February 11, 1998

   COMMISSIONER TRISTANI TELLS PUERTO RICO LEGISLATORS THAT 
          TELECOM ACT IS DESTINED TO BE GREAT SUCCESS
                                

     In delivering an "inside the beltway" perspective on telecommunications in Washington
to a Joint Session of the Puerto Rico Legislature, FCC Commissioner Gloria Tristani today
noted that "Any discussion of telecommunications in Washington begins with the
Telecommunications Act of 1996."

     She said that, measured against realistic expectations, "I would say . . . [the Act] has
been a modest success so far, and it is destined to be a great success."  She said this was
because of the Act's commitment to competition and universal service.  

     She noted the increase in the number of new entrants in the telecom industry since the
Act's passage and said, "Replacing monopoly with competition puts us on the right side of
history, and it will help to provide us with a better way of life.  New providers of
telecommunications will create many new jobs.  They will also make American businesses
more efficient and productive in countless ways.  This will become more evident as the global
economy exposes all industries to overseas competition, and our telecommunications system
gives American businesses a true competitive advantage."

     She noted that the Act's directive that the FCC fix universal service so that it works in
a competitive market and so that it does not diminish competition is an extraordinarily difficult
task "and I commend my predecessors for the tremendous progress they made with reforming
universal service."  She said "universal service has been one of the most successful programs
ever undertaken by our government . . .     [and] as I begin my new job at the FCC I want you
to know that I am committed to developing policies to preserve the gains already made by
universal service and to adopting new rules that permit fair competition that benefits
consumers."  She noted that Puerto Rico, with a 76 percent penetration rate for phone service
was far below the 94 percent penetration rate of the rest of the country.  She pledged to keep
Puerto Rico's situation "very much in mind as I participate in the FCC's effort to implement
the new universal service rules."

     Commissioner Tristani said she would also be vigilant about the implementation of the
"rate integration" requirement of the 1996 Act which requires that a long distance carrier
servicing an offshore point must employ the same rate structure it uses for its mainland
services.    "Without rate integration," she said, "rates for long distance service could increase
substantially."

     She said that, as a former state regulator, "I am sensitive to the demands and
responsibilities of state commissioners."  She said that the current FCC "has great confidence
in the ability of state commissions to serve the interests of their residents.  In fact, it is service
to their citizens that is the bond between the FCC and state commissions.  That is why I
believe we will have a productive relationship with the states in the coming years."

     Commissioner Tristani also noted her interest in increasing competition to bring down
cable rates and addressing the problem of the quality of children's television programs.