Bell Atlantic and Rutgers Move Forward on Deployment of Advanced Communications Infrastructure

Bell Atlantic and Rutgers Move Forward on Deployment of
Advanced Communications Infrastructure

April 9, 1999

NEW BRUNSWICK/PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Plans for an advanced communications
infrastructure at Rutgers will move from the drawing board to the
implementation phase today when Dr. Francis L. Lawrence, president of
the university, signs an authorization to begin installing cabling and
electronics in six of the 44 campus buildings involved in the first phase of
the project. These buildings include two of the major research libraries at
the university and four large residence halls.

The signing will occur at a meeting of the university's Board of Governors
today in the Cook Campus Center at Rutgers' Cook College. Dr.
Lawrence will present the authorization to Jim Cullen, president and chief
operating officer of Bell Atlantic.

Bell Atlantic's Data Solutions Group is the principal vendor for the
project, known as RUNet 2000, which will link Rutgers' academic and
residential buildings through an integrated data, video and voice network.
RUNet 2000, believed to be the largest project of its kind at an American
university, will meet the communications needs of the university well into
the next century and will support Rutgers' role as a leading institution in
the Internet2 project.

"RUNet 2000 is critical to our future as New Jersey's only comprehensive
public research university, one with important missions to fulfill in
teaching and learning, the discovery and application of new knowledge, and
public and community service and engagement," Dr. Lawrence said. "Bell
Atlantic's Data Solutions Group is working with the university to build
the highest quality information infrastructure, which is vital to achieving
our goal of excellence in the coming century."

RUNet 2000 will allow Rutgers' students and faculty faster and easier
access to the Internet, will provide university-wide cable television
services in residence halls, libraries and classrooms, and will enable the
use of advanced voice capabilities. It will enhance the university's
teaching and research capabilities and provide New Jersey residents,
businesses, schools and colleges improved access to Rutgers resources.

"Bell Atlantic is delighted to be working with Rutgers to create one of the
world's most technologically advanced educational and research facilities,"
said Joe Farina, president and chief executive officer of Bell Atlantic's
Data Solutions Group. "We are committed to building a premier data
network that will greatly enhance the educational experience for students
and faculty as well as for businesses and residents throughout the state."

Since approval of the project by Rutgers' governing board last July, the
university has identified 260 buildings for internal wiring. . A team of
engineers from Rutgers and Bell Atlantic's Data Solutions Group has
started visits to the 44 buildings where project activities will begin in
1999.

To create the external network infrastructure, extensive surveys were
conducted to determine the most appropriate placement of
telecommunications closets and equipment rooms in over 500 residential,
academic and administrative buildings. Facility locations, which house
network electronics, were strategically chosen to best satisfy engineering
and departmental concerns. In addition, external network infrastructure
design is underway for all Rutgers' campuses. Bell Atlantic will play a
key role in installation of this infrastructure.

With 48,000 students, a renowned professoriate, an annual budget in
excess of $1.1 billion, and 29 degree-granting units on three campuses
spanning 90 miles in the heart of the corridor between Washington, D.C.,
and Boston, Rutgers was chartered in 1766 and is among the oldest,
largest, most diverse and highly visible of the nation's state universities.

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's Data Solutions Group (www.ba-dsg.com) is dedicated to
providing globally integrated network solutions that seamlessly connect
businesses with their customers, partners and employees. The Data
Solutions Group provides all aspects of data networking from the
management and operation of customer networks and network integration,
to network transport and advanced IP services such as intranets and
extranets, virtual private networks, web hosting and multimedia services.

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INTERNET USERS: Additional information is available at the RUNet
2000 Web site at
(http://www.runet2000.rutgers.edu)