NEWS                                                       
August 22, 1996
                                                                  
        
                 FCC RELEASES INTERNATIONAL TRENDS REPORT

     The FCC has released Trends in the International
Telecommunications Industry, a report that contains
economic, financial, and operating statistics for the
international communications industry.

     The report uses data for services and individual carriers to
trace the development of the international
communications industry.  The industry continues to experience
substantial growth.  Carrier billings increased
from $2.6 billion in 1980 to $12.9 billion in 1994, of which
$12.3 billion was for telephone service.  

     The increases in telephone service billings were due to
growth in traffic, rather than rate increases. 
The number of U.S.-billed minutes of international service
increased from 1.6 billion in 1980 to 13.4 billion
in 1994.  The average billed revenue per minute declined from
$1.34 in 1980 to $.92 in 1994.  While the "list
price" of international telephone calls has increased since 1992,
average revenue per minute has dropped 8%
as customers increasingly subscribe to discount plans.  Because
accounting rates and interstate access costs
have been declining, the report concludes that international
service is more profitable for U.S. carriers today
than it was in the 1980s.

     In 1980, carriers providing international record services
such as telegraph and telex service accounted
for  24% of overall international revenues.  These services now
account for less than 2% of international
revenues.  Sprint and MCI, which began to provide international
service in 1985, accounted for about 33%
of overall international service revenues in 1994.  AT&T's share
of international telephone service revenues
fell from 97% in 1985 to 71% in 1992 and 66% in 1994.

     Net settlement payments from U.S. common carriers to foreign
carriers represent a significant balance
of payments outflow.  The net payments, which were $365 million
in 1980, increased to $4.3 billion in 1994. 
Telephone service now accounts for all of this payment deficit. 
The net settlement payment continues to grow
because U.S.-billed traffic is growing faster than foreign-billed
traffic.  The FCC has been pressing for lower
accounting rates and this has helped limit the growth in net
settlement payments.  

     The report is available in the reference room maintained by
the Common Carrier Bureau at 2000 M
Street, N.W., Room 575.  Copies of the report can be purchased by
calling International Transcription
Service, Inc. (ITS) at (202) 857-3800.  The report, as well as
spreadsheets containing the report's statistical
tables, can be downloaded [file name ITLTRD96.ZIP] from the
FCC-State Link internet site, which can be
reached through a link from the Common Carier Bureau home page
(http://www.fcc.gov/ccb.html) on the
World Wide Web.  The report can also be downloaded from the
FCC-State Link computer bulletin board at
(202) 418-0241.  

 - FCC -

     For additional information, contact Linda Blake or Jim Lande
of the Common Carrier Bureau's
Industry Analysis Division, (202) 418-0940.