Bell Atlantic Enhances Its Managed Data Network Services

Bell Atlantic Enhances Its Managed Data Network Services

New Service Frees Business Customers from Owning and
Trouble-Shooting WAN Access Equipment

October 12, 1999

NEW YORK -- Bell Atlantic is rolling out an innovative offer -- Managed
Frame Access Service -- to provide an extra measure of management and
care for customers' data networks.

The new service is the latest addition to Bell Atlantic's family of Managed
Data Network Services (MDNS). MDNS gives customers a single point
of contact at Bell Atlantic for the purchase, design, implementation,
maintenance and ongoing management of their frame relay wide area
networks (WANs).

Bell Atlantic's new Managed Frame Access Service goes the extra step to
deliver frame relay services with advanced routing from Cisco Systems at the
customer's premise. In addition, Bell Atlantic will now own and manage
the customer's router.

"Managing and trouble-shooting today's complex data networks is a full-
time job that requires information technology skills many businesses don't
have in-house," said Ed McGuinness, vice president of Marketing for Bell
Atlantic's Enterprise Business Group. "We've designed our MDNS
packages to deliver a comprehensive solution so businesses can focus less
on network management and more on how the network can help improve
their bottom line."

Bell Atlantic's Managed Frame Access Service provides total care for the
customer's WAN network and access equipment, extending Bell Atlantic's
responsibility along the entire circuit to the router at the customer's
premises.

"MDNS marries Bell Atlantic's expertise as a leading network services
provider and network integrator to provide a seamless, reliable, simple
package of services that enhance the performance of a customer's data
network," said Joe Farina, president of Bell Atlantic's Data Solutions
Group. The Data Solutions Group is the Bell Atlantic unit that installs,
manages and maintains access equipment at a customer's location.

Managed Frame Access Service gives businesses access to easy-to-
understand, round-the-clock reports on the performance of Bell Atlantic's
frame relay network and their own access equipment.

The reports, available via the World Wide Web, pinpoint bottlenecks that
could occur due to software applications, user traffic or bandwidth
limitations. Customers can use this valuable information to fine-tune
their networks for better performance.

Bell Atlantic also provides proactive, round-the-clock monitoring and
management of customers' frame relay network and access equipment via
its Network Operations Centers.

Bell Atlantic uses Visual Networks' Visual UpTime System to monitor
and manage a customer's network and generate network performance
reports.

"Put simply, the buck stops with Bell Atlantic for customers with
Managed Frame Access Service," said McGuinness. "This new offering
enables customers to focus on running their applications while leaving the
rest of the network management responsibilities to us."

Bell Atlantic's Managed Frame Access Service is available throughout the
company's mid-Atlantic and Northeast service area at a fixed monthly rate.

About Bell Atlantic
Bell Atlantic is at the forefront of the new communications and
information industry. With more than 43 million telephone access lines
and nearly 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.

About Bell Atlantic Data Solutions Group
Bell Atlantic Data Solutions Group (DSG) www.ba-dsg.com is dedicated
to providing globally integrated network solutions that seamlessly connect
businesses with their customers, partners and employees. DSG provides
all aspects of data networking from the management and operation of
customer networks and network integration, to network transport and
advanced IP services such as intranets and extranets, virtual private
networks, web hosting and multimedia services.