Digital Service, Network Expansion Benefit Bell Atlantic Mobile Metro Area Customers in 1997

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Digital Service, Network Expansion Benefit Bell Atlantic Mobile Metro Area Customers in 1997

Expanded Digital Product Line, New Wireless Data Applications
on Tap for 1998

January 22, 1998

Media contacts:

Robin B. Nicol
908-789-4719

Howard Waterman
914-365-7212

ORANGEBURG, NY -- As the New York m
etro area became a virtual greenhouse for growing competition in the
wireless communications industry
last year, Bell Atlantic Mobile moved aggressively to expand its digital
service and improve network quality and coverage while introducing
innovative products like pre-paid wireless service and flat-rate
unlimited wireless Internet access. The following are highlights of the
company's accomplishments in 1997:

  • The company invested $700 million in network improvements nationwide
    to bring customers the superior sound and enhanced features of
    DigitalChoiceSM service using CDMA technology, and to improve network
    coverage throughout its territory. In New York, exclusive wireless
    service was introduced in the Brooklyn Battery and Queens Midtown
    Tunnels.

  • DigitalChoice service was enhanced to include text messaging and a
    direct link to the Internet. These new features made Bell Atlantic
    Mobile dual-mode digital wireless phones -- which work on both digital
    and analog networks -- even more versatile.

  • To make wireless service available to a broader spectrum of
    customers, especially first-time wireless users, Bell Atlantic Mobile
    launched MobileMinutesSM, a pre-paid wireless calling card service
    with no contract to sign, no monthly access fees and no bills.

  • Seven new Communications Stores opened in Nanuet, White Plains,
    Smith Haven Mall, Livingston Mall, and in Manhattan on Wall Street,
    the Upper East Side and the Upper West Side. With more than 160
    stores and kiosks throughout the country and 40 in New York and New
    Jersey, Bell Atlantic Mobile operates the largest wireless retail
    chain in the region.

  • Wireless data technology continued to offer innovative solutions for
    businesses and public safety officials. New flat monthly rates for
    Bell Atlantic Mobile CellscapeSM service provides business customers
    with unlimited wireless access to the Internet, their company's
    intranet and e-mail, and more than 15 police departments have signed
    on for the company's AirBridge[PHL1]® Cellular Digital Packet Data
    (CDPD) service, which provides officers with wireless access to
    criminal and motor vehicle databases, enabling them to pull a record
    number of illegal drivers off area roadways.

  • More than 400 wireless phones were donated to public safety groups,
    school crossing guards and victims of domestic violence in New York
    and New Jersey through the company's "Wireless at Work" community
    program. Plans call for another 400 phone donations this year.

  • The company hired 400 new employees in 1997, mainly in customer
    service, retail sales and network engineering.

What's the outlook for 1998? According to Julie Dobson, president of
Bell Atlantic Mobile's New York/New Jersey metro region, the company
will compete vigorously in 1998 by making it easier and more
convenient for customers to do business with us, simplifying
processes, expanding digital offerings and providing new wireless data
solutions. An additional $100 million will be invested in the
company's wireless network here in the New York/New Jersey metro area
this year.

"We bring two unique resources to customers: the most advanced
wireless network that keeps people connected wherever they are, and an
understanding of what wireless customers want which comes from more
than 13 years of serving their needs," Dobson said. "These industry
advantages will continue to set us apart in the market and form the
core of our competitive strategy."

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