Bell Atlantic Launches 'National 411' Service in Vermont

Bell Atlantic Launches 'National 411' Service in Vermont

No-Nonsense Directory Assistance Service
Offers Separate Prices for Local and National Listings

March 22, 1999

SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. -- With one bold step, Bell Atlantic is
coming to the rescue of Vermont telephone customers who are confused
over where to call for accurate directory assistance information or
unwilling to pay inflated prices for local listings.

"We're declaring an end to the distressing customer concern over where to
get accurate listings for any phone number in the country at a fair price,"
said Kitty Linder, vice president of operator services for Bell Atlantic.
"Starting today, Vermonters can simply dial 4-1-1 for directory assistance
anywhere in the United States.

"Bell Atlantic's systems will automatically bill for listings within
Vermont at our regular low price of 64 cents, once a residential customer
has made three free local directory assistance calls in a month. All
requests for national listings will be billed at a competitive 95 cents,"
Linder said.

Competing directory assistance services charge up to $1.40 for all
lookups, local and national. "Consumers often don't know they are likely
to pay more than they have to when they ask for a local listing from these
services," she said.

A Bell Atlantic advertising campaign targeted to customers in Vermont
will promote the new National 411 Directory Assistance service. The
service is also being launched today in Maine and Rhode Island. New
York was the first state in the company's serving area to offer the new
service, with all 13 states and the District of Columbia due to activate the
service in coming months.

With National 411, customers simply dial the familiar "411" code for
directory assistance, say the city, state and name or business whose
number they want and the operator will provide it.

"Our mission is simple -- to give excellent service at fair prices and to
keep directory assistance as hassle-free as it has always been," Linder said.

Linder noted the new service makes life easier for callers as well.
"Customers no longer need to know the area code for the listing they want
- just the city and state. With the proliferation of new area codes, this will
make finding a number easier for our customers."

The simple 4-1-1 phone number also eliminates the need to remember a
long 10-10 dial-around number like the ones AT&T and MCI use for their
services.

Bell Atlantic's new ad campaign will feature radio spots that present
anecdotes about customers who need distant phone numbers. Bell
Atlantic spokesperson James Earl Jones appears, phantom-like, and
presents the solution: National 411 from Bell Atlantic.

Confusion over where to get quality listings at a fair price started when
long distance companies began to actively promote national directory
assistance services.

Long distance companies first provided phone listings by purchasing the
service from local telephone companies. In recent years, however, long
distance companies declared war with the local companies and began
developing their own services. Customers began to complain about
erroneous listings caused, in part, by the comparatively weak skills of
operators at centralized, far-away facilities.

"Now, Bell Atlantic operators who are trained experts in searching for and
delivering accurate listings will be able look up numbers nationwide for
our customers," Linder said.

Bell Atlantic is installing new software in the directory assistance systems
throughout its territory and training operators to process requests for
national numbers. National 411 service will become available across the
Bell Atlantic territory as systems and software are installed and operators
are trained.

Operators in states that already offer National 411 report that customer
reaction has been positive and enthusiastic.

Bell Atlantic is at the forefront of the new communications and
information industry. With more than 42 million telephone access lines
and 8.6 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.