NEWS
	Federal Communications Commission 1919 - M Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20554	News media information 202 / 418-0500 Fax-On-Demand 202 / 418-2830 Internet: http://www.fcc.gov ftp.fcc.gov
	This is an unofficial announcement of Commission action. Release of the full text of a Commission order constitutes official action. See MCI v. FCC. 515 F 2d 385 (D.C. Circ 1974).
	For Immediate Release Washington, D.C. August 21, 1997
	Press Statement of Commissioner Rachelle B. Chong Regarding BT/MCI Merger
	The last successful British invasion was the arrival of the Beatles onto America soil in 1963. Today's British invasion into the telecommunications market 34 years later may not cause teenage girls to become hysterical but should make Wall Street analysts go "Yeah yeah yeah." Ever since BT said to MCI "I wanna hold your hand," the two have been planning ways to make beautiful music together with Concert, an integrated global telecommunications company. Mergers like BT/MCI represent a new era of integrated service provision, and I am pleased to support our decision today approving the merger subject to conditions. To my mind, the key benefit of this merger is its potential to enhance competition in the domestic local telephone market. Already a strong player in the long distance market, MCI has well developed business plans to provide local telephone service to domestic consumers. This merger with BT will assist MCI in realizing such plans by bringing MCI financial resources and BT's expertise in serving local markets. -FCC--