WorldCom Australia: 'Business as usual'

WorldCom Australia has stressed that services to its local customers will not be affected after the decision by its parent company to file for bankruptcy protection in a US court overnight.

Non-US subsidiaries of the service provider are not included in this court filing -- Australia operates as part of the Asia Pacific region which currently trades separately from the US -- and therefore Chapter 11 has no bearing on its local operation, said Rachael Glenville, the company's legal assistant. "It is business as usual as far as we are concerned," she said.

"One of the primary reasons for WorldCom taking this action in the US is to make sure that we have the ability to service our customers," said a letter to WorldCom's local customers. "WorldCom and its employees will continue their commitment to provide the high levels of service customers have come to expect."