MCI to Unveil Its Frequent Caller Program

After a month of television teaser ads featuring such celebrities as Jackie Mason, George Burns and Zsa Zsa Gabor, MCI Communications Corp. today will unveil its newest promotion in the ongoing long-distance telephone wars.

Called “Friends and Family,” it will reportedly offer customers discounts on calls to as many as a dozen most frequently called friends and relatives, sources said.

MCI declined to comment until the formal unveiling in New York this morning. However, it promised that the promotion will be a “first” for residential long-distance customers and give MCI additional ammunition in its effort to erode the dominance of American Telephone & Telegraph in the $55-billion long-distance industry.

MCI’s new service is the latest example of a growing effort by major long-distance and local carriers alike to offer residential customers cost-saving programs and conveniences that have been available to businesses for years. Within the last year, telecommunications companies have introduced 800 lines, teleconferencing and a variety of frequent-caller plans for residential customers.

In fact, AT&T; claims that MCI’s promotion isn’t the first of its type. That distinction, says the No. 1 long-distance carrier, belongs to AT&T;’s Select Saver plan introduced a year ago. This program gives customers discounts on calls to their most frequently called out-of-state area code.