Bell Atlantic Steps Up Focus on Wholesale Customers

Bell Atlantic Steps Up Focus on Wholesale Customers

'Carrier's Carrier' Tailors Services to Meet Individual Needs

March 31, 1998

NEW YORK -- At Bell Atlantic, you can get it wholesale. And when
you do, you will get the highest quality of service.

The message Peg Ricca is sending to the hundreds of long distance
carriers is that Bell Atlantic serves. Ricca is vice president for
sales in Bell Atlantic's Carrier Services organization. The Bell
Atlantic Carrier Services line of business provides switched, and
special access to Bell Atlantic's telecommunications network.

"As the carrier's carrier, we're determined to be the most
customer-focused company in our industry," Ricca said. "We want to
understand the business of each of our customers, so we can recommend
customized solutions to meet their needs and help them grow."

Among other things, Carrier Services plans to implement process
improvement teams with all of its major carriers. In addition, the
organization will assign managers to study and improve Bell Atlantic's
various service processes for carriers.

Carrier Services has already increased its customer satisfaction
rating by 15 percent and its account management rating by 12 percent.
"But we've only just begun," Ricca said.

She plans to go to great lengths to tailor every telecommunications
offer to customers. "We will find the right products and systems to
meet every customer's needs," she said.

Bell Atlantic Carrier Services also will survey carriers on a regular
basis to determine if their needs are being met and service quality
remains high. A detailed service plan will be developed for each
account, she said.

The customer care initiative will be rolled out in Bell Atlantic
Carrier Services throughout 1998. "We will focus all of our energies
on strengthening our relationships with current customers and winning
back those who have left us," she said.

Bell Atlantic - formed through the merger of Bell Atlantic and NYNEX -
is at the forefront of the new communications and information
industry. With 40.5 million telephone access lines and six 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 21 countries.