EXHIBIT 99

                                                              CONTACT:
                                                              Susan Radd
                                                              Edelman Worldwide
                                                              312-240-2686


                 PRIMESTAR TO EXPAND USE OF GENERAL INSTRUMENT'S
                    DIGICIPHER(R) I TECHNOLOGY; TRANSITION TO
                             DIGICIPHER II DEFERRED


CHICAGO, ILLINOIS -- (January 29, 1996) -- General Instrument Corporation (NYSE:
GIC)  announced   today  that  PRIMESTAR   Partners,   a  leading   provider  of
direct-to-home  satellite television  programming,  will defer its transition to
General  Instrument's   DigiCipher(R)  II/MPEG-2  digital  transmission  system.
PRIMESTAR  instead  will  expand its use of GI's  DigiCipher  I  technology  and
expects to purchase more than 1 million additional DigiCipher I digital consumer
satellite receivers from General Instrument in 1996.

GI has already  delivered  approximately  1.5 million  DigiCipher I receivers to
PRIMESTAR,   and  PRIMESTAR  recently  celebrated  its  one-millionth  customer.
DigiCipher  II/MPEG-2  is  General  Instrument's  second  generation  end-to-end
digital television system, which incorporates the Moving Picture Experts Group 2
(MPEG-2) international  standard for digital compression and transport.  General
Instrument  expects to begin  delivery in 1996 of DigiCipher  II/MPEG-2  digital
cable  television  terminals to its  customers,  including  Tele-Communications,
Inc., a leading telecommunications provider in the United States.

PRIMESTAR  has  informed  General  Instrument  that,  although  it has  deferred
purchasing  DigiCipher  II/MPEG-2  receivers  and  adding  DigiCipher  II/MPEG-2
upgrade  modules to its  installed  base of  DigiCipher I receivers,  it remains
fully committed to General Instrument's  digital technology.  General Instrument
had anticipated  delivering  DigiCipher  II/MPEG-2  upgrade modules for existing
receivers  in use by  PRIMESTAR  customers  in  1996.  All of the  DigiCipher  I
consumer  receivers  that GI supplies  to  PRIMESTAR  are  designed to accept an
upgrade module,  allowing the receivers to be easily upgraded to GI's DigiCipher
II/MPEG-2 system.


General  Instrument said that PRIMESTAR's  equipment plans will have no material
effect  on GI's  fourth  quarter  and full  year 1995  earnings,  which  will be
announced February 6. However,  General  Instrument's 1996 revenues are expected
to be reduced by approximately  $500 million,  with a resulting decrease in 1996
net income of approximately  $20 million to $25 million.  To support its ongoing
rollout plans, General Instrument is continuing its DigiCipher II/MPEG-2 product
development efforts at current levels.

"PRIMESTAR has a long-term commitment to digital television, but we are focusing
our capital spending in 1996 on rapidly  expanding our customer base rather than
on further enhancing an already superior service  offering," said James L. Gray,
Chairman  and CEO of  PRIMESTAR.  "At  the  same  time,  we are  continuing  our
development effort with General Instrument on DigiCipher II/MPEG-2. We could not
have  reached  the  milestone  of one million  customers  without the support of
General Instrument, our technology and equipment partner, which launched with us
the country's first consumer digital TV system in the summer of 1994."

"The  consumer  response to our product has been  tremendous,"  continued  Gray.
"Consumer surveys show that we have achieved 95% customer satisfaction, with 80%
of our  business  coming  from word of mouth  referrals.  As a result,  over the
course  of the last  year,  PRIMESTAR  has  placed  huge  demands  upon  General
Instrument,  and GI has  consistently  responded  to our  needs  and  tremendous
consumer demand for our product."

"General  Instrument  is  proud  of  our  role  in  PRIMESTAR's  success  in the
direct-to-home   satellite  programming  market,"  said  Richard  S.  Friedland,
Chairman  and CEO of General  Instrument.  "We will support  PRIMESTAR's  future
growth  with the  products  and  technology  that will best serve  PRIMESTAR  in
meeting  its  business  objectives.  We are also  pleased  that  many  cable and
satellite  television providers both in North America and overseas are deploying
our state-of-the-art DigiCipher II/MPEG-2 system in 1996."


"TCI is firmly committed to DigiCipher  II/MPEG-2  technology," said Tom Elliot,
Senior  Vice   President  of  Technical   Services  for  TCI  Cable   Management
Corporation.  "We are excited to be leading the cable  television  industry into
the digital era,  enabling our customers to receive the greatly expanded program
choices,  superior quality video and audio, and enhanced  services  delivered by
General Instrument's end-to-end digital television system."

DigiCipher I satellite  systems have been in use since 1993,  and GI's customers
have now  established  the capacity for more than 480 digital video  channels on
more than 150 DigiCipher I systems around the globe.

General Instrument  Corporation,  headquartered in Chicago, is a world leader in
developing  technology,  systems  and  product  solutions  for  the  interactive
delivery of video, voice and data.
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