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 NEWS  News  media  Information  202  /  418-  0500  Fax-  On-  Demand  202  /  418-  2830  Internet:  http://  www.  fcc.  gov  ftp.  fcc.  gov  Federal  Communications  Commission  445  12  th  Street,  S.  W.  Washington,  D.  C.  20554  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:  News  Media  contact:  December  24,  2003  Audrey  Spivack  at  (202)  418-  0500 
 INTERNATIONAL  BUREAU  RELEASES  2002  YEAR-  END  CIRCUIT  STATUS  REPORT  FOR  U.  S.  FACILITIES-  BASED  INTERNATIONAL  CARRIERS; 
 CAPACITY  USE  SHOWS  MODEST  GROWTH 
 Washington,  DC  –  The  FCC  International  Bureau  today  released  its  annual  year-  end  circuit  status  report  for  U.  S.  facilities-  based  international  carriers.  The  year-  end  2002  report  reflects 
 continued  modest  growth  in  the  use  of  U.  S.-  international  facilities  for  international  calls  and  private  line  services  from  the  United  States. 


 The  report  is  based  on  information  provided  by  U.  S.  international  facilities-  based  carriers  and  covers  U.  S.  undersea  cables,  satellites,  and  terrestrial  links.  It  identifies  the  activated  (in-  service)  and 
 idle  (available  but  not  in-  service)  circuits  for  each  international  point  as  of  December  31,  2002.  The  report,  which  is  valuable  for  Commission  regulatory  purposes  as  well  as  for  public  use,  also  includes 
 data  from  1999  to  2001  for  all  international  points  listed  by  type  of  transmission  facility. 
 Showing  a  slightly  slower  growth  in  2002  than  in  2001,  the  reported  number  of  activated  64  Kbps  equivalent  circuits  at  year-  end  2002  was  2,844,862,  which  is  approximately  an  18  percent 
 increase  from  2001’s  revised  figure  of  2,410,526.  By  service  type,  International  Message  Telephone  Service  (IMTS)  accounted  for  16  percent  of  the  total  circuits  used;  International  Private  Line  Services 
 accounted  for  70  percent  of  total  circuits;  and  the  remaining  14  percent  of  total  circuits  were  used  for  other  data  and  video  services  (outside  of  traditional  private  line  services). 


 By  transmission  type,  undersea  cables  increased  from  72  percent  of  activated  circuits  in  2001  to  76  percent  in  2002;  terrestrial  links  decreased  from  25  percent  in  2001  to  21  percent  in  2002;  and 
 satellites  stayed  the  same,  accounting  for  3  percent  of  total  activated  circuits  in  2002.  The  top  30  destinations  among  all  international  routes  account  for  96  percent  of  the  total  activated  circuits.  The 
 percentage  of  idle  circuits  as  compared  to  the  total  circuit  capacity  (active  and  idle)  increased  from  56  percent  in  2001  to  58  percent  in  2002. 


 The  report  is  available  on  the  International  Bureau  home  page  at:  www.  fcc.  gov/  ib/  pd/  pf/  csmanual.  html.  The  report  also  is  available  for  reference  in  the  FCC's 
 Reference  Information  Center,  Courtyard  Level,  445  12th  Street,  SW,  Washington,  D.  C.  Copies  may  be  purchased  by  calling  Qualex  International  at  (202)  863-  2893.  Inquiries  should  be  directed  to  Cathy 
 Hsu,  Policy  Division,  International  Bureau,  at  (202)  418-  2114,  email:  cathy.  hsu@  fcc.  gov. 
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