I’m an MCI long-distance customer. Should I change carriers?

Not now, suggests Gene Kimmelman, Washington director of Consumers Union, which publishes Consumer Reports.

“When there’s an enormous wildfire out West, everything goes up in flames and the result is a rubble,” he says. “But when a company implodes like this, there are significant valuable assets that remain when the dust settles. There is a very strong long-distance and data network here that will not disappear overnight. So there’s no reason to do anything immediately.”

WorldCom’s UUNet is the largest carrier of Internet traffic in the world. Will my Internet service be disrupted?

Unlikely, says Mark Cooper, research director of the Consumer Federation of America.

“There’s no reason to think the technical functioning of the network will change,” he says. “The lights won’t go out.”

I’m thinking about switching long-distance providers. Should I choose MCI?

It depends on whether you believe that the 17,000 layoffs WorldCom announced Tuesday will diminish the quality of MCI’s service. WorldCom chief executive John Sidgmore said the service won’t deteriorate. “Our dedication to meeting customer needs remains unwavering,” he said.

Cooper, however, is skeptical. “If an MCI cable gets cut, which happens every day, and you have half as many trucks to roll out there to fix it, it’s going to take longer to fix it,” he says. “If you have a billing question and there’s half as many operators answering the phone, it’s going to take longer.”

If WorldCom files for bankruptcy protection, what will this do to competition? Will rates go up?

It’s quite possible, especially for businesses that will have one less carrier to negotiate with. “MCI was a big player, and you’re not going to invent a new company to fill that role very quickly,” Cooper says.

Kimmelman agrees. “And the glimmer of hope that someone would break in and challenge our local phone monopoly may go poooof!”

If I stay with MCI, what should I do?

Be on the lookout for danger signs, such as deterioration of service and price increases. “These are signals that should make you want to look for another company for service,” Kimmelman says.

Are there any winners here?

Competitors AT&T and Sprint, of course, and burgeoning long-distance carriers such as Verizon. Even if WorldCom survives, these companies could pick up a substantial portion of MCI’s business.

“That could have a devastating effect on the ability of WorldCom or its successor to be a meaningful player in the marketplace,” Kimmelman says. “If you take away the pot of gold that comes from large business customers, it may be impossible (for WorldCom) to ever get back into the mix.”

Does this mean an end to those annoying telemarketing calls I get at dinner time, asking me to switch to MCI?

Not likely.

“Let’s look at this logically,” Kimmelman says. “Here they are in a financial pinch where they have way overstated their earnings, where they have to cut employees and where they are at rock bottom in the market. They need revenue to stay afloat.

“I think those annoying dinnertime calls will continue.”