MCI WorldCom Says Glitch Fixed After Network Outage

MCI WorldCom Inc. said Sunday that it had completed recovery of its high-speed data network following a planned 24-hour outage in which it sought to correct problems that have gone on for 10 days.

The recent problems with the company’s domestic frame relay network have idled the Chicago Board of Trade’s electronic trading system and disrupted service to thousands of businesses.

The nation’s No. 2 long-distance phone company said it took the network out of service Saturday for 24 hours in an effort to restore stability to the system.

Problems in the network were traced to a glitch in software provided by telecom equipment giant Lucent Technologies Inc.

The outages affected about 15% of MCI WorldCom’s network and 30% of its customers who rely on high-speed frame relay networks to exchange large amounts of computer data in short and frequent bursts.

MCI WorldCom was believed to have about 12,000 customers that rely on high-speed frame relay networks, including the CBOT, Internet service providers, banks and other businesses.

“We very much apologize for the difficulties this frame relay network outage caused our customers,” MCI WorldCom Chief Executive Bernard Ebbers said in a statement Sunday.

The CBOT, the largest U.S. derivatives exchange, said Friday that its electronic trading system, Project A, would remain shut until Sunday night, when the exchange moves to its backup system indefinitely.

Another customer, a major U.S. retailer, said MCI WorldCom’s network service began to come back during the middle of last week only to grind to a halt again Friday morning.

Jackson, Miss.-based MCI WorldCom’s outage followed a similar problem at AT&T; Corp. last year. AT&T; and other companies said last week that they gained customers as some disgruntled MCI WorldCom clients sought new service providers.