Mother's Day Busiest Sunday for Bell Atlantic Network

Mother's Day Busiest Sunday for
Bell Atlantic Network

Network, Operators Ready for Heavy Calling on Mother's
Day;
Nearly 500 Million Calls Expected

May 7, 1999

NEW YORK -- When it comes to reasons for making a Sunday
phone call, Mom is number one.

Bell Atlantic is expecting close to 500 million phone calls to be originated
on its network during Mother's Day. This is an increase of 15 percent, or
at least 70 million calls higher than an average Sunday -- making Mother's
Day the company's busiest Sunday of the year. Also, part of the expected
increase is due to many more customers using the local telephone network
to access internet providers.

"The volume of calls on our network usually slows down
considerably once the weekend begins and the number of business calls
decreases," said Edward Sproat, Bell Atlantic president and chief
operating officer-Network Services. " But when it comes to
Mother's Day, we have to be ready to handle almost as many calls as a
normal weekday.

"Our network of about 2,700 central office switches -- using some of
the most advanced technology available today -- and more than five
million miles of fiber-optic cable are ready to make sure these calls go
through."

In addition, extra operators will be working to assist callers who need help
placing a call or getting a telephone number. The company expects the
number of operator-assisted calls to increase by close to 30 percent by
mid-day Sunday. And based on past trends, most of those calls to mother
are expected to be made collect.

For the first time this Mother's Day, callers in most Bell Atlantic states can
obtain phone numbers for any location in the country by just dialing 4-1-1.
Bell Atlantic's new National 4-1-1 Service allows customers to obtain any
phone number in the United States without having to know the area code
for a distant city. Calls to Bell Atlantic Directory Assistance tend to
increase in the days leading up to Mother's Day as sons and daughters in
the region search for florists, gift shops and other retail outlets where they
can order gifts for mothers.

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