'10-10' Dialing Begins Wednesday

'10-10' Dialing Begins Wednesday

Callers Must Dial an Extra '10' to Reach Their Preferred Carriers

June 29, 1998

NEW YORK -- Beginning July 1, callers nationwide will need to dial an
extra"10" to reach their long distance company when calling from a phone
served by a different carrier.

The new format will require callers to dial"10-10-XXX" plus"1" plus the
area code and seven-digit phone number to place calls through their
preferred long distance carrier. Previously, callers have been dialing"10-
XXX" where"XXX" is the carrier's access code.

The new expanded code will be required to reach preferred carriers from
business or home phones, from cellular or pay phones, or when faxing or
dialing from a computer. Callers who forget the extra 10 will reach an
announcement reminding them that the dialing codes have changed and
asking them to redial using the"10-10-XXX" format.

"We hope that everyone who uses Bell Atlantic's network for these kinds
of calls remembers to use the new code and to reprogram equipment that
dials automatically so their calls go through on the first try," said Kitty
Linder, Bell Atlantic vice president-operator services. "We've notified
customers about this change, but we know that some will automatically dial
the old code out of habit."

The new dialing code will be required for customers of Bell Atlantic's
corridor services between Northern New Jersey and New York City, and
Southern New Jersey and the Philadelphia area. Starting Wednesday,
callers using these services must dial"10-10-NJB" to call New York or
Pennsylvania from New Jersey,"10-10-BPA" to call New Jersey from
Pennsylvania, and"10-10-NYT" to call New Jersey from New York. The
services offer 25 to 30 percent discounts off regular toll rates.

Access codes were created when competition was introduced in the long
distance business. By law, customers must have direct access to the carrier
of their choice whenever they dial a call. Customers select their primary
long distance company when they order phone service and no access code
is required when making a call from the same phone line. Customers may,
however, use a different carrier than the one assigned to that line by dialing
that carrier's access code.

Due to the proliferation of carriers as a result of intense competition, the
supply of three-digit access codes is about to run out. On Wednesday, the
access code itself becomes a four-digit code. However, switching
equipment requires the addition of an extra"1" to properly route calls
through the telephone network.

In the future, the second"10" will become"11,"" 12," "13," etc., as
additional codes are needed.

Starting Wednesday, Bell Atlantic customers who forget to dial the second
"10" will hear the following announcement:

"Your call cannot be completed as dialed. If you dialed a five-digit code, it
has changed. Please redial adding a one and a zero before the five-digit
code, or for assistance, contact the carrier you are trying to use."

Bell Atlantic operators cannot expedite calls that are incorrectly dialed.
Directory assistance operators will provide the phone numbers for carriers
who can then provide access codes, but directory assistance charges may
apply. Call completion operators cannot dial the calls or provide code
information, but they can forward calls to operators for other carriers who
provide operator services.

Bell Atlantic -- formed through the merger of Bell Atlantic and NYNEX --
is at the forefront of the new communications and information industry.
With more than 41 million telephone access lines and 6.7 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.