exceed customers' expectations for quality, value and reliability. For more information, please visit the Qwest Web site at www.qwest.com.

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