FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: News Media contact: December 19, 2000 Rosemary Kimball at (202) 418-0500 INTERNATIONAL BUREAU RELEASES 1999 YEAR-END CIRCUIT STATUS REPORT FOR U.S. FACILITIES-BASED INTERNATIONAL CARRIERS, REFLECTING NEARLY DOUBLED TOTAL CAPACITY USED Washington, DC The FCC International Bureau today released the 1999 year-end circuit status report, which reflects a continued shift from International Message Telephone Services (IMTS) to International Private Line usage. The report covers U.S. international facilities (undersea cables, satellites, and terrestrial links) and identifies the activated (in-service) and idle circuits for each international point as of December 31, 1999. The report also includes data from 1996 to 1998 for all international points by transmission facilities. The report indicates that the number of activated 64 Kbps equivalent circuits at year-end 1999 was 906,898, a 95% increase from 1998, the highest single year rate of growth of capacity used since the Commission began collecting such data in 1995. By service type, IMTS accounted for 34% of the total circuits used; International Private Line Services accounted for 62%; and the remaining 4% of total circuits were used for Video and other data services (outside of traditional private line services). The ratio of IMTS to private line services has continued to decrease from 1.4 in 1996, to 1.2 in 1997, to 0.8 in 1998, and to 0.5 in 1999. By transmission type, undersea cables account for 57% of total activated circuits, an increase of 3% from 1998; terrestrial links account for 36%, a decrease of 2% from 1998; and satellites account for 7% of the total activated capacity, a decrease of 1% from 1998. The top 30 destinations among all international routes account for 94% of the total activated circuits. The percentage of idle circuits as compared to the total circuit capacity (active and idle) decreased from 43% in 1998 to 28% in 1999. The report is available for reference in the FCC's Reference Information Center, Courtyard Level, 445 12th Street, SW, Washington, D.C. Copies may be purchased by calling International Transcription Services, Inc. (ITS) at (202) 857-3800. This report can be downloaded from the International Bureau home page (www.fcc.gov/ib/td/pf/csmanual.html) on the World Wide Web. Inquires and submissions should be directed to Cathy Hsu, Telecommunications Division, International Bureau, at (202) 418-2114. - FCC -