Bell Atlantic Restructures Business Units For Emerging New Communications Marketplace

Bell Atlantic Restructures Business Units
For Emerging New Communications Marketplace

Six Business Groups Increase Autonomy and Accountability;
Babbio, Cullen, Salerno Join Seidenberg
in Office of the Chairman

September 29, 1998

NEW YORK -- Bell Atlantic is restructuring its business units to
strengthen its position in key markets and enhance its ability to serve
customers quickly and innovatively as regulatory barriers are lowered and
a new communications marketplace emerges.

The restructuring announced today is accompanied by the formation of a
new Office of the Chairman.

"New opportunities and new customer requirements have to be met in new
ways," said Bell Atlantic Vice Chairman, President and CEO Ivan
Seidenberg. "With the advent of product bundling and Internet protocol-
based networks, we need to structure our business units to foster a more
entrepreneurial mindset and stimulate innovation so we can anticipate and
meet customer needs. In our new high-growth markets, responsiveness
will be the competitive difference."

Under the new structure, six business groups will directly control the
resources necessary to serve specific market segments. Group presidents
will have the latitude to seize opportunities and develop service offerings
that they believe best meet their customers' requirements. With their
greater ownership role comes full accountability for financial performance.

The six business units and their presidents are:

-- Enterprise Business Group - Bruce S. Gordon, currently
group president - Retail Services.

-- General Business Group - Regina H. Novotny, currently
vice president - Pennsylvania/Delaware Customer Services.

-- Consumer Group - Frederick D. D'Alessio, currently
president - Consumer Sales and Service.

-- Network Services Group - Paul A. Lacouture, currently
vice president - Network Planning and Engineering.

-- Directory Group - Matthew J. Stover, currently group
president - Information Services.

-- Wireless Group - Dennis F. Strigl, currently president and
CEO - Global Wireless.

The presidents will report to Lawrence T. Babbio, Jr., currently president
and CEO - Network and chairman - Global Wireless, and James G. Cullen,
currently president and CEO - Telecom. Babbio and Cullen will each
have the title of president and chief operating officer, reporting to
Seidenberg.

Babbio, Cullen and Frederic V. Salerno, senior executive vice president
and chief financial officer, will join Seidenberg in a new Office of the
Chairman. Salerno will also add oversight of Bell Atlantic's portfolio of
international wireline investments to his responsibilities.

The members of the Office of the Chairman will have oversight of total
business operations, the transition to the new business group structure and
the GTE merger process. They will also be responsible for identifying and
developing new growth opportunities, including additional merger and
acquisition activity.

The changes are expected to be completed by Dec. 1.

Bell Atlantic is at the forefront of the new communications and
information industry. With more than 41 million telephone access lines
and more than seven 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.