General Counsel James R. Young To Leave Bell Atlantic Senior Regulatory VP Mark J. Mathis Named Acting General Counsel

General Counsel James R. Young To Leave Bell Atlantic
Senior Regulatory VP Mark J. Mathis Named Acting General Counsel

Dec. 13, 1999

NEW YORK -- Bell Atlantic announced today that Executive Vice
President and General Counsel James R. Young will leave the corporation
at the end of the year.

As general counsel, Young is responsible for all of the corporation's legal
matters, including governance, litigation, personnel, tax, international law
and regulatory matters.

Mark J. Mathis, Bell Atlantic senior vice president - Regulatory, will
fulfill those responsibilities as acting general counsel until the Bell
Atlantic-GTE merger is completed.

"Jim Young's grasp of law and regulation is matched only by his
strong business sense and his commitment to do the right thing,"
said Bell Atlantic Chairman and CEO Ivan Seidenberg. "He and his
team have delivered outstanding results on so many strategic projects --
our mergers with NYNEX and GTE, our New York long distance
application, and our wireless combination with Vodafone AirTouch, to
name just a few. He's been a good friend as well as a great colleague, and
I know he'll be a success wherever he goes."

Lawrence T. Babbio, Bell Atlantic president and COO, said, "Bell
Atlantic wouldn't be the business it is today without Jim, and it won't be
quite the same place without his keen judgment and his equally sharp
sense of humor. It's been a privilege to work with him."

President and COO James G. Cullen said, "Jim's leadership in all of
Bell Atlantic's major initiatives of the past seven years has been
extraordinary. We literally could not have done it without him, and we
will miss him very much."

"This is one of the toughest decisions I have ever made," said
Young. "I am proud of this company and proud of having had a role
in transforming the company from a regional carrier to a national power. I
am particularly proud of the lawyers here. I think we've accomplished a
great deal, and we've had fun doing it."

Young joined Bell Atlantic in 1983 as a regulatory attorney. He became
general counsel in December 1992, and was named executive vice
president and general counsel in August 1997 when the Bell Atlantic-
NYNEX merger closed.

Mathis joined the company in 1977 as a regulatory attorney and became
an officer of Bell Atlantic in 1984. He has a broad range of legal and
regulatory experience, including his leadership of the teams that are
developing Bell Atlantic's applications to the states for long distance entry
and securing state regulatory approvals for the Bell Atlantic-GTE merger.

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.