FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:             News Media contact:
March 14, 2000                     Rosemary Kimball at (202) 418-0511

     CHAIRMAN KENNARD STRESSES IMPORTANCE OF COMPETITION IN
  FOSTERING THE DEVELOPMENT OF BROADBAND NETWORKS DURING TRIP
                     TO ARGENTINA AND PERU
                                
Signs Workplans with Those Countries to Implement Second Phase of FCC's
                     Development Initiative

     Lima, Peru   William E. Kennard, chairman of the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC), is visiting Argentina and Peru this week as part of the FCC's
Development Initiative in Latin America.

     On Saturday, March 11, Chairman Kennard and Argentine Secretary of
Communications Henoch Domingo Aguiar met in Buenos Aires to discuss
telecommunications developments in Argentina.  Secretary Aguiar, who assumed office
in December 1999, briefed Chairman Kennard on his overall plan to promote
competition.  Specifically, he stated that the Argentine telecommunications market was
partially opened in November 1999.  Starting in November 2000 the market will be
opened to all who want to compete to offer increased services and better prices. 

     The two leaders discussed ways their two agencies could work together on
regulatory issues and signed a workplan detailing specific areas of cooperation during
the next two years.  Key issues in the workplan include cooperation on matters
affecting reform of regulatory processes and procedures, universal access,
competition, interconnection, and spectrum management.

     In describing the agreement, Chairman Kennard said, "Argentina is a very
important country and can serve as a catalyst for liberalization and economic
development in the region.  Secretary Aguiar is a leader who recognizes the
fundamental restructuring underway in the world economy and is committed to bringing
competition and transparent regulation to Argentina."  Chairman Kennard stressed the
FCC's commitment to work with its Argentine counterpart as it repositions and
restructures itself to become a major player in the new digital economy. 

While in Argentina, Chairman Kennard also made a site visit to MetroRed, a
Fidelity Investments-owned company providing high speed fiber capcity near Buenos
Aires.

He also met with a wide range of U.S. companies active in the Argentine market. 
Industry representatives identified a number of key regulatory issues that should be
addressed in the coming months to ensure maximum industry participation in the
Argentine telecommunications markets.

On Monday, March 13, Chairman Kennard traveled to Lima, Peru, to pursue additional
aspects of the Development Initiative.  Upon arrival, he held several meetings in
preparation for the Latin America Telecommunications Summit (LATS), a conference
jointly sponsored by the U.S. Commerce Department and the Telecommunications
Industry Association (TIA).   He also met Aldolfo Pandolfi, the Peruvian Minister of
Transportation, Communications, Housing and Construction.

     On March 14, Chairman Kennard signed a  workplan on universal access and
regulatory issues with his Peruvian counterpart, Jorge Kunigami, chairman of
OSIPTEL, the Peruvian regulator, in Lima. 

The signing of the workplans with Argentina and Peru commences the Latin
America phase of the FCC's Development Initiative.  Announced last June, the
Development Initiative is intended to provide telecom policy and regulatory assistance
to developing countries seeking to achieve and sustain their place in the global
information society.   Under the initiative, the FCC will work with developing countries
to build independent regulatory agencies equipped to foster universal access through
competition, liberalization, privatization, and transparency -- the goals of the WTO
Basic Telecom Services Agreement.  The first phase of the Development Initiative, the
African portion, has already commenced.  The Latin America/Caribbean part is phase
2, and plans are being made for the third (Asia) and fourth (Central Europe) phases.

In addition to signing the workplans, Chairman Kennard will stress his message of
competition and open markets in a major policy speech to be delivered to government
and telecom industry officials in Lima on March 14.  He will continue this theme at a site
visit to a BellSouth public security system near Lima, Peru.   Finally, on March 15 in
Lima, he will lead a discussion on competitive interconnection policies at  the LATS. 


                            - FCC -