Bell Atlantic, MCI Link Frame Relay Services

Bell Atlantic, MCI Link Frame Relay Services

July 7, 1997

ARLINGTON, Va. -- Bell Atlantic has executed an agreement with MCI
Telecommunications that will enable businesses to interconnect the two
companies' frame relay networks to provide exchange access frame relay
service (XA-FRS), Bell Atlantic announced today. MCI is the largest
long distance carrier to date that Bell Atlantic has forged such an
agreement with.

The combination of Bell Atlantic's and MCI's frame relay networks will
let business and governmental customers link their local area networks
hundreds of miles apart across LATA (Local Access Transport Area) and
state boundaries through a customer-dedicated network-to-network
interface (NNI). Under the agreement, a Bell Atlantic customer can
arrange for dedicated frame relay service between any of the company's
19 LATAs.

"Our customers have wanted an arrangement like this for some time.
I'm delighted that Bell Atlantic and MCI can meet their needs," said
Evelyn Gaines, Bell Atlantic Carrier Services frame relay product
manager.

Exchange access frame relay service is a medium-speed,
connection-oriented, packet switch data service. It allows for the
exchange of variable length frames, or packets, of data. Frames are
relayed by virtual connections and travel a fixed path through the
network to each virtual connection.

The NNI specifies how an XA-FRS switch sends and receives data over an
interexchange carrier's frame relay network. The NNI is offered at
access speeds of 56 kilobits per second (Kbps) and 1.536 megabits per
second (Mbps).

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.