January 21, 2000 FCC CHAIRMAN KENNARD APPLAUDS INDUSTRY DECISION TO PROVIDE TELECOMMUNICATIONS ACCESS FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES The deadline for mounting a legal challenge to our Section 255 rules which provide access for people with disabilities to telecommunications in the information age passed, with no challenges being filed. I am pleased that the industry is focusing its considerable talents on implementing the rules rather than on challenging them. I welcome the industry's willingness to focus on increasing access to people with disabilities, rather than on litigation, is a testament to the enormous amount of work industry representatives put into developing these rules. It proves that collaborative problem solving yields the best result. -FCC-