THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

            PRESIDENT CLINTON CONFERS RANK OF AMBASSADOR 
           TO BRIAN FONTES AS CHAIR OF U. S. DELEGATION TO
         CONFERENCE OF INTERNATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATION UNION

     The President today announced the conferral of personal rank of

Ambassador to Brian Frederick Fontes of Virginia in his capacity as Chair of the U.S. Delegation to the 1995 International Telecommunication Union's World Radiocommunication Conference.

Dr. Fontes received a Ph.D in Mass Media/Telecommunications from Michigan State University in 1977. Dr. Fontes is Senior Vice President for Policy and Administration at the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association (CTIA). Prior to joining CTIA in 1994, Dr. Fontes served as the Senior Advisor, and later as Chief of Staff, to Federal Communications Commissioner James H. Quello. He also was Co-Chairman of FCC Chairman Reed Hunt's transition team. Prior to joining the FCC, he was an Assistant Professor of Mass Communications at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He is a recipient of the Eugene C. Bowler Award for Excellence in Government Service. Dr. Fontes' international experience includes participation on a number of U.S. delegations to ITU conferences in Switzerland, Singapore, South America, the Caribbean, and Japan.

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