Bell Atlantic to Create 100 New Jobs in Charleston

Bell Atlantic to Create 100 New Jobs in
Charleston

Company Significantly Expands Business Sales Center

November 17, 1999

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Bell Atlantic is creating approximately 100
new jobs in the Kanawha Valley with the expansion of a center to serve
business customers in three mid-Atlantic states and Washington, D.C.
The announcement came today in a joint news conference with Gov. Cecil
H. Underwood.

"The 100 new jobs coming to the Kanawha Valley through this new
service center represent the latest example of Bell Atlantic's action-
oriented commitment to build a more diverse, technology-driven economy
in this region," said Underwood. "This new center will help
small businesses grow and use available technology more effectively, and
West Virginia workers will be on the front lines helping them do it.

"Our commitment to technology is making a difference in West
Virginia's economic progress, and today's announcement is part of a
growing trend toward the creation of good jobs in digitally driven
businesses," said Underwood.

"West Virginians are noted for their high work ethic," said
Dennis Bone, president and CEO of Bell Atlantic - West Virginia.
"There's no question our workers are bright, dependable and hard-
working, and the leadership at Bell Atlantic recognizes this. The decision
to expand this center in Charleston is another win for West
Virginia."

The expanded Business Sales Center, which will be located on the second
and fifth floors at Bell Atlantic's West Virginia headquarters on
MacCorkle Ave., actually opened Nov. 1. Employees at the center take
calls from small- and medium-size businesses located in Maryland,
Virginia, Washington and West Virginia. The expanded Charleston
facility joins two other Business Sales Centers serving Bell Atlantic's mid-
Atlantic business customers. The other centers are located in Baltimore,
Md., and Richmond, Va.

"Many of the consultants have been hired for the new center and are
undergoing up to 17 weeks of intense training," said Patt Goff,
director of Business Sales in West Virginia, Maryland, Virginia and
Washington. Bell Atlantic employees who have been promoted from
other company jobs will fill about half of those jobs, creating additional
employment opportunities in their former organizations.

This isn't the first time Bell Atlantic has opened a center in West Virginia
to handle calls from out-of-state customers. In 1997, the company
launched a Welcome Center in Charleston to serve new residential
customers in New Jersey. That center brought about 200 new jobs to
Charleston.

Bell Atlantic also operates a Service Solutions Center here, which takes
calls about such services as Home Voice Mail and Caller ID from
residential customers in six mid-Atlantic states and Washington. That
center employs another 150.

Bell Atlantic has hired more than 300 employees in West Virginia in the
past year, bringing the company's workforce in the state to more than
3,100. In addition to the centers listed above, the company has increased
operator forces in the state to handle its new National 411 service.
Furthermore, Bell Atlantic has added to its technician force in the state to
work in switching centers and on the outside network.

Bell Atlantic is at the forefront of the new communications and
information industry. With more than 43 million telephone access lines
and nearly 10 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.