Bell Atlantic InfoTravel Celebrates First Year in DC

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 4, 1996

BELL ATLANTIC INFOTRAVEL CELEBRATES A SUCCESSFUL FIRST YEAR
IN WASHINGTON, D.C.

New Usage Figures Show One Million Mark Reached

WASHINGTON- Bell Atlantic today is celebrating a
successful first year
of InfoTravel(tm), the interactive TV-based travel
guide service now
available in 5,100 hotel rooms in Washington, D.C., with an