ERIC RABE APPOINTED BELL ATLANTIC ASSISTANT VICE PRESIDENT -- LEADS NEWS MEDIA RELATIONS TEAM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 27, 1996

ERIC RABE APPOINTED BELL
ATLANTIC
ASSISTANT VICE PRESIDENT --
LEADS NEWS MEDIA RELATIONS TEAM

Philadelphia, PA -- In a move to more clearly define leadership
of
the critical news media relations department,
Eric Rabe has been
appointed assistant vice president, corporate communications, with
responsibility for all Bell Atlantic interaction with the news media.

Rabe was promoted from the position of executive director, public
relations operations. In his new role, Rabe will lead Bell Atlantic's
team of public relations professionals whose job it is to explain
company actions and policies to the press in the fast-changing
telecommunications environment.

"Eric's impeccable credibility with the news media reflects the
importance we at Bell Atlantic place on dealing with the press fairly
and with complete integrity," said Patrick
C.G. Coulter, vice president, corporate communications.

"Eric has demonstrated his ability to engage the news media in fair
and comprehensive dialogue on all issues involving Bell Atlantic,"
Coulter added. "Furthermore, he has built a superb public relations
team which is ready to take on the issues in the new competitive
environment Bell Atlantic and our entire industry face today."

Newly enacted telecommunications legislation ensures that Bell
Atlantic will be fully competitive rather than remain the highly
regulated utility it has been in the past. Bell Atlantic will also be
permitted to enter new businesses, like long-distance service, from
which it has been banned. The company also has plans to deliver video
programming to its customers, giving them for the first time a choice
other than their local cable TV company.

"As competition becomes more and more intense, as we enter new
fields
like video and long distance, it is a particularly exciting time to be
a part of Bell Atlantic," Rabe said. "Better than any other
company I
know of, Bell Atlantic is ready for the challenges that lie ahead and,
as reporters who deal with us know, our media relations team is the
very best in the business."

Reporting to Rabe will be:

• Jay Grossman, executive director, corporate communications, who
  manages media relations for Bell Atlantic Chairman Ray Smith and
  takes on added duties interfacing with telecommunications industry
  analysts and the international media;

• Shannon Fioravanti, director, media relations, who is in charge of
  daily news media contacts and heads the public relations team
  supporting Bell Atlantic's telephone companies;

• Harry Mitchell, who is responsible for technology and broadband
  deployment public relations; and

• Joan Rasmussen, who handles issues involving competition as well
  as telephone services for homes and consumers.

Rabe joined Bell Atlantic in 1989 to lead the news media relations
department at Bell of Pennsylvania, now Bell Atlantic-Pennsylvania.
He has held several increasingly responsible and diverse public
relations positions with the company since then. Before joining Bell
Atlantic, Rabe spent nearly 15 years working as a reporter, anchor and
manager in television news rooms in Altoona, Pa., Philadelphia and
Washington, D.C. He is a native of Clearfield, Pa., and lives with
his three children in Wayne, a Philadelphia suburb.

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.

####

for more information, contact:

Shannon Fioravanti, 703-974-5455
shannon.l.fioravanti@bell-atl.com

Eric Rabe, 215-963-6531
eric.w.rabe@bell-atl.com