Bell Atlantic Carrier Services, Metrocall Test Low-Cost Paging

BELL ATLANTIC CARRIER SERVICES, METROCALL
TEST LOW-COST PAGING SERVICE

New Service Reverses the Charges

June 23, 1997

BALTIMORE / WASHINGTON, D.C. - Wouldn't it be great if someone else
paid for the cost of your paging service? If you live in the
Baltimore and Washington metropolitan areas, you can have that now as
an option from Metrocall.

Bell Atlantic's Carrier Services line of business and Metrocall
Paging are launching a four-month trial service, marketed under the
name "Free 2 Me Paging," that will give customers paging service for
the cost of a pager. The ongoing costs of the service will be borne
by those who call the pager. In a sense, the charges are reversed.

"With our new service, paging companies are able to offer their
service to their customers without imposing the usual monthly fee,"
said Pat Hanley, Bell Atlantic Carrier Services president. During the
trial, callers to Metrocall's "Free 2 Me Paging" users will pay 35
cents per call. The charge will appear on a separate page of their
Bell Atlantic phone bill.

Customers who call a user of Free 2 Me Paging will hear a recorded
announcement advising them that they will be charged for completing
the call. They will then be asked to press "1" to acknowledge that
they understand they will be billed for the call.

"Free 2 Me Paging satisfies the consumer demand to eliminate a monthly
bill, while guaranteeing reliable messaging services," said Metrocall
Senior Vice President Tom Matthews. "Free 2 Me Paging is particularly
well suited to those busy families who might need to use a pager only
occasionally or in an emergency."

Free 2 Me Paging uses the power of Bell Atlantic's Advanced
Intelligent Network (AIN) and Metrocall's highly segmented
distribution channels. Bell Atlantic's AIN will collect the
information necessary to bill for Free 2 Me Paging calls and route the
call to Metrocall for delivery to the pager owner.

Free 2 Me Paging can be purchased at any Metrocall retail outlet in
the Baltimore/Washington metropolitan area.

Upon completion of the Metrocall trial, Bell Atlantic expects to offer
the service, under its brand name of Paging Party Pays, to other
paging service providers in its mid-Atlantic service region.

Bell Atlantic Corp. (NYSE: BEL) is at the forefront of the new
communications, entertainment and information industry. In the
mid-Atlantic region, the company's telephone company subsidiaries are
the premier providers of local telecommunications and advanced
services. Globally, it is one of the largest investors in the
high-growth wireless 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.

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