Cox (formerly a FCC Commissioner) was MCI's senior vice president of regulatory affairs from 1970 to 1987. The records reflect his wide responsibilities in regulatory, lobbying, legal, legislative, and business activities of MCI such as marketing development and advertising policy. Also included are documents on his outside activities as a counselor at law firm of Haley, Bader & Potts and as a member of numerous boards, committees, and other institutions in telecommunications and broadcasting.

The series is arranged into eight sub-series: Legislative, Regulatory policy, Legal subject files and antitrust, Marketing, Corporate operations, Personal and outside activities, Records of Robert S. Jackson, and Telephone company relations.

Legislative subseries Kenneth Cox was involved with every aspect of MCI's Capitol Hill lobbying strategy from its' first early attempts to capture the interest of legislators in competition in telecommunications to its later opposition to legislation threatening settlement of the antitrust suits. Cox attended numerous hearings of the House Communications Subcommittee and, through correspondence and lobbying meetings, provided information and suggestions on legislation to members of the Subcommittee on behalf of MCI and the Ad-Hoc Committee on Competitive Telecommunications (ACCT).

While some material demonstrate a development of relationships with legislators and the executive branch of the government prior to 1976, it is clear that MCI was focused on its' achievements in the regulatory arena of the FCC until the introduction of the Consumer Communications Reform Act of 1976 (the Bell Bill), which threatened the existence of competition in communications by proposing to legislatively affirm the AT&T monopoly in the telephone industry. Materials relating to these activities and events form the first group of the subseries.

The co-operative opposition of many groups and companies was effective in ensuring the end of the Bell Bill, but the attention of Congress was captured and its' intent to restructure AT&T and reform the structures governing the telecommunications industry became a critical concern to MCI, increasingly so since, by 1980, progress in the various antitrust suits against AT&T seemed to be threatened by proposals from Capitol Hill. A great deal of the material in the second and third group of the subseries consists of various proposals for amendments, authored by MCI and other organizations, to resolve this issue, along with correspondence between legislators and agencies on the antitrust implications of HR 6121, the Communications Act of 1980 and S 898, the Telecommunications Competition and Deregulation Act of 1981. Materials of particular interest in this group are an extensive collection of letters from MCI customers to legislators, expressing opposition to S. 898, and Departments of Justice (DoJ) and Defense (DoD) related materials that illustrate the willingness of the DoJ to abandon the US v. AT&T antitrust suit if certain provisions were met in legislation.

The subseries also includes a group of miscellaneous documents and material from Cox's participation in the ACCT, and a group of miscellaneous general materials. Subseries is organized alphabetically by folder title within the major groupings described herein.

Regulatory policy subseries

Material covers period from 1970 to 1987 when Kenneth A. Cox's served MCI as a Regulatory Senior Vice President, with some overlap into earlier years of Cox's service as FCC Commissioner and after his retirement when he was still consulting MCI on regulatory policy. It presents MCI relations with FCC, state utilities commissions, National Association of Regional Utility Commissioners (NARUC), AT&T, Bell Systems Operating Companies (BSOC) and other communications carriers regarding the most essential issues of seventies and eighties Telecommunications industry developments: AT&T divestiture arrangements, competitive rates for common carriers, implementation of new technologies. Documents are divided in six groups: 1. FCC filings organized by docket numbers; 2. ENFIA related documents; 3. Appeals of FCC decisions to the U.S. Court of Appeals; 4. Regulatory subject files; 5. States regulatory agencies and NARUC documents; 6. Speeches collected by Cox.

1. FCC filings by docket numbers represent the largest group of documents in Regulatory Subseries and cover period of 1967-1988, with the bulk group in 1973-1983 timeframe. Types of documents presented are MCI and other communications carriers filings for tariffs and tariff revisions, pleading with FCC in support of or against other companies tariffs and rates, correspondence with FCC and Common Carrier Bureau officials on regulatory matters, different forms of FCC decision presentations: Memorandum Opinion and Orders (MO&O), newsletters, public notices. A variety of documents are attached as exhibits and supporting material in the dockets. The scope of issues in the dockets includes investigations of lawfulness of AT&T and BSOC charges for their services offered to Other Common Carriers (OCC) (Dockets 18128, 19129, 19746, 20099 et al.), dispute over federal or state preemption in regulation of interconnection (Docket 19808), deferred rates for high- and low-density telecommunications routs (AT&T's Hi-Lo rate structure, Docket 19919), regulation of reselling and sharing of telecommunications services (Docket 20097), AT&T's Message Toll Service (MTS) and Wide Area Toll Service (WATS) market structure (Docket 78-72), quality and reliability of the domestic public point-to-point microwave radio service (Docket 18920), and numerous ENFIA rate-related disputes. Folders are sorted chronologically within the docket.

