IN 1996, BELL ATLANTIC SAYS, COMMUNICATIONS BOUNDARIES WILL TUMBLE, INNOVATION WILL SOAR

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 1, 1996

(Special to the
Uniontown Herald-Standard)

IN 1996, BELL ATLANTIC SAYS, COMMUNICATIONS BOUNDARIES
WILL TUMBLE, INNOVATION WILL SOAR
by
Joanne Rae,
Bell Atlantic Director of External
Affairs

If I had to choose one word to characterize Bell Atlantic's view of
1996, I'd say, "Amazing!"

Advances in technology will move us ever closer to the day when your
computer will speak, your TV will listen, your telephone will show you
pictures and your fax machine will zip you coupons, maps, rock concert
tickets and lottery receipts.

Thanks to the recently enacted telecommunications legislation, the
boundaries between once-separate businesses will continue to be swept
away by new technologies. Increasingly, legal and regulatory
distinctions between "cable" and "telephone,"
"long distance" and
"local exchange" companies will be recognized as unnecessary
barriers
to market forces. Competition in all phases of the telecommunications
industry will mean more innovation and more new services.

The sweeping legislation will, for the first time in 60 years, open
the nation's telecommunications markets to competition enabling you
to do one-stop shopping for your local and long-distance phone
service, cable service and Internet access service. Or you may select
services from many providers. Either way, we believe competition
authorized by this legislation will create hundreds of thousands of
new jobs and lower the prices you pay for telecommunications services.

At Bell Atlantic, we will continue to find ways to meet the needs of
customers who tell us they want not just "plain old telephone
service," but information at their fingertips, video on demand and
an
on-line connection to their bank, their youngster's school, their
doctor and their office.

The key advantage is Bell Atlantic's superlative communications
infrastructure: miles of fiber-optic cable, digital switching,
software-driven "intelligent" network features and high-speed
data
transport capabilities.

And advanced services. A good example is Bell Atlantic's ISDN
(Integrated Services Digital Network) service, made available to
consumers late last year. With ISDN, consumers can dial into the
Internet or on-line services from their homes instantaneously. Files
and graphics can be transmitted or downloaded quickly and reliably.
And people who work at home can tap into databases or work
face-to-face with colleagues at the office -- right from their
personal home computers. Making this service available to all
Pennsylvanians is an important part of our commitment to making
technology available to our customers in urban, suburban and rural
parts of the state.

While we concentrate on the new, some things will not change, such as
our pledge to be there when you need us, through winter storms and
summer heat, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

So get ready as we define the communications business and the way you
and I live. It just might be the year your youngster asks for his own
home page on the World Wide Web; and the year you print your e-mail
address on your business card.

In short, in 1996 get ready to move ever closer to the wondrous
promise of the information age in Pennsylvania. And look to Bell
Atlantic to take you there.

Bell Atlantic Corporation (NYSE: BEL) is at the forefront of the new
communications, entertainment and information industry. In the
mid-Atlantic region, the company is the premier provider of local
telecommunications and advanced services. Globally, it is one of the
largest investors in the high-growth wireless communication
marketplace. Bell Atlantic also owns a substantial interest in
Telecom Corporation of New Zealand and is actively developing
high-growth national and international business opportunities in all
phases of the industry.

####

for more information, contact:

Shirley Risoldi, 412-633-5574
shirley.a.risoldi@bell-atl.com