Bell Atlantic Launches Continuity Planning Service to "Disaster-Proof" Large Business Communications

Bell Atlantic Launches Continuity Planning Service to "Disaster-Proof"
Large Business Communications

April 21, 1999

NEW YORK -- These days it's possible to keep your business afloat even
when your office is under water. Whether it's a flood, a fire or even a
man-made disaster, you can keep your doors open as long as you stay in
communication with your customers and suppliers.

Bell Atlantic has put together a "swat" team of sorts to provide
disaster-resistant communications for large businesses from Maine to
Virginia. The new continuity planning team, known as Bell Atlantic®
CommGuard®, will unite a group of select companies, led by Bell
Atlantic's Enterprise Business Services organization, to provide
comprehensive continuity planning services.

"Providing disaster recovery is no longer enough for a business
when disaster strikes," said Bruce Gordon, president of Bell Atlantic
Enterprise Business Services Group. "Today, every company needs
a plan for its communications that includes redundancy, survivability and
recovery."

"It's the new 'due diligence', " added Michael Braham, director
of Bell Atlantic CommGuard. "If you are using technology to do
business faster, cheaper, and smarter -- then you have to be prepared for
the possibility that it could all go away at any moment because of some
unforeseen emergency.

"If a company's doors are closed for just a few days, there is a 60
percent probability that it will be out of business within five years,"
Braham said. "Bell Atlantic's CommGuard planning will make sure
you can keep your doors open for business, no matter what."

The CommGuard team will join proven preparedness experts such as
Comdisco and Lucent Technologies with Bell Atlantic data, wireless and
network specialists. Bell Atlantic will act as the single point of contact for
customers, giving them streamlined access to the most robust continuity
planning available.

Bell Atlantic CommGuard solutions will include disaster recovery and
contingency planning exercises for mainframe and desktop computer
operations. Customers will get assistance in planning for personnel,
communication, emergency procedures and security that will be needed in
the event of a disaster.

The range of services provided by Bell Atlantic CommGuard will include:

• Network service
• Data protection
• Risk assessment
• Software planning tool
• Hot sites
• Messaging and alerting
• Wireless services
• Power supplies
• Managed security

Continuity planning is becoming increasingly important in today's
technologically advanced world. And with the Year 2000 (Y2K) rapidly
approaching, businesses are scrambling to ensure that they will be able to
stay open if critical systems fail.

"The CommGuard team is not designed to fix Y2K problems, but
we will be able to offer our customers a variety of solutions to protect
them in case some systems don't survive the date change," said
Braham. "Using the CommGuard approach is a prudent business
practice that reaches well beyond the turning of the next century."

To get companies started in the continuity planning process, Bell
Atlantic's CommGuard team will offer a menu-driven software process for
determining vulnerabilities and beginning a comprehensive plan. Once
Bell Atlantic's disaster specialists identify the areas to protect, the
CommGuard team will be able to provide a customized continuity
planning solution that incorporates products and services from Bell
Atlantic and any of its industry partners.

Bell Atlantic Enterprise Business Services offers an extensive suite of
communications solutions for large businesses. Whether for voice, data,
images or video, Bell Atlantic's wide range of solutions represents a
tailored approach for customers. To learn more about the communications
solutions available from Bell Atlantic, visit
www.bellatlantic.com/largebiz, or call 1-800-846-1200, ext. 1157.

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 companies are also among the world's largest
investors in high-growth global communications markets, with operations
and investments in 23 countries.