Wireless Phones An Important Safety Tool on Local Lakes

Wireless Phones An Important Safety Tool on Local Lakes

Bell Atlantic Mobile Provides Tips For Lake-Goers To Report Unsafe
Boating

June 25, 1999

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A wireless phone can be a lifesaver on the lake --
literally. This year as thousands of Carolina's wireless phone users take to
area lakes, Bell Atlantic Mobile's new safety awareness campaign,
"Water Safety With Wireless," will remind lake-goers that
wireless phones are just as important for lake safety as life preservers,
sunscreen and emergency flares.

The "Water Safety With Wireless" campaign encourages
boaters and others enjoying Carolina's lakes to use wireless phones to
increase safety for themselves and fellow lake-goers by reporting unsafe
boating and other lake emergencies to local law enforcement. Calls made
on wireless phones to 9-1-1 are free.

"Most wireless users know that they can call 9-1-1 to report unsafe
drivers or accidents on highways," said Jerry Fountain, vice
president of Bell Atlantic Mobile's Southeast region. "This
campaign emphasizes that wireless phones are also a tool to increase
safety on lakes."

The campaign features a boat windshield sticker (left) distributed to lake-
goers at boat inspections, entrances to parks and boat dealers with the help
of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police

Department; sheriffs departments in York, Catawba, Iredell and Lincoln
counties; Mecklenburg Park & Recreation Department; Lake Norman and
Lake Wylie Marine Commissions; Lake Norman Power Squadron; and the
Coast Guard Auxiliary.

"Sadly, each year on Carolina's lakes there are a number of boating
accidents and other life-threatening emergencies," said Fountain. In
1998, 59 people died in boating accidents in the Carolinas, according to
North Carolina and South Carolina state agencies.

Some tips from Bell Atlantic Mobile's "Water Safety With
Wireless" campaign:

• Always carry a wireless phone to report suspected drunken, speeding
  or erratic boaters on the lake, call for emergency medical attention, and
  summon help for mechanical problems.
• Check and charge your battery regularly. Remember that you can use
  your onboard cigarette lighter adapter to power your phone.
• When calling 9-1-1, be prepared to describe your location to the
  operator using buoy markers or other landmarks.
• Provide the 9-1-1 operator with your wireless phone number in case
  more information is needed.
• As with all calls, when dialing 9-1-1 remember to press the SEND
  button for the call to go through.

Bell Atlantic Mobile owns and operates the largest wireless network in the
East, covering 120,000 square miles, and the largest chain of retail outlets
devoted exclusively to wireless voice, data and paging. Based in
Bedminster, NJ, Bell Atlantic Mobile has 6.4 million customers and 8,000
employees from Maine to Georgia and, through a separate subsidiary, in
the Southwest. Through its "Wireless at Work..." community
service program, the company uses its technology to help individuals and
communities improve security and emergency communications. Bell
Atlantic Mobile's parent, Bell Atlantic Corporation (NYSE:BEL) is one
of the world's largest wireless communications companies, with domestic
operations in 25 states and international investments in Mexico, Europe
and the Pacific Rim. For more information on Bell Atlantic Mobile visit:
www.bam.com; on global operations visit:
www.bellatlantic.com/worldwide.