2. ENFIA related documents, 1981-1983. Exchange Network Facilities for Interstate Access (ENFIA) interim agreement of 1978 established method of calculating AT&T charges of OCC for interstate communications services. ENFIA related FCC Dockets 78-371 and 82-619 are described in previous section. ENFIA tariff modifications filed by AT&T in 1981 and 1982, introduced new increases in rates OCC were supposed to pay for the interconnection facilities and were opposed by MCI and OCC. These materials have been considered by Commission outside specific docket proceeding and construct a sub-division in Regulatory documents. Sorted chronologically.

3. Appeals of FCC decisions to the US Court of Appeals, 1970-1983, 1986. Complicated and long-lasting FCC proceedings caused numerous appeals by parties in the dockets of its final and interim decisions which originated litigations in US Court of Appeals, mostly for the D.C. Circuit. Documents presented are initial appeals and petitions in the cases with further pleadings and supporting material including FCC orders under appeal, press clips and correspondence. Dockets under appeal, in whole or in part, are FCC Nos. 18128, 18920, 19129, 20288, 79-245, 80-286, 82-431; subjects of consideration include AT&T's Telpak bulk service rates, other private line tariffs revisions, MCI Execunet service and connected questions of Bell's charges for interconnection, proposed ENFIA tariff revisions and extention, access to domestic and international satellite facilities and other controversial issues of telecommunications industry. List of appelees, appellants and intervenors consist of MCI, regional Bell companies, AT&T, N-Triple-C, NARUC, state regulatory agencies, General Electric, Western Union, other telecommunications carriers and their customers. Folders are organized by case numbers and chronologically within the case.

4. Regulatory subject files are organized alphabetically, documenting time period of 1939-1989, bulk group in 1970-1985. Subject files supplement docket material presented in the first three groups with documents, which were not organized by docket numbers but still relating to the same issues. Also include informative organizational material on FCC meeting agendas, conferences and seminars, MCI and AT&T tariff and rate filings, MCI regulatory review meetings.

5. States' Regulatory Agencies, NARUC and Equal Access group of documents, 1970-1987, bulk group 1982-1984, consists of MCI and other companies filings with public utilities and services commissions of different states for implementing variety of intrastate services; commissions' orders and other documents relating to applications; NARUC v. FCC cases in Court of Appeals documents; material on MCI attempts to influence states regulatory policies; Texas evidence material for FCC proceeding in Docket 78-72, other states relating documents. Organized alphabetically by states names, alphabetically within the state.

6. Speeches Collected by Cox, 1970-1989. Consists of a collection of transcripts of speeches on regulatory and legislative issues by FCC Commissioners, telecommunications industry executives and others, arranged alphabetically by speakers surname.

Legal subject files and antitrust subseries

As an employee of long standing and great seniority, Cox was an important MCI witness in its' antitrust suits against AT&T. Instrumental in the MCI regulatory strategy culminating in the FCC's adoption of pro-competitive policies, as well as a voting commissioner in the Docket 16509 MCI Decision, Cox was extensively deposed in the Chicago antitrust case MCI v. AT&T (MCI I), and transcripts of this deposition in the second group of the subseries, along with direct and cross examinations of Cox and other witnesses, provide a detailed narrative of MCI's regulatory battles and an inside viewpoint of the early years of the corporation, its' culture and personalities. The transcripts of closing arguments in MCI I are a vivid and thrilling summary of the monumental battle between old and new capitalism, pitting the entrepreneurial spirit of the information age against the last of America's monopolistic behemoths.

