Mexican Secretary of Communications Inaugurates New Grupo Iusacell Headquarters

Mexican Secretary of Communications Inaugurates New Grupo Iusacell Headquarters

Jan. 28, 1998

NEW YORK -- Mexican Secretary of Communications Carlos Ruiz
Sacristan, representing President Ernesto Zedillo, today inaugurated
Grupo Iusacell's new headquarters at a ground breaking ceremony in
Mexico City.

Iusacell is a wireless communications company in which Bell Atlantic
has a 42 per cent interest and management control of operations.

"Bell Atlantic is proud to have actively contributed to the tremendous
success story at Iusacell," said Tom Bartlett, president and chief
executive officer of Bell Atlantic International Wireless and CEO of
Grupo Iusacell.

"This new building, inaugurated by Mexico's highest telecommunications
official, is a symbol of Iusacell's emergence as the leading
telecommunications provider and our commitment to serving Mexico and
its people."

Carlos Peralta, president of Grupo Iusa and founder of Iusacell,
stated that the new technologies being implemented by Iusacell will
result in a more competitive business.

"The growth plans to be carried out this year and in coming years are
confirmation that the trust deposited in us has yielded abundant
fruit," he said.

Fulvio del Valle, president and director general of Iusacell, said
that Iusacell's focus on customer care has led to a significant
increase in market penetration and the introduction of new value-added
services.

Since Bell Atlantic assumed management control of Iusacell early last
year, the company's market value has increased from $820 million to
$2.3 billion.

Iusacell's network investment plans for 1998 total $200 million, eight
times the company's investment for 1996 and more than double last
year's expenditure.

The new $9 million headquarters complex is located in the Santa Fe
section of Mexico City, a fast-growing area that is also home to firms
such as Hewlett Packard, IBM, Chase and Televisa. It houses
Iusacell's new network operations center, a state-of-the-art facility
designed to maintain a "zero fault network" and support all of the
company's telecommunications services.

Grupo Iusacell is the leading independent telecommunications company
in Mexico. It is the wireless service provider in four of Mexico's
nine central regions covering a total of 66 million people,
representing 70 per cent of the country's total population.

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.