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    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE            NEWS MEDIA CONTACT:
  January 31, 2000                      Mike Balmoris at (202) 418-0253
                                   Email: mbalmori@fcc.gov
  
                   COMMON CARRIER ACTION
                              
      FCC RELEASES NEW TELEPHONE SUBSCRIBERSHIP REPORT
  
  Washington, D.C. --  The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) today
  released its latest report on telephone subscribership levels in the United States.  The report
  presents subscribership statistics based on a survey conducted by the Census Bureau in
  November 1999.  Statistics from that survey estimated that 94.1% of all households in the
  United States had telephone service.  This is down 0.3% from the last report, for July 1999,
  and down 0.1% from November 1998.  The average penetration rate for 1999 was 94.2%,
  which is up 0.1% from 1998.  These changes are not statistically significant.  The report
  also shows different subscribership levels by state, income level, race, age, household size,
  and employment status.
  
  In November 1999, the telephone subscribership penetration rate was 75.4% for
  households with annual incomes below $5,000, while the rate for households with incomes
  over $75,000 was 98.9%.  By state, the penetration rates ranged from 87.2% in Arkansas to
  97.5% in Pennsylvania.  Households headed by whites had a penetration rate of 95.0%,
  while those headed by blacks had a rate of 87.7% and those headed by Hispanics had a rate
  of 89.7%.  By age, penetration rates ranged from 85.5% for households headed by a person
  under 25 to 95.9% for households headed by a person between 55 and 59 or between 65 and
  69.  Households with one person had a penetration rate of 90.7%, compared to a rate of
  95.4% for households with two to five persons.  The penetration rate for unemployed adults
  was 90.0%, while the rate for employed adults was 95.6%.
  
  This report is updated three times a year and is available in the FCC's Reference
  Information Center, Courtyard Level, 445 12th Street SW, Washington, DC 20554. Call
  International Transcription Service at (202) 857-3800 to purchase a copy.  This report can
  also be downloaded [file name: SUBS1199.ZIP or SUBS1199.PDF] from the FCC-State
  Link Internet site at http://www.fcc.gov/ccb/stats on the World Wide Web.
  
                           -FCC-
                              
  Common Carrier contact:  Alexander Belinfante at (202) 418-0944; TTY (202) 418-0484.