BELL ATLANTIC ANNOUNCES SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM FOR DISTANCE LEARNING

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 19, 1996

BELL ATLANTIC ANNOUNCES SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM FOR DISTANCE
LEARNING

Initiative Will Train Educators About
Distance Learning Teaching Techniques

ARLINGTON, VA. - Teachers eager to incorporate distance learning
into
their everyday curricula and teaching styles will soon receive
training in the new technology through a scholarship program from Bell
Atlantic, the company announced at the International Distance Learning
Conference (IDLCON) today.

The Bell Atlantic Foundation will provide scholarships to 140 primary,
secondary, vocational and higher-education teachers in Bell Atlantic's
service area to attend a two-day distance learning training this
spring administered by the Teletraining Institute, the nation's
largest provider of training for distance educators.

Teachers will learn how to master the use of two-way, full-motion
video technology and to develop lesson plans for instruction involving
several distance learning sites.

Examples of Bell Atlantic's distance learning applications will be
demonstrated today through Thursday at IDLCON in Arlington, Va.

In addition, 28 teachers in the Bell Atlantic service territory will
be selected to participate in an intensive one-week Summer Academy.
Through this in-depth course, they will learn more about distance
learning and form a teacher-training instructor corps to share what
they learn with other teachers in their home states. Each
participating teacher will be certified to instruct 10 additional
teachers, enabling 280 more to be trained. This brings to 420 the
total number of teachers who will benefit from the Bell Atlantic
program.

"With telecommunications and computer technology, a new
anytime-anywhere world of information has become available to
everyone," said Frank Withrow, director of Learning Technology
Programs CCSSO. "A well-trained corps of teachers and educational
administrators is critical to the effective use of these technologies.
The Bell Atlantic Regional Teacher Training Initiative will help
create that corps of teachers capable of using technology to achieve
the highest academic standards."

Bell Atlantic will demonstrate the broadband distance learning
application via live connections to interactive video classrooms, in
an area separate from the exhibit floor at set times throughout the
three-day IDLCON conference. Live classroom sessions will provide
opportunities to experience the distance learning process, with
teachers and students participating at remote locations in Maryland,
Virginia and Delaware.

"We've established this scholarship program to help our customers
maximize their return on educational technology investments," said
Tony Murray, president of Bell Atlantic Large Business Services.
"We're proud to send teachers in our region through a program that
goes beyond hardware and software training, and which will truly
provide teachers with the skills to effectively use the broadband
technology. Through our comprehensive portfolio of products and
services, we can play an integral role in satisfying a wide variety of
educational needs, from individual self-directed learning to the
standard interactive video classroom environment."

Bell Atlantic provides complete solutions for distance learning,
offering both comprehensive technology and support services. Bell
Atlantic's distance learning applications will help enable schools of
all sizes to offer superior education through advanced and specialized
courses suited to students' needs.

More than 200 schools in the Bell Atlantic region are currently using
full-motion interactive video networks to share and extend their
teaching resources. In addition, Bell Atlantic provides many schools,
colleges, universities and medical institutions with other solutions,
such as desktop and dial-up video systems, to enhance the educational
experience of their students. The company offers a comprehensive
array of services and equipment to deliver distance learning
solutions, including:

• Desktop and room-based applications;
• Multi-point bridging;
• Self-directed learning systems; and
• Interactive broadband education.

Bell Atlantic Corporation is at the forefront of the new
communications, entertainment and information industry. In the
mid-Atlantic region, the company is the premier provider of local
telecommunications and advances services. Globally, it is one of the
largest investors in the high-growth communication marketplace. Bell
Atlantic also owns a substantial interest in Telecom Corporation of
New Zealand and is actively developing high-growth national and
international business opportunities in all phases of the industry.

The Teletraining Institute is the largest provider of training for
distance educators in the nation. The Institute was founded on the
premise that even the best technology will not allow educators to
achieve the full potential of distance education unless those
educators are appropriately trained to adapt their styles and
methodology to the medium.

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for more information, contact:

Bell Atlantic, Shannon Fioravanti
703-974-5455, shannon.l.fioravanti@bell-atl.com

Hill & Knowlton, Inc., Aaron Graham/Michele Melillo
212-885-0300, melillom@aol.com

To receive additional information via fax, dial Bell
Atlantic's
InfoQuick(sm) service at 800-697-9090.