Bell Atlantic, NYNEX Sponsor Internet Training For Presidents' Summit Volunteers, Delegates

April 28, 1997

CONTACT: Shannon Fioravanti of Bell Atlantic Media Relations, 703-974-5455,
or shannon.l.fioravanti@bell-atl.com; or Maureen Flanagan of NYNEX Media Relations,
212-395-0500, or maureen_flanagan@smtp.nynex.com; or David Goldsmith of HandsNet
Training Institute, 202-872-1111, or dgoldsmith@handsnet.org

Bell Atlantic, NYNEX Sponsor Internet Training For Presidents'
Summit Volunteers, Delegates

Companies, HandsNet(TM) to Show Participants How Web Bolsters
Good Works at Home

PHILADELPHIA and NEW YORK -- Volunteers and delegates at the Presidents' Summit
for America's Future will receive the tools and training that will enable them to
use the power of the Internet to increase their effectiveness, Bell Atlantic and
NYNEX announced today.

Bell Atlantic, NYNEX, and their wireless subsidiary Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile,
are the primary providers of all telecommunications services for the Presidents'
Summit. The companies are transforming the Pennsylvania Convention Center into a
telecommunications hub through a massive deployment of cable, high-speed data pipelines
and new networking capabilities.

The telecommunications firms will assist HandsNet(TM), a national non-profit
technology intermediary which helps non-profit organizations harness the Internet
to increase awareness, raise funds, attract volunteers and address community problems
and challenges.

"This technology will change the way we volunteer in America," said
Raymond W. Smith, Bell Atlantic chairman and CEO. "The Internet and our networks
will make our efforts to mobilize new volunteers and gather support faster and more
effective. All of us at Bell Atlantic commend the Presidents' leadership in recognizing
the potential good technology can do in our communities."

With a grant from Bell Atlantic and NYNEX, HandsNet will train approximately
200 people attending the Presidents' Summit, April 27-29 in Philadelphia. In breakout
sessions during the event, those trained volunteers will work with summit delegates
to draw up community action plans on 196 laptop computers, distributed by Bell Atlantic
and NYNEX. Of these, 40 are equipped with a wireless modem. Action plans will be
sent through modems through the summit web site at www.americaspromise.org. Delegates
and anyone with an Internet connection can review and comment on these plans, including
people monitoring the summit from back home.

"People viewing the summit website worldwide will provide instantaneous,
real-time feedback to the delegates. As a result, they'll have access to a world
of new resources to help address local issues and track new sources of support,"
said Sam Karp, executive officer of HandsNet. "With the help of Bell Atlantic
NYNEX Mobile's wireless technology, delegates from 170 communities nationwide will
find new helping hands in ways previously unimagined."

The Bell Atlantic/NYNEX grant also will enable HandsNet to establish an Internet
Resource Center in Room 202B of the Convention Center. Delegates will be able to
explore the summit's interactive website, and check out a list of bookmarks providing
easy access to nonprofit and human resource organizations.

HandsNet staff, aided by employees and volunteers from Bell Atlantic, NYNEX,
the Foundation Center, and Philadelphia-based LibertyNet, will conduct continuous
training sessions on the use of web browsers, Internet search engines, fundraising
tools available on the web and other useful applications.

"These technologies will assure the continuing success of this effort,
long after the summit is over," said Ivan Seidenberg, NYNEX chairman and CEO.
"When they see what the Internet can do for efforts at home, volunteers will
be inspired nationwide, and the Presidents' goal of protecting at-risk children will
be easier to achieve."

Sixteen non-profit organizations using innovative approaches to online mentoring,
learning, fundraising, and information sharing will be showcased in the bridge area
of the convention center.

For the past ten years, HandsNet has built and managed an on-line community,
now linking five thousand human service organizations throughout the United States.
Its members include many of the nation's premier policy and advocacy organizations,
trade and membership associations, foundations and local service providers.

Bell Atlantic Corp. (NYSE: BEL) is at the forefront of the new communications,
entertainment and information industry. In the mid-Atlantic region, the company is
the premier provider 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.

NYNEX (NYSE: NYN) is a global communications and media corporation that provides
a full range of services in the northeastern United States and high-growth markets
around the world, including the United Kingdom, Thailand, Gibraltar, Greece, Indonesia,
the Philippines, Poland, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic. The corporation is a leader
in telecommunications, wireless communications, directory publishing and video entertainment
and information services. NYNEX is also managing sponsor of FLAG -- Fiberoptic Link
Around the Globe -- the world's longest undersea fiber optic communications cable.

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