Report No. IN 98-32                  INTERNATIONAL ACTION               June 26, 1998

               FCC DECLARES SPRINT NON-DOMINANT ON 
                    FRANCE AND GERMANY ROUTES 
     
     The FCC's International Bureau has declared that Sprint Corporation will no longer be
treated as a dominant carrier on the U.S.-France and U.S.-Germany routes.  This action is one
in a series of deregulatory steps taken by the Commission following the entry into force of the
1997 World Trade Organization's Agreement on Basic Telecommunications Services.  
 
     In 1996, the Commission approved ten percent equity investments each by France
Telecom (FT) and Deutsche Telekom (DT)  in Sprint.   In granting the petition, however, the
Commission concluded that Sprint's alliance with DT and FT, at that time the monopoly
carriers in Germany and France respectively, created an unfair advantage over other U.S.
carriers offering services to those markets.  The Commission therefore imposed a number of
conditions and safeguards on Sprint's operation on the U.S.-France and U.S.-Germany routes,
including regulation as a dominant carrier for the provision of service on these routes.  

     The Commission issued new rules, effective February 9, 1998, dramatically
liberalizing entry by foreign telecommunications carriers and investors into the U.S.
telecommunications market.  These new rules, adopted in response to the WTO Agreement on
Basic Telecommunications Services, promise to increase competition significantly in the U.S.
telecommunications market.   In light of these new rules and the fact that France and Germany
now allow competition in all aspects of the relevant telecommunications market, the
International Bureau determined that DT's and FT's investment in Sprint would no longer have
a significant potential impact on competition in the U.S. market for international services.  As
a result, the Bureau concluded that dominant carrier regulation and other special conditions are
no longer required to prevent anticompetitive behavior by DT and FT on the U.S.-Germany
and U.S.-France routes, respectively.

     Regina M. Keeney, Chief of the International Bureau, said "The Bureau's action
underscores the United States' leadership in opening global telecommunications markets to
competition.  We believe that continued liberalization and deregulation of the international
services market will yield substantial benefits for U.S. consumers."

     Action by the Chief, International Bureau, June 25, 1998,  by Declaratory Ruling and
Order (DA 98-1231).   
                            - FCC -
     News Media contact: Rosemary Kimball at (202) 418-0500.
     International Bureau contact: Laurie Sherman at (202) 418-0429.