FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: News Media Contact: August 16, 2001 Rosemary Kimball at (202) 418-0511 or Meribeth McCarrick at (202) 418-0654 NAVAJO CODE TALKERS TO PARTICIPATE IN INDIAN TELECOM TRAINING INITIATIVE 2001 Washington, D.C. - The Navajo Code Talkers, recent recipients of the Congressional Gold Medal for their service to the country during World War II, will participate in the Indian Telecom Training Initiative (ITTI) 2001 Annual Conference. The event is scheduled for September 23-26 at the Bally's Hotel in Las Vegas and is cosponsored by the FCC and the National Exchange Carrier Association. ITTI's mission is to facilitate the deployment of telecommunication services at reasonable rates to all Native American Indians living in Indian Country by providing educational and networking opportunities to American Indian Tribal Governments and Tribal telecommunications industry leaders. Through these seminars as well as a variety of other proceedings, the FCC is following the mandate of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, in which Congress directed the FCC to ensure that all Americans have access to affordable telecommunications services. The participation of the Code Talkers in this event underscores the importance of ITTI. Their role in World War II epitomizes the impact of communications in all facets of daily life and their significant achievement will be recognized at this conference. For press information on this event, contact Rosemary Kimball (FCC) at 202-418-0511, Meribeth McCarrick (FCC) at (202) 418-0654 or Dustin Logan (NECA) at (402) 537-1651. For ITTI conference information please call Nancy Plon at (202) 418-2899 or call 888-225-5322, and select option 2 after the recorded message; 717-338-2888; or, e-mail the FCC at ITTI2001@fcc.gov or visit the FCC Indian Initiatives website at: www.fcc.gov/indians/ITTI. For more information regarding the Indian Initiatives at the FCC, please contact Geoffrey Blackwell, FCC Liaison to Tribal Governments at 202-418-8192. To register for this event contact NECA-ITTI 2001: at 1-800-351-9033. -FCC-