MCI, Inc. (d/b/a Verizon Business) is an American telecommunications subsidiary of Verizon Communications that is headquartered in Ashburn, Virginia. The corporation was originally formed as a result of the merger of WorldCom and MCI Communications, and used the name MCI WorldCom followed by WorldCom before taking its final name on April 12, 2003 as part of the corporation's emergence from bankruptcy. The company formerly traded on NASDAQ under the symbols "WCOM" (pre-bankruptcy) and "MCIP" (post-bankruptcy). The corporation was purchased by Verizon Communications with the deal closing on January 6, 2006, and is now identified as that company's Verizon Business division with the local residential divisions slowly integrated into local Verizon subsidiaries.

MCI's history, combined with the histories of companies it has acquired, echoes most of the trends that have swept American telecommunications in the past half-century: It was instrumental in pushing legal and regulatory changes that led to the breakup of the AT&T monopoly that dominated American telephony; its purchase by WorldCom and subsequent bankruptcy in the face of accounting scandals was symptomatic of the Internet excesses of the late 1990s. It accepted a proposed purchase by Verizon for US$7.6 billion.

Bernard John "Bernie" Ebbers (born August 27, 1941) is a Canadian-born businessman. He co-founded the telecommunications company WorldCom and is a former chief executive officer of that company.

In 2005, he was convicted of fraud and conspiracy as a result of WorldCom's false financial reporting, and subsequent loss of US$100-billion to investors. The WorldCom scandal was, until the Madoff schemes came to light in 2008, the largest accounting scandal in United States history. He is currently serving a 25-year prison term at Oakdale Federal Correctional Complex in Louisiana. Portfolio.com and CNBC named Ebbers as the fifth-worst CEO in American history;Time magazine named him the tenth most corrupt CEO of all time.

Born to the family of a traveling salesman, Bernard Ebbers was the second of five children. He was born in Edmonton and his family also lived in California and New Mexico, while he was growing up, before returning to Edmonton.^{[citation needed]} After high school, Ebbers briefly attended the University of Alberta and Calvin College before enrolling at Mississippi College. During the time between schools he worked as a milkman and bouncer. While attending Mississippi College, Ebbers earned a basketball scholarship. An injury before his senior season prevented him from playing his final year. Instead of playing, he was assigned to coach the junior varsity team.^{[citation needed]}