NEWSNEWSJune 21, 1996                                                      

          FARQUHAR SAYS THE PROMISE OF ECONOMIC GROWTH AND GREATER
             CONSUMER CHOICE MEANS VERY LITTLE IF ALL AMERICANS 
                   DON'T HAVE THE CHOICE TO BE CONSUMERS    

                In remarks to the Self Help for Hard of Hearing People, Inc. (SHHH) Conference today
in Orlando, FL, Michele C. Farquhar, Chief of the FCC's Wireless Telecommunications Bureau
stated that the passage of the '96 Telecommunications Act presents an opportunity for all
Americans and that implementing the provisions in the Act which promote access is one of the
Commission's highest priorities.

                She told the group it was important to build broadly based and diverse coalitions to
support specific implementation ideas for three reasons.

                "The first reason is to foster real understanding.  The issues you are confronting are
increasingly complex. So few people understand all the pieces of the puzzle: the technological
pieces, the regulatory pieces, the disability pieces, and the design and marketing pieces.  If we
are going to get this right, we have to learn from each other and understand our different
perspectives on implementation."

                Ms. Farquhar also stated that forming broadly based coalitions of support made it more
likely that the group could achieve something worthwhile that it otherwise would not have.

                "If you work with potential adversaries from the outset on implementation strategies, they
will feel like they have 'ownership' in the plan and a stake in its success.  Reaching a consensus
with a diverse group of stakeholders does not necessarily mean that you have to sacrifice your
core principles.  Your visions and hopes and dreams should be uncompromising and
unconstrained, but your strategy for implementing them should not be."

                The third reason to reach out to build diverse coalitions of support is that it provides and
opportunity to work with potential adversaries to make some meaningful changes.

                "Some companies initially may think that it is in their best interest to be sensitive to
disability issues for public relations purposes.  You have the ability to help them see that being
sensitive to disability issues -- issues that affect 40 million Americans -- is just good marketing
sense."


                                  - more -
                                   - 2 -

                She went on to say how the universal design policies adopted by some companies have
led to innovations that have mass market appeal.  She said that "talking" caller ID, ball mouses
on laptops, and vibrating pages were originally developed as "disability solutions" but now have
much broader popularity.

                She said this point illustrated a much broader point:

                "Ensuring that all Americans have the choice to be consumers WILL increase the
consumer choices of all Americans.  But we can only continue to discover these mutually
beneficial "win-win" solutions if everyone is at the table and we all work together."
                       
                                  - FCC -

                News Media contact: Kara Palamaras at (202) 418-0654.