Bell Atlantic Mobile To Sponsor YWCA

Bell Atlantic Mobile To Sponsor YWCA "Week Without Violence" Leadership Awards

Company to Donate HopeLine Service and Wireless Phones in
Conjunction With Domestic Violence Awareness Month

October 16, 1998

WILMINGTON, Del. - - Bell Atlantic Mobile, sponsor of the
YWCA "Week Without Violence" Leadership Awards, announced today
that it is donating wireless products and services to help domestic violence
victims in Delaware stay safe. The announcement was made at a press
conference held at the Latin American Community Center in Wilmington.
The donation of high-tech "safety tools," which coincides with Domestic
Violence Awareness Month, is part of Bell Atlantic Mobile's community
service program "Wireless at Work."

The donation includes: 15 wireless phones pre-programmed to dial
9-1-1 to the YWCA's Helping Hearts Program, 10 voice mail boxes under
the company's HopeLine program to the Home Life Management
Program, and seven phones to be used by the YWCA staff.

"We're deeply appreciative of Bell Atlantic Mobile's contribution
of wireless services to enhance our staff's ability to respond quickly to
people's needs," said Ruth Sokolowski, executive director of YWCA of
New Castle County. "The wireless phones and voice mail service are
invaluable tools for domestic violence victims who feel trapped. These
services enable a woman to take control without exposing herself to
possible repercussions from an abuser."

"We're proud to sponsor the Week Without Violence Awards
Ceremony and hope that our wireless donation to domestic violence
victims will help these individuals break the cycle of domestic violence and
rebuild their lives," said Bell Atlantic Mobile's Regional President John
Stratton.

In the greater Philadelphia area, Bell Atlantic Mobile is also
working with other organizations to include:

Philadelphia
On October 8 in Philadelphia, Bell Atlantic Mobile participated in a
press conference with District Attorney Lynne Abraham to make a
donation of 35 wireless phones with 500 minutes of MobileMinutes pre-
paid airtime to the Philadelphia Police department's Domestic Violence
Unit. The phones will allow the officers to be easily accessible to domestic
violence victims at all times. In addition, Women Against Abuse,
Philadelphia's largest domestic violence shelter, will receive a donation of
25 voice mail boxes under the company's HopeLine program.

New Jersey
Through a government/private sector partnership, Bell Atlantic
Mobile is joining forces with the New Jersey State Police and the New
Jersey law enforcement community by assisting victims of domestic
violence and crime through its HopeLine and Wireless at Work programs.
Bell Atlantic Mobile is donating 25 9-1-1 only wireless phones to the State
Police for use in its new victim/witness rooms at police barracks. Bell
Atlantic Mobile will also make voice mail boxes available to the New
Jersey Coalition of Battered women, a state-wide non-profit organization
that assists domestic violence victims.

These donations are part of Bell Atlantic Mobile's corporate-wide
"Wireless at Work" community service program. Since 1995, this program
has focused on assisting victims of domestic violence by utilizing the
company's resources and technology in a variety of ways. These include
the HopeLine program, which provides free voice mail boxes to victims
residing in shelters, and donations of pre-programmed wireless 9-1-1
phones to police departments and district attorneys' offices for women at
risk. This year the company earmarked $100,000 to help victims by
providing wireless technology solutions.

On a national level, Bell Atlantic Mobile became the first wireless
carrier to introduce a toll and airtime-free link to the National Domestic
Violence Hotline, allowing users to simply dial *HOPE from their wireless
phones to reach the hotline. This feature ensures fast and easy access for
Bell Atlantic Mobile customers in abusive situations to obtain advice at
anytime when calling from anywhere in the company's Maine to Georgia
footprint.

As part of its ongoing relationship with the Family Violence
Prevention Fund, Bell Atlantic Mobile will also provide customers at its
200 Communications Stores, as well as its 7,000 employees, awareness
cards featuring tips on how women can protect themselves from an abuser.