Bell Atlantic's New Managed Virtual Private Network Service Takes the Internet to New Heights

Bell Atlantic's New Managed Virtual Private
Network Service Takes the Internet to New
Heights

Businesses Achieve Nationwide Reach Over Fast, Secure and
Reliable Data Networks Managed by Bell Atlantic's Data Solutions
Group

June 16, 1999

NEW YORK -- Businesses can now extend their private data networks to
users from coast to coast with Bell Atlantic's Managed Virtual Private
Network (VPN) Service.

The service is being offered by Bell Atlantic Data Solutions Group, the
Bell Atlantic unit that specializes in meeting the data networking needs of
enterprise business customers.

With Managed VPN Service, businesses can create intranets and extranets,
enabling employees, customers, suppliers, and business partners to share
resources and communicate with each other. Customers can choose to
connect their Managed VPN via Bell Atlantic's private IP (Internet
Protocol) network or the Internet.

"Our Managed VPN Service helps customers harness the full
potential of Bell Atlantic's IP network and the Internet," said Joe
Farina, president and chief executive officer of Bell Atlantic's Data
Solutions Group. "With this service, customers have the power to
enhance employee productivity, improve collaboration with business
partners and create new business opportunities over a secure network fully
managed by our data experts."

In a separate announcement, Bell Atlantic today launched its high-
speed Internet access service for businesses in metropolitan New York
and eastern Massachusetts. By offering Managed VPN via its own
Internet connections, Bell Atlantic is able to deliver higher quality
service and ensure tighter management of the service level agreements
that customers require.

As part of its Managed VPN offering, the Data Solutions Group provides a
complete portfolio of management and monitoring tools to keep
information and transactions moving across a VPN quickly, reliably and
securely. The company also plans to offer guaranteed performance and
reliability levels.

In addition, to ensure a seamless, end-to-end managed solution, dial-up
remote users will have access to more than 750 points of presence in the
U.S. The dedicated network provides access from more than 350
locations throughout the country.

"Managed VPN is a critical component in our portfolio of network
solutions for business customers," said Farina. "The service
maximizes the performance of a customer's network and can serve as a
launch pad for the latest Internet tools such as secure Web hosting,
business application hosting and e-commerce."

Meeting the Demand for Remote Access

The demand by business customers to support remote users on their data
networks is growing over 50 percent per year. Managed VPN Service is a
further step in Bell Atlantic's data strategy to roll out services that meet the
needs of data-intensive customers such as the nation's largest financial
institutions.

With Bell Atlantic's VPN service, a global financial services company will
be able to provide a remote user with access to their corporate network via
any Internet access method of the individual's choice such as Digital
Subscriber Line or Integrated Services Digital Network. The traffic is
then aggregated on to one large pipe and authenticated on the customer's
network, providing the company with a cost effective, reliable and secure
remote access solution.

Top Performance Guaranteed

Bell Atlantic is committed to meeting or exceeding the industry's
performance standard for Managed VPN Service. The company is
deploying advanced technologies including VPN gateway devices
certified by the International Computer Security Association and industry-
leading remote access equipment to deliver superior service.

Later this summer the company will introduce rigorous performance
standards, or service level agreements (SLAs), for Managed VPN Service
that, if not met, will result in an automatic credit on a customer's next bill.

For dial-up access VPNs, SLAs will guarantee busy-free network
availability of 97 percent and initial modem connect speeds of 26.4 Kbps
99 percent of the time.

For dedicated access VPNs, the SLAs will cover VPN devices,
connectivity on the Bell Atlantic backbone network, local loop and
customer premise equipment. These agreements will guarantee 99.9
percent availability and round-trip latency that meets or exceeds industry
standards.

Comprehensive Management, Monitoring and Reporting

VPN connections are monitored for performance, reliability and security
24 hours a day, seven days a week. The Data Solutions Group can also
monitor connections from other Internet service providers for users who
are not on Bell Atlantic's network, such as a customer's business partner.

In addition, Managed VPN enables customers to access detailed
information about their VPN via a secured Web site to help manage and
control day-to-day activities including administration, generation of
performance reports and access to trouble tickets.

"Managing a VPN is a partnership," said Bill Jefferis, senior
product manager of VPN Services for the Data Solutions Group.
"We manage the network and give our customers the information
and control they need to run their business.

"The Data Solutions Group has also designed flexible systems that
can accommodate a customer's network as it changes and grows, and can
adapt to new technologies as they become available."

Setting the Standard for Security

Bell Atlantic's Managed VPN Service is based on the industry's latest
security standard, IPsec. Managed VPN delivers the most comprehensive
IPsec tools available including device and user authentication via X.509
digital certificates, triple DES (data encryption standard), data encryption
and the latest tunneling techniques. When combined, authentication,
encryption and tunneling provide the utmost end-to-end protection for data
traffic. Managed VPN is also compatible with leading firewall platforms,
including Checkpoint.

Pricing Information

Multiple pricing options are available for domestic locations. Prices are
based on the number of VPN gateways and end users.

About Bell Atlantic Data Solutions Group
Bell Atlantic Data Solutions Group (DSG) www.ba-dsg.com is dedicated
to providing globally integrated network solutions that seamlessly connect
businesses with their customers, partners and employees. DSG provides
all aspects of data networking from the management and operation of
customer networks and network integration, to network transport and
advanced IP services such as intranets and extranets, virtual private
networks, web hosting and multimedia services.

About Bell Atlantic
Bell Atlantic is at the forefront of the new communications and
information industry. With 43 million telephone access lines and nine
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.