WorldCom Inc., Jackson, MS, has applied to Japanese regulators for a license to offer local and

WorldCom Inc., Jackson, MS, has applied to Japanese regulators for a license to offer local and long-distance telephone service in the Japanese markets. The company hopes to lay its own fiber-optic cable network in Tokyo before it deploys networks in other regions of the country that seem profitable. WorldCom is said to be the first foreign telecommunications provider to apply for a full license since Japan lifted a restriction capping foreign ownership of telecommunications carriers to 33%. If successful in attaining the license, WorldCom will be competing with Nippon Telegraph & Telephone, which controls 99.9% of the Japanese market.