ACCEPTABLE FATE

MCI is the Augie March of telecommunications. The character, created by the recently departed Chicago-bred, Pulitzer Prize-winning Saul Bellow, was somewhat of an aimless fellow who nonetheless never doubted he was destined for greatness. But in the end, all he ever really wanted, as one reviewer said, was “an acceptable fate.”

MCI was just as aimless as it grew from long-distance upstart to global Internet supercarrier by stitching together — though not very adroitly — an array of disparate but innovative companies. No one really cares anymore what Bernie Ebbers believed at the time, but the people who comprise the various parts of what is now MCI have always believed, like Augie, in their destiny. And as they weighed their options over the last two months and chose to put their future in the hands of Verizon rather than the higher-bidding Qwest, it is clear that all they really want now is an acceptable fate.

Verizon can provide that.

Convincing shareholders to forego the $8.9 billion in favor of a less profitable but acceptable fate won't be easy. Too many people have lost too much on MCI. They want their money back, and they want it now.

But convince them MCI must. Verizon can provide MCI the stability it so desperately needs. It can supply the company's technology leaders with the money and logistical support to carry out their most disruptive dreams. It can provide management (those who survive the inevitable right-sizing) with the breathing room they need to create a more positive atmosphere and make business decisions without looking over their shoulders.

As commendable a job as Dick Notebaert has done at Qwest — rescuing it from certain doom — all Qwest can offer, in the short term, is more uncertainty. With the grand inquisition of former Qwest executives under way, MCI would continue to be mired in the scandal-soaked bog from which CEO Michael Capellas has tried so hard to extricate it. Not even the optimism of MCI's Vinton Cerf or Henry Sinnreich can survive more of that.

As Augie March and his friend entered city college, still uncertain about their future, March said, “From here a new course was set — by us, for us; I'm not going to try to unravel all the causes.” Neither should MCI. It is time to look ahead. The company has chosen a path that runs not through Denver but through New York — at least for this week — and it should trust fate and the market leader to handle the rest.