March 7, 1997



                  JOSEPH FARRELL TO LEAVE COMMISSION

     Joseph Farrell has announced that he will step down as the FCC's Chief Economist the
end of May.  Farrell will be returning to his position as Professor of Economics at the
University of California, Berkeley.

     FCC Chairman Reed Hundt said of Farrell's leaving, "Joe has contributed greatly to the
Commission's continuing focus on rigorous economic analysis in its decision-making during
his tenure with the Commission.  Joe is truly a world-class star in his field, and his expertise in
the critical area of network competition has helped the Commission pave the way for robust
telecommunications competition."

     At the FCC, Dr. Farrell was involved in major proceedings including telephone
interconnection and access issues.

     Prior to his tenure as Professor of Economics at UC-Berkeley, Dr. Farrell  served on
the faculty of MIT and the University of California, San Diego.  He was also a member of the
technical staff at GTE Laboratories and a Fellow at the Hoover Institution.

     Professor Farrell has written extensively on the economics of networks, interconnection
and standards, and served as North American Editor for the Journal of Industrial Economics,
and President of the Industrial Organization Society. 

     Dr. Farrell received a B.A., M.Sc. in Mathematics and D. Phil. in Economics from
Oxford University.  


                                -FCC-