NEWSReport No. CC 97-55   COMMON CARRIER ACTION              October 9, 1997

     Lockheed Selected as North American Numbering Plan Administrator, 
                    NECA as Billing and Collection Agent
                                      
       The Commission today affirmed the recommendation of the North American
Numbering Council (NANC), a federal advisory body, to select Lockheed Martin
IMS as the North American Numbering Plan Administrator (NANPA) and the
National Exchange Carriers Association (NECA) as the Billing and Collection Agent. 
The NANPA will provide numbering administration for the North American
Numbering Plan for a term of five years, and NECA will recover the costs of these
and other administration activities.  Today's action will promote competition in
telecommunications and access to new services and technologies by ensuring that
numbering administration is performed in an impartial and efficient manner.

       The Commission established the NANC to, among other things, recommend a
neutral entity to serve as NANPA and an appropriate mechanism for recovering the
costs of North American Numbering Plan administration in the United States. The
Commission's charge is consistent with Congress' directive in section 251(e)(1) of
the Communications Act, as amended by the Telecommunications Act of 1996, that
an impartial numbering administrator be named to make telecommunications
available on an equitable basis.  NANC members were selected to represent all
viewpoints regarding numbering administration. 

       In the order adopted today, the Commission selected Lockheed to serve as the
NANPA subject to Lockheed's compliance with certain intellectual property and
pricing requirements.  Lockheed is directed to transfer to anyone the NANC directs,
free of charge, all intellectual property and hardware resulting from its performance
as the NANPA.  This requirement will promote a smooth transition if a new NANPA
is selected after Lockheed's five year term expires.  In addition, Lockheed must
perform NANPA functions at the price it submitted in its proposal to the NANC, and
that price may only be adjusted if certain numbering tasks exceed 120 percent of the
assumptions Lockheed presented in its proposal.  The Commission noted that the
selection of Lockheed as NANPA offers substantial cost savings and can bring
efficiency and synergy advantages to number administration activities.

       The Commission further noted that the selection of NECA as Billing and
Collection Agent also offers cost savings, and NECA's experience in billing and
collection will bring expertise to cost recovery for numbering administration.  The
Commission, however, directed NECA to create a separate subsidiary to perform this
function.  To assure impartiality, the Commission directed that the subsidiary have
broad-based representation from telecommunications service providers that use the
North American Numbering Plan.

       Also in today's order, the Commission reiterated that states wishing to
perform functions relating to initiation and development of area code relief plans
must notify the new NANPA within 120 days.  Area code relief initiation and
development functions will be transferred to and performed by the new NANPA for
those states that do not seek to perform such functions.

       Finally, to provide solutions to numbering disputes when time is critical, the
Commission adopted measures to streamline its administrative processes.  In
particular, the Commission adopted a measure by which a NANC recommendation
will have the authority of a Commission decision if the Commission does not
affirmatively suspend, modify, or reject the recommendation within 14 days. 

       Action by the Commission October 9, 1997 by Third Report and Order and
Third Report and Order (FCC 97-372).  Chairman, Commissioners.

                                     -FCC-

       News media contact: Rochelle Cohen at (202) 418-0253.
       Common Carrier Bureau contact: Marian Gordon and Erin Duffy at (202)
                      418-2320.