NEWSReport No. IN-4                    INTERNATIONAL ACTIONNovember 14, 1994

         INTERNATIONAL BUREAU APPROVES ACCOUNTING RATE REDUCTIONS

     The FCC's International Bureau today issued a decision approving
significant accounting rate reductions for telephone service
between the United States and Australia, Canada, Japan, the
Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. The accounting rates for these
countries will be within or below the Commission's benchmark
ranges. The Bureau's decision is consistent with International
Telecommunications Union accounting rate principles and promotes
the Commission's objective of lower, more cost-based, economically
efficient, and nondiscriminatory accounting rates. These lower
accounting rates will in turn enable carriers to lower
international calling prices. The Bureau expects these reductions
to result in lower accounting rates with other administrations.

     The approved accounting rates include an addition of thirty
seconds in the time used to calculate settlement minutes for each
Country Direct-type message. The Commission determined that thirty
seconds is a reasonable allowance of the time required to set up
such calls.

     The accounting rate reductions will result in net settlement
payments to these countries being lower than they would have been
at the current accounting rates. For example, it is estimated that
annual payments to the United Kingdom and the Netherlands will be
reduced by $3.6 and $1.1 million, respectively, after the new rates
take effect. 

     The Bureau's denied proposals to increase the accounting rate
surcharge for received collect calls with the United Kingdom. The
Bureau also denied proposals for different accounting rates for
differing IMTS classifications. 

     Action by the International Bureau, November 14, 1994, by
Memorandum Opinion, Order and Authorization (DA 94-1260).

                                   -FCC-

     
     International Bureau contact: Kenneth B. Stanley at (202)    
418-1486.