NEWS                                         January 15, 1997

                    JAMES W. OLSON TO LEAVE COMMISSION

     Today, James W. Olson, Chief of the Office of General
Counsel's Competition
Division announced that he will leave the Commission at the end
of January to become a
partner in the Washington, DC, law firm of Howrey & Simon.  He
has directed the Division
since its inception in 1993.  

     The Competition Division was established to assist the
Commission in developing and
advancing a pro-competition, deregulatory agenda in all areas of
the Commission's
jurisdiction.  The Division deploys project-specific,
inter-disciplinary teams to work with
Commission bureaus and offices in a flexible manner.

     The Division has helped ensure that Commission rules and
decisions are supported by
sound economic analysis applied consistently among bureaus.  It
has also played a significant
role in Commission items that have eliminated or reduced
unnecessary or outdated
regulations.

     Among the issues in which Olson was personally involved were
formulation of the
Commission's program access regime, AT&T non-dominance, reviews
of the broadcast
ownership rules, broadcast, cable and common carrier mergers, and
implementation of the
1996 Telecommunications Act's provision allowing registered
public utility company entry
into markets regulated by the FCC, as well as local entry issues
arising under the Act.  

     "I am grateful to have had the opportunity to work at the
FCC at a time when
competitive issues have been at the forefront of the Commission's
activities," said Olson.  "I
particularly enjoyed working with the incredibly skilled and
dedicated staff of the
Commission, and look forward to continuing to work on
telecommunications issues in the
private sector."

     Chairman Reed Hundt said, "Jim is an energetic, thoughtful
and innovative antitrust
lawyer and a good friend.  I appreciate his work in building the
Competition Division over
the past three years.  We will all miss him very much."
 
  -FCC-