5/2/97

Contact: Trevor Roycroft, Comm. Systems Management, 614/593-4887 (w); 593-8552 (h)

ATHENS, Ohio -- Rhonda Fergus, a commissioner of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, will moderate a panel discussion on the implications of the Telecommunications Act from 2 to 3:15 p.m. Monday (May 5) in Baker Center Ballroom on Ohio University's Athens campus.

The debate, sponsored by the School of Communication Systems Management, is part of the university's 29th annual Communication Week activities.

The panel will examine issues relating to the local exchange marketplace of the telephone industry since the Telecommunications Act of 1996 was passed, and what needs to be accomplished for consumers to experience the benefits of competition.

Panelists include: Mike Kehoe, general manager of Ameritech Ohio; Jack Kennedy, director of regulatory affairs for GTE in Marion; Don Marshall, regulatory affairs assistant vice president for Cincinnati Bell Telephone; Glenn Moore, director of local services for the Great Lakes Region of MCI; Ken Pfister, assistant vice president of AT&T; and Marsha Schermer, vice president-regulatory, Time Warner Communications in Columbus.

The panel discussion is free and open to the public.

The landmark Telecommunications Act legislation, the first major rewrite of U.S. telecommunications law in more than 60 years, was designed to open up local competition so consumers would have choices for basic service, but Federal Communications Commission's efforts to facilitate competition have stalled in the courts.