February 4, 1999

For More Information Contact:
Bob Cohen
(703) 284-5333
bcohen@itaa.org

Tinabeth Burton
(703) 284-5305
http://www.itaa.org/isec/archive/tburton@itaa.org

Arlington, VA -- The Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) recognizes the third anniversary of the signing of the Telecommunications Act of 1996,which will take place on Tuesday, February 9th. The Act opened the telecommunications industry and local phone companies to increased competition.

"To paraphrase Winston Churchill, we have now reached the end of the beginning with the Telecommunications Act. After three years, our industry sees more and more that the law is working. Telecommunications markets have been opened to increasingly robust competition. While enforcement is always a concern, much progress has been made," said ITAA Vice President Mark Uncapher.

ITAA pointed out significant gains in competition for the industry resulting from the 1996 Act. For example, competitive telecommunications providers, such as commercial local exchange carriers, have gained market share, with new companies entering the marketplace; and wireless and long distance competitors continue to drive costs to consumers down through price based competition, with cost per minute for these services going down.

ITAA consists of 11,000 direct and affiliate members throughout the U.S. which produce products and services in the IT industry. The Association plays a leading role in public policy issues of concern to the IT industry, including taxes, intellectual property, telecommunications law, encryption, securities litigation reform, and human resources policy. ITAA members range from the smallest IT start ups to industry leaders in the software, services, systems integration, telecommunications, Internet, and computer consulting fields. Learn more about ITAA and its positions on the issues by connecting to its web site at http://www.itaa.org.