Bell Atlantic Supports Aids Ride

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 20, 1996

BELL ATLANTIC, EMPLOYEE BICYCLISTS, VOLUNTEERS SUPPORT
PHILADELPHIA-D.C. AIDS RIDE THIS WEEKEND

ARLINGTON, VA -- Thousands of bicyclists who commit
their energy and spirit to the 1996 Philadelphia to D.C. AIDS ride June
21-23 will tap into the support and caring of Bell Atlantic and its
employees.

Among the riders will be a team of about 20 Bell Atlantic employee
cyclists who will make the three-day, 250-mile ride to demonstrate
support of AIDS victims and loved ones and to raise funds for
AIDS-related agencies in the two cities.

Bell Atlantic, a gold sponsor of the event, is providing financial
support, in-kind services and a broad range of rider support activities,
including a dramatic reading at the finish line by corporate spokesperson
James Earl Jones intended to crystallize the emotion and spirit of the
ride.

"Because AIDS impacts all of us within the larger community, Bell
Atlantic is sponsoring riders, support teams, phone services and
activities at both ends of the ride," said Patrick C. G. Coulter, vice
president-corporate communications.

He noted that Bell Atlantic was recently named one of the top ten
socially responsible companies in the country by Business Ethics magazine.

Coulter and Eric Rabe,
assistant vice president-corporate communications, will be among the Bell
Atlantic riders who mount their bikes at 6:45 a.m. on June 21 at the
Philadelphia Civic Center, 34th and Civic Center Boulevard. The company
gave $10,000 to help Bell Atlantic riders meet their pledge commitments.

As an AIDS Ride sponsor, Bell Atlantic gave $15,000 to support the ride
and funded a safety video used to train riders in this and other AIDS
rides around the country.

Bell Atlantic-NYNEX Mobile, the company's cellular telecommunications
subsidiary, has donated cellular phones and air time for use by ride
coordinators.

The Bell Atlantic bike riders will be supported by a crew of 12 employee
volunteers, and 25 other employees will work with ride coordinators along
the route.

All Bell Atlantic employees in the Washington metropolitan area have been
invited to the finish line activities Sunday at 3 p.m. on the Washington
Mall where Jones will read a poem, "The Riderless Cycle," that
acknowledges AIDS victims and their loved ones.

Also within Bell Atlantic, employee resource groups have worked to
support the ride and riders. The Gay, Lesbian or Bisexual Employees
group (GLOBE), the Bell Atlantic Association of Telecommunications
Managers and Associates, Inc. (an African American professional group)
and the Association of Latino Bell Atlantic Employees (ALBA) worked to
help riders meet their pledge commitments.

Other Bell Atlantic AIDS-related activities include corporate and
volunteer support for the Food and Friends program in Washington;
participation in the Names Project and AIDS Memorial Quilt; donations
totaling $10,000 during the 1995 AIDS Walk; and Community Threads, a
Washington program that allows customers to contribute to the
Whitman-Walker Clinic in Washington through their phone bills.

The Philadelphia to D.C. AIDS ride is one of five American AIDS Rides
presented by Tanqueray. For information, contact Chris Robicahud or
Mindy Eras, 310-274-7800.

Bell Atlantic Corporation (NYSE: BEL) 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 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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Media contact:

Joan Rasmussen, 703-974-8815
joan.m.rasmussen@bell-atl.com