Bell Atlantic Deploys Fiber Optics, Bringing Additional New Technology, Services to South Philadelphia

Bell Atlantic Deploys Fiber Optics,
Bringing Additional New Technology, Services
to South Philadelphia

Company Invests 260,000 to Expand, Upgrade
Local Telephone Network

June 15, 1999

PHILADELPHIA -- Bell Atlantic has installed additional fiber-optic
cable in south Philadelphia as part of a $260,000 project to upgrade the
local telephone network and provide advanced telecommunications
services to its customers.

The new cable containing 216 fibers extends from the company's Market
telephone office located at Ninth and Race Streets in center city to the
Dewey telephone office located at Broad Street and Passyunk Avenue in
south Philadelphia, providing broadband access to several public schools.

This new technology will allow Bell Atlantic to expand its ability to offer
advanced high-speed data services and provides additional reliability and
survivability in the Bell Atlantic network. Fiber-optic systems use hair-
thin glass fibers and digital technology to deliver high quality telephone
service along with high-capacity/high-speed voice and data transmission
services.

"This project is the latest evidence that Bell Atlantic is meeting our
commitment to deliver a state-of-the-art telecommunications network
throughout Pennsylvania," said Daniel J. Whelan, president of Bell
Atlantic - Pennsylvania. "We are accelerating our construction
schedules to provide rural and urban customers with high-speed access to
the Internet, work-at-home capabilities, as well as a host of other
innovative advanced services."

Whelan said Bell Atlantic has made major strides in deploying advanced
technology in its network:

• Annual spending on the Pennsylvania network nearly doubled
  from $539 million in 1995 to more than $961 million in 1998.

• Miles of fiber-optic cable in the commonwealth increased by 66
  percent from 474,450 in 1995 to 786,106 at the end of 1998.

• Percentage of digital call-routing switches has grown from 90.3
  percent in 1995 to 96 percent at the end of 1998.

• Bell Atlantic Infospeedsm DSL was launched in Pennsylvania last
  fall. Infospeed DSL is a secure, high-speed, always-on Internet
  access services that enables consumers to connect to cyberspace at
  speeds up to 100 times faster than today's fastest analog modems.

"Bell Atlantic is keeping its promises to Pennsylvania,"
Whelan said. "We are building and enhancing a public
telecommunications network in Pennsylvania that is the finest in the world
and is a vital part of the commonwealth's economic infrastructure."

In addition to deploying the latest technology, Bell Atlantic has spent tens
of millions of dollars to open Pennsylvania's local telephone market to
competition.

"We have irreversibly opened our markets to competition,"
Whelan said. "We can't force the long distance giants or anyone else
to compete here, but anyone who genuinely wants to enter our markets can
do so."

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.