Bell Atlantic Asks Regulators to Help AT&T See Light

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 15, 1996

BELL ATLANTIC TO BEGIN FULL SERVICE NETWORK DEPLOYMENT
IN SOUTHEASTERN PENNSYLVANIA IN '96

PHILADELPHIA, PA. -- Southeastern Pennsylvanians will
be the first
Bell Atlantic residential customers to benefit from the latest
technology as the company begins building its Full Service Network
[FSN] later this year. Bell Atlantic today
announced that it has
selected Lucent Technologies as a supplier of key network components
for the initial deployment of its FSN.

This "fiber-to-the-curb," switched broadband network -- which
consists
of fiber optics and new electronic technology -- initially will
provide customers with more reliable and higher-quality telephone
service. The network also will support future services, such as very
high-speed home access to the Internet and computer networks, digital
broadcast and interactive TV, video-on-demand, medical imaging and
distance learning.

"In today's competitive marketplace, customers want the convenience
of
having one company provide all their telecommunications and
entertainment needs," said William Harral, president and
CEO, Bell
Atlantic-Pennsylvania. "This network will allow Bell Atlantic to
meet
those needs exceptionally well."

Bell Atlantic-Pennsylvania's evolution toward a Full Service Network
began with the deployment of intelligent signaling, which the company
completed in 1994. This signaling gives Bell Atlantic customers access
to advanced calling functions and lays the foundation for additional
intelligent network services.

The second phase in the network modernization will provide digital
switching capability, which Bell Atlantic continues to deploy in the
state. To date, approximately 75 percent of Bell
Atlantic-Pennsylvania's telephone lines have digital switching
capability. The remaining analog switches are located primarily in
urban areas and will be replaced with digital switches by the year
2000.

Five years ahead of its commitment, Bell Atlantic-Pennsylvania
provided all customers with access to Integrated Services Digital
Network (ISDN) in 1995. ISDN allows a customer to make a phone call
and simultaneously access computer data at speeds much faster than an
average modem over the same phone line. ISDN also can be used for
cost-efficient, desk-top video conferencing.

The third phase of Bell Atlantic-Pennsylvania's network modernization
will include further deployment of fiber-optics to fulfill the
company's commitment to convert 20 percent of its urban, suburban and
rural lines to broadband capability by 1998. Bell Atlantic already
has deployed more than 500,000 fiber miles to date in the
Commonwealth. In fact, today many Bell Atlantic business customers
are either served by or within reach of broadband capability.

"By selecting southeastern Pennsylvania as the initial site for this
state-of-the-art, interactive broadband network, we will achieve a
balanced deployment to consumers in urban, suburban and rural areas.
This is another step toward our goal to make Full Service Network
capabilities available to every consumer in our Pennsylvania service
area," said Harral.

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Media contacts:

Sharon Shaffer, 215-963-6200
sharon.b.shaffer@bell-atl.com

Shirley Risoldi, 412-633-5574
shirley.a.risoldi@bell-atl.com