The legal subject files in the first group illustrate the changing nature of the industry after the breakup of the Bell system. In conjunction with the marketing materials in subseries D, they show the details and dangers of the struggle for customers and market share in the newly competitive industry, the shift from the formal and intricate world of regulatory pleadings and legislative finesse of the Bell System years to the ambiguities of network advertising and the sales pitch, from Pennsylvania to Madison Avenues.

This subseries is organized alphabetically by folder title within three major groups; legal subject files, MCI antitrust suits and a small final group, mostly press clippings concerning the ramifications of the settlement, on the US v. AT&T antitrust suit.

Marketing subseriese

After the completion of the major legislative and regulatory battles that defined the first ten years of it's existence, the MCI Corporation was firmly established in a deregulated and competitive long-distance and local telephone business, in large part thanks to Cox' efforts. As the Modified Final Judgement went into effect, Cox' involvement in the ongoing, and for the large part, routine regulatory activities of MCI diminished. Due to his background and outside activities in broadcasting and advertising, he was given increasing authority over MCI' marketing activities. While he did not set policies or direction, and did not have creative input, Cox was responsible for reviewing all print, broadcasting and direct mail marketing materials produced by MCI from around 1982 until his retirement, ensuring that standards of legal substantiation as well as accuracy in regulatory and tariff matters were maintained.

Due to the scope of Cox's responsibility, the marketing series provides a comprehensive history of MCI marketing and advertising activities and policy development, with print and broadcast copy for most major national and regional advertising campaigns, drafts of direct mail packages, bill stuffers and other ephemera organized alphabetically by folder title in the first group of material. An incomplete series of customer and internal newsletters forms a second group. A third group includes marketing copy and agreements for MCI's most significant third party marketingcampaigns, in which MCI services were marketed to customers of other services or organizations such as AMWAY and American Express. Through the early 1980's, these agreements provided one of the most significant sources of revenue and customer growth for MCI.

Corporate operations subseries

The sparseness and very general nature of materials in this subseries reflects Cox's declared lack of interest in administrative matters: A..Bill McGowan..probably would say that he thought I was going to manage the department. I had initially some budgetary responsibility. I don't like budgets... (Oral History of Kenneth A. Cox, page 62-63). This subseries is separated into three groups of material: a general group of technical, personnel and human relations, meeting materials and miscellaneous technical and organizations documents, forms the first group A second group of media relations materials such as press clippings and releases is filed chronologically. The final group of departmental administrative files and memoranda is organized alphabetically.

Personal and outside activities subseries

Subseries F documents Cox's extensive activities outside of MCI. Through his earlier tenure with the FCC (partially documented in a collection of his opinions and dissents on various matters adjudicated between 1966-1967), and his role in the FCC's Broadcast Inquiry, Cox developed a national reputation as a speaker and authority on broadcast regulation, with particular interest on protecting standards in children programming and the fairness doctrine in coverage of political issues. The second group of files documents Cox' service on boards, advising or speaking before a number of consumer and broadcast industry groups concerning these and general broadcast issues.

The first group of files relates to Cox's chairmanship of the National Advertising Review Board, the appeal body for the advertising industry's self regulatory mechanism. Most files in this series relate to disputes between companies concerning substantiation of claims made in advertising.

Two other groups of documents in this subseries are a small collection of personal and miscellaneous material, and files concerning Cox's Haley, Bader and Potts clients. All groups are organized alphabetically by folder title.

Records of Robert S. Jackson subseries

Jackson worked under Cox as Special Assistant for Legislative Affairs, responsible for coordinating MCI's legislative policy activities and gathering data on telecommunications industry and public policy trends. His records provide further details of MCI's lobbying and policy strategy concerning telecommunications legislation following the Corporation's participation in the defeat of the early 'Bell Bills'. Additional records on HR 6121, HR 5158, and S.898 are presented here, along with a substantial subject file collection of press clippings, periodical and journal articles, and other records reflecting business and organizational trends within the telecommunication industry at large, with specific attention towards AT&T's business and regulatory activities.

Telephone company relations subseries

Records from individuals and groups within MCI's regulatory departments concerned with negotiating and monitoring interconnection agreements with local telephone companies, the local and divested Bell operating companies and regional independent companies. The subseries is comprised of 6 separate but related groups of records providing a chronological overview of the performance of this function between 1969 and 1992.