Bell Atlantic Earns High Marks for Service In Connecticut Scorecard

Bell Atlantic Earns High Marks for Service In Connecticut Scorecard

Bell Atlantic Improves Overall Score; Beats Three of Four Larger Companies in State

March 21, 2000

NEW YORK - Bell Atlantic ranked second out of eight telecommunications companies listed in the annual service satisfaction scorecard released by Connecticut regulators today.

The Connecticut Department of Public Utility Control (DPUC) issued its annual rankings of all utility companies regulated by the agency, based on the number of complaints it has received from customers served by each company.

In 1999, the department received only 30 customer complaints about Bell Atlantic, which provides service over 56,000 local telephone lines in Greenwich and Byram, an eight percent improvement over 1998. The DPUC calculates a score for each utility based on the number of customer complaints and the overall number of lines or customers served by the company.

Bell Atlantic placed second behind Sprint, beating the three other major telecommunications companies serving customers in Connecticut.

"We are delighted to receive this recognition from the state of Connecticut, particularly in light of the service commendations we received from New York regulators just last week," said Paul Crotty, Bell Atlantic's group president for New York and Connecticut.

Last week, the New York Public Service Commission gave Bell Atlantic commendations for the third year in a row for providing excellent service in Queens, midtown Manhattan and southern Manhattan.

"I'd like to thank the men and women of Bell Atlantic for making this happen," Crotty added. "Our goal is continual improvement and to be the number one provider, so we will not stop here - especially in light of this very competitive local marketplace. Our goal is to be number one."

Bell Atlantic is at the forefront of the new communications and information industry. With nearly 44 million telephone access lines and 12 million wireless customers worldwide, Bell Atlantic companies are premier providers of advanced wireline voice and data services, market leaders in wireless services and the world's largest publishers of directory information. Bell Atlantic companies are also among the world's largest investors in high-growth global communications markets, with operations and investments in 23 countries.