FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE NEWS MEDIA CONTACT June 7, 2001 Michelle Russo (202) 418-2358 FCC CABLE CHIEF FERREE NAMES BARBARA ESBIN AS ASSOCIATE BUREAU CHIEF Washington, DC- Kenneth Ferree, chief of the Cable Services Bureau at the Federal Communications Commission, announced today that Barbara S. Esbin will join the FCC as Associate Chief of the Cable Services Bureau, effective July 15, 2001. Esbin returns to the Cable Services Bureau from her position as a partner with Dow, Lohnes & Albertson, where she specialized in regulatory policy advice and strategic planning for the converging electronic communications industries, including cable, telecommunications, and Internet-based service providers. CSB Chief Ferree said, "I am pleased that Barbara has agreed to return to the bureau. She is well-known for her expertise in broadband Internet services over traditional regulated platforms, and her skills and knowledge will be invaluable as we address the policy implications of emerging technologies." During Esbin's previous tenure with the Cable Services Bureau from 1996 to 1999, her primary responsibilities included advising the Commissioners and the Bureau Chief on regulatory issues arising from cable provision of Internet and other advanced information services, cable entry into telecommunications markets, interconnection, local franchising, federal-state relations, and related regulatory issues affecting cable operators. Prior to that, Esbin served in various senior positions in both the Wireless Telecommunications and Common Carrier Bureaus. Esbin is the author of "Internet Over Cable: Defining the Future in Terms of the Past," first published in September 1998 as Working Paper Number 30 in the FCC's Office of Plans and Policy working paper series. Esbin also spent five years in private practice specializing in energy law, representing rural electric cooperatives and municipal electric systems. She participated in a variety of regulatory and antitrust matters before state and federal courts and federal agencies. Following law school, Esbin served as a law clerk on the North Carolina Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court of North Carolina. She is a graduate of Antioch College and of the Duke University School of Law. - FCC - 1 2 News media Information 202 / 418-0500 Fax-On-Demand 202 / 418-2830 TTY 202/418-2555 Internet: http://www.fcc.gov ftp.fcc.gov Federal Communications Commission 445 12th Street, S.W. Washington, D. C. 20554 This is an unofficial announcement of Commission action. Release of the full text of a Commission order constitutes official action. See MCI v. FCC. 515 F 2d 385 (D.C. Circ 1974).