WASHINGTON D.C. - Former Solicitor General and D.C. Circuit court Judge Kenneth W. Starr will offer his views on the potential Supreme Court review of the federal appeals decision overturning the Federal Communications Commission's controversial telecommunications unbundling regulations on Wednesday, June 2, at the National Press Club. With a June deadline looming, Solicitor General Theodore B. Olson and the Bush Administration are considering whether to seek the high court's involvement. The FCC rules mandate sharing of phone company facilities with competitors at government-set prices, and have been the focus of much national news coverage in recent weeks.

Sponsored by The Progress & Freedom Foundation, the lunch event takes place at the National Press Club, First Amendment Room. Lunch is served at noon; the program begins at 12:30 pm. Starr's address, "The Supreme Court and the Future of the Telecom Act of 1996," will be followed with reaction from a panel of experts that includes Christopher J. Wright, former FCC general counsel and current partner at the law firm of Harris, Wiltshire & Grannis. Foundation Senior Fellow and Director of Communications Policy Studies Randolph J. May will moderate.

The appeals court's March 2 vacation of significant portions of the FCC's Triennial Review order is stayed through June 15. The Bush Administration must decide soon whether to file for Supreme Court review. Meanwhile, local exchange carriers and their competitors attempt to reach network access agreements. The 1996 Act's unbundling rules have been the focus of intense debate inside the FCC and among industry players.

"The fate of a multi-billion dollar industry and regulations affecting consumers, as well as the future of competition, rest in the hands of the Solicitor General and his administration," said May. "We thought it would be useful to hear what one of his predecessors, who happened to sit on the circuit that later vacated the FCC rules, thinks about this."

Those interested in attending the lunch should register online. Media questions should be directed to David Fish at 202-289-8928 or dfish@pff.org. Others should contact Eileen Goulding at 202-289-8928 or egoulding@pff.org.

The Progress & Freedom Foundation is a market-oriented think tank that studies the digital revolution and its implications for public policy. It is a 501(c)(3) research & educational organization.