BELL ATLANTIC FUNDS NATIONAL ELEMENTARY EDUCATION MODEL

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 25, 1996

BELL ATLANTIC FUNDS NATIONAL ELEMENTARY
EDUCATION
MODEL

Telecommunications Company Leads Partnership Linking
Kids and Families
to On-Line
Learning

Dundalk, Md. -- Maryland's first home and school-based computer
learning initiative will receive more
than a $1 million commitment in
funds and services from Bell Atlantic, the company announced today.
The investment is the result of a request from Maryland officials who
challenged Bell Atlantic to help design a national educational model
similar to the company's successful project in Union City, New Jersey.

The telecommunications company's contribution represents the largest
portion of private sector funding for Logan Online, which will be
launched at Logan Elementary School in Dundalk this fall. Bell
Atlantic Internet Solutions and Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile also are
among the first corporate partners, along with Microsoft, Xerox,
Lucent Technologies and Baltimore Gas and Electric.

"Today we measure our success in the smiles of the kids here at
Logan
Elementary," said Dan Whelan,
president and CEO of Bell Atlantic -
Maryland. "But the potential for the future is limitless. These
children will learn in classrooms without walls, and, through a
home-school connection, parents, students and teachers will be brought
closer together."

During the three year project, Bell Atlantic and partners will provide
approximately 180 personal computers to the school's third, fourth and
fifth grade students, their teachers and selected administrators of
Logan Elementary. Bell Atlantic plans to connect these computers to a
Local Area Network (LAN) located at the school that will give users
access to the Internet, electronic mail, and other services.
Microsoft will make available its Windows®95 operating system,
Windows
NT(tm) Server and selected educational software.

In addition, approximately 100 computers will be placed in the homes
of Logan's 1996-1997 third grade class. These computers will be
linked to the school and to each other through Bell Atlantic's ISDN
(Integrated Services Digital Network) technology
and will have full access to the LAN and its capabilities. These
third graders will be tracked closely to assess the effectiveness of
the home-school computer connection on academic performance. The
students will not be charged for the PCs or the telecommunications
services provided by Bell Atlantic.

In many ways, Logan Online will resemble Bell Atlantic's New Jersey
partnership with Microsoft in the development of what has been termed
a Connected Learning Community, a concept whereby networking
connections provide for dynamic learning interaction in three ways --
within and between schools, between homes and schools, and between
schools and the larger community of learning via the Internet.

Internet connections will be provided by Bell Atlantic Internet
Solutions. Kids and their teachers will receive guidance on cruising
cyberspace, and the company also will help pupils unleash their
creative energies in the design and creation of a Logan Elementary
home page.

Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile will equip each classroom in the school
with a cellular phone and will offer complimentary airtime during
normal school hours to further facilitate parent-teacher
communication.

"Logan Online is a brilliant example of what can be achieved when
business and government work together," Whelan concluded.
"Our
experience in New Jersey has proven that telecommunications can have a
significant impact on educational performance. We're excited about
sharing that success and building a national model right here in
Maryland."

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