CCC   PPPPP   U    U    CCC       N    N  EEEEE  W  W  W   SSS
 C   C  P    p  U    U   C   C      NN   N  E      W  W  W  S   S
C       P    P  U    U  C           N N  N  E      W  W  W  S
C       PPPPP   U    U  C           N N  N  EEE    W W W W   SSS
C       P       U    U  C           N  N N  E      WW   WW      S
 C   C  P       U    U   C   C      N   NN  E      W     W  S   S
  CCC   P        UUUU     CCC       N    N  EEEEE  W     W   SSS
CONTACT: Kyle DeVine             December 20, 1996   CPUC - 572
         213-897-4225                             (I.87-11-033)

        CPUC APPROVES LOCAL TOLL COMPETITION IN GTE AREAS

    The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) today
approved a settlement which paves the way for consumers of GTE
California, Inc., GTE West Coast, Inc., and Contel of California,
Inc. (the GTE companies) to be able to choose which
telecommunications carriers they wish to be directly connected to
for local toll service.
    With this direct access - called presubscription - consumers
will be able to use their local toll carriers without dialing the
company's 5-digit access code.
    Local toll calls are calls within a service area that are
placed to locations outside the local calling area.  For example a
call from Redondo Beach to San Bernardino is a local toll call.  A
map is attached which shows the areas.
    With presubscription, consumers will be able to customize
their service to best meet their needs.  They could directly use
one to three companies for service.  For example one company might
provide local service (dialtone, custom calling features, and
local calls), local toll, and long distance service, or a customer
may choose one company for local service, another for local toll,
and another for long distance service.
    The charge to change carriers will be $4.46.  However, new
customers have 90 days to select a carrier without being charged
and existing customers may make one change for free.  Existing
customers are not required to select a carrier; they may do
nothing and continue to have the GTE companies provide their local
toll service.
    Presubscription for local toll applies only to the GTE
companies' areas and should be implemented in all of them by March
1997 - equipment must be upgraded in some areas before the service
can be provided.  Customers will be notified through bill inserts
when the service is available.
                              -more-
    GTE of California serves 3.7 million customers mostly in Los
Angeles and Santa Barbara areas.  GTE West Coast serves 12,000
customers near the California-Oregon border.  Continental
Telephone serves 375,000 subscribers in the Central Valley and
Owens Valley areas.                    ###

                       CALIFORNIA LATA MAP