Bell Atlantic's West Virginia Business Customers To See Rate Reductions Jan. 1

Bell Atlantic's West Virginia Business Customers
To See Rate Reductions Jan. 1

Savings Amount to $1.8 Million Annually

December 14 , 1999

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Many of Bell Atlantic's business customers in
West Virginia will celebrate the turn of the new century with lower rates.
The reduction amounts to statewide savings of approximately $1.8 million
a year.

"I'm delighted that we can once again give West Virginia's
businesses a break on the cost of their local phone service," said
Dennis Bone, president and CEO of Bell Atlantic - West Virginia.
"I've been saying for years that our state is a great place to do
business. This is just one more reason why."

Bell Atlantic's rates for Frequent Caller business service will be reduced,
effective Jan. 1, from $60 to $55. Businesses that already subscribe to this
unlimited local calling service need not contact the Bell Atlantic business
office. The change is automatic.

Businesses that currently subscribe to Bell Atlantic's Thrifty Caller service
at $24.50 a month can switch to the Frequent Caller service by calling Bell
Atlantic at 954-6202. There is no additional charge for the change.

This will mark the second year in a row that West Virginia's businesses
have enjoyed reductions in their Bell Atlantic rates. Last New Year's
Day, businesses with in-house switchboards (PBXs) were greeted with a
reduction of roughly 25 percent in the cost of trunk lines that connect with
the Bell Atlantic network. Also, businesses that subscribe to Community
Plus Caller Service saw the elimination of the per-minute charge that is
placed on calls to neighboring exchanges.

The latest reductions come in the wake of a three-year agreement between
Bell Atlantic, the state's Public Service Commission and its Consumer
Advocate Division.

Bell Atlantic began operating in West Virginia under incentive regulation
in 1988. Since that time, rates have been reduced on a broad range of
services with a savings to customers of more than $50 million a year.

Bell Atlantic is at the forefront of the new communications and
information industry. With more than 43 million telephone access lines
and more than 10 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.