For Immediate Release
1200 G Street, NW Washington, D.C. 20005 202/628-6380 202/393-5453 (fax)	Contact: John Bernhards Director of Public Relations Phone: 202/434-8850 E-mail: jbernhards@atis.org

CITEL and Committee T1 Sign Cooperation Agreement Recognizing Collaboration in Standards Development

September 18, 2001, Washington, D.C. - The Inter-American Telecommunication Commission (CITEL), an agency of the Organization of American States (OAS) responsible for telecommunications standardization in Central and South America, and the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS), on behalf of Accredited Standards Committee T1 (Committee T1), have recently signed a Cooperation Agreement, formalizing a collaborative relationship on standards development activities.

The Cooperative Agreement is one of a growing number of similar agreements that ATIS and Committee T1 have established with telecommunications standards development organizations worldwide. These agreements formalize longstanding relationships that spur global harmonization of standards work. Committee T1 has been an associate member of CITEL and has been involved in CITEL's Working Group on Standards Coordination for approximately 10 years. Their work together includes efforts supporting Intelligent Networks, Number Portability, Common Channel Signaling, ISDN, Internet Protocol (IP) Access, and most recently "Next Generation Networks".

The Cooperative Agreement was signed by Susan Miller, president and CEO of ATIS, on behalf of Committee T1, and Clovis Baptista, executive secretary of CITEL on Friday, August 24, at the OAS headquarters in Washington, DC. The signing ceremony occurred during the Steering Committee of COM/CITEL during which Chairman Jose Pileggi of COM/CITEL, Clovis Baptista, and Susan Miller addressed the session. The meeting also included senior representatives from COM/CITEL and Committee T1 including the Chair and Vice Chair of Committee T1, Ray Hapeman and Wayne Zeuch.

CITEL and Committee T1 Sign Cooperation Agreement

"The Cooperative Agreement supports a collaboration between Committee T1 and CITEL for the exchange of information and cooperation in future standards development, said Susan Miller, president and CEO of ATIS. "Committee T1 and CITEL have a long-standing relationship, and we are proud to formally recognize and celebrate our joint efforts. It is important that we continue to foster an environment that strongly supports cooperation and openness in standards development, in order to ensure industry consensus and acceptance of reliable, durable standards that support the needs of an increasingly global industry."

About Standards Committee T1

Standards Committee T1 develops American National Standards, technical reports and technical requirements for telecommunications services, network interconnection, interoperability, and performance. Committee T1 provides technical input to the United States Department of State supporting U.S. participation in international standards bodies. More than 1,200 telecommunications engineers and technologists bring their expertise to Committee T1's six technical subcommittees. Committee T1 is a founding member of the Global Standards Collaboration (GSC) group of regional standards development organizations and works closely with the FCC on network reliability issues. Committee T1 is accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). More information is available by visiting the Committee T1 Web site at www.t1.org. Committee T1 documents are available at the ATIS Document Center, located at www.atis.org.

About ATIS

The Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS) is a member company organization that defines standards and operating procedures for the telecommunications industry. Nearly 3,000 experts from 500 telecommunications companies participate in ATIS committees, whose work focus includes network interconnection standards, number portability, improved data transmission, wireless communications, Internet telephony, toll-free access, and order and billing issues. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) frequently refers operations issues to ATIS committees for recommended solutions. Members of ATIS and committee participants include, but are not limited to, telecommunications service providers, manufacturers, software developers, resellers, enhanced service providers, and providers of operations support. Information on ATIS is available on the World Wide Web at www.atis.org.

About CITEL

The Inter-American Telecommunication Commission (CITEL) is the coordinator for the Organization of American States in matters regarding telecommunications. CITEL was created under article 52 of the OAS charter. The OAS is integrated by 35 countries. It is the oldest regional organization in the world. More information is available at www.citel.oas.org.

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