Metropolitan Fiber Systems
{{Short description|Defunct Nebraska-based U.S. telecom company}}
{{Infobox company
| name = MFS Communications Company, Inc.
| foundation = {{Start date and age|1988}}
| defunct = {{Start date and age|1996|12|31}}
| fate = Acquired by Worldcom
| hq_location = Omaha, Nebraska
| industry = Telecommunications
| revenue = $506 million (Q1 1997)
| net_income = $82 million (Q1 1997)
| assets = $12.335 billion (1997)
| equity = $10.190 billion (1997)
| footnotes = {{cite web | url=https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/898623/0000931763-97-000850.txt | title=MFS Communications Company, Inc. Q1 1997 Form 10-Q Quarterly Report | publisher=U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission}}
}}
MFS Communications Company, Inc. (Metropolitan Fiber Systems) was a competitive local exchange carrier that owned and operated local network access facilities installed in and around major U.S. cities and several major European cities. MFS also possessed significant transmission and switching facilities and network capacity that it leased from other carriers in the United States and Western Europe.
History
The company was founded in 1988 as Kiewit Communications, a subsidiary of Kiewit Corporation.{{cite news | url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-apr-01-fi-34776-story.html | title=Start-Up Level 3 Making Its Nasdaq Debut | first=THOMAS S. | last=MULLIGAN | work=Los Angeles Times | date=April 1, 1998 | url-access=subscription}}
By 1991, the company owned fiber-optic lines that served large business customers in 11 cities.{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/08/21/business/company-news-new-phone-lines-for-data-planned-by-small-company.html | title=COMPANY NEWS; New Phone Lines for Data Planned by Small Company | first=Edmund L. | last=Andrews | work=The New York Times | date=August 21, 1991 | url-access=subscription}}
In 1993, the company became a public company via an initial public offering.
In April 1996, the company announced the acquisition of UUNET.{{cite news | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1996/05/01/uunet-technologies-agrees-to-merger-with-neb-firm/10d53bdd-522a-4a36-a6e2-4e7652d0b3b2/ | title=UUNET TECHNOLOGIES AGREES TO MERGER WITH NEB. FIRM | first=Kara | last=Swisher |author-link=Kara Swisher | work=The Washington Post | date=May 1, 1996}}
In August 1996, WorldCom announced the acquisition of the company{{cite news | url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1996-08-27-9608270158-story.html | title=PHONE GIANTS MERGE | first=Jon | last=Van | work=Chicago Tribune | date=August 27, 1996 | url-access=subscription}} and the transaction was completed in December 1996. Worldcom filed bankruptcy in 2002.
Level 3 Communications and NorthPoint Communications were founded by former executives of MFS.