Bell Atlantic To Create 200 Jobs At New Regional Customer Service Center In Charleston

Bell Atlantic To Create 200 Jobs At New Regional Customer Service Center In Charleston

West Virginia Employees to Handle First Call from New Customers in
Mid-Atlantic Region

July 17, 1997

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Bell Atlantic will open a new customer service
facility in downtown Charleston this September, creating up to 200 new
jobs, the company announced at a news conference today.

Employees in the Bell Atlantic Welcome Center, which will be located
at 408 Broad St., will verify credit information and addresses of
customers within the mid-Atlantic region who are ordering home
telephone service from Bell Atlantic for the first time.

"It's appropriate that new customers' first contact with Bell Atlantic
will be with an employee in West Virginia," said Dennis Bone,
president and CEO of Bell Atlantic-West Virginia. "Our reputation for
providing excellent service to our customers was an important factor
in the decision to locate here."

Handling this work in a specialized center will make it easier for new
customers to sign up for Bell Atlantic services. Bell Atlantic
consultants in the company's residential sales and service centers
currently perform credit screening in addition to setting up a new
subscriber's phone service. Customer service consultants will now be
able to focus their time on helping new customers choose the
telecommunications services that best fit their lifestyles.

"Bell Atlantic is committed to providing the highest-quality customer
service," said Fred D'Alessio, president of consumer services for Bell
Atlantic, "and this center will help us serve our customers even
better."

The Welcome Center will use the latest technology and Bell Atlantic's
advanced West Virginia telecommunications infrastructure to handle an
estimated 1.1 million calls a year from new Bell Atlantic customers.
Bell Atlantic has extensively tested this process over the past year
with a small group of employees in Charleston.

"We're delighted that Bell Atlantic has reaffirmed its strong,
long-standing commitment to West Virginia," said Gov. Cecil H.
Underwood, who participated in today's event. "The use of new
technologies has tremendous potential for creating new jobs in West
Virginia, and this new office is turning that potential for job
creation into reality."

"Through our partnership with the State of West Virginia in the Office
of the Future project, Bell Atlantic has helped create more than
10,000 jobs in information-intensive industries in the state," said
Bone. "It's especially gratifying that we're adding to our team of
3,000 Bell Atlantic employees in West Virginia."

"Bell Atlantic has been a mainstay in Charleston for many years as an
employer and corporate citizen," said Charleston Mayor Kemp Melton.
"The Welcome Center will play a key role in the ongoing revitalization
of the East End."

The center jobs will predominantly be full-time positions, with pay
starting at $15,000 a year and increasing to $30,000 a year after
three years. The jobs also include an excellent benefits package,
with medical, dental, vision, 401[k] and pension plans.

Interested applicants can call Bell Atlantic's Jobline on 800-367-1389
and ask for extension PRE-YYPL.

Bell Atlantic Corp. (NYSE: BEL) is at the forefront of the new
communications, entertainment and information industry. In the
mid-Atlantic region, the company's telephone company subsidiaries are
the premier providers 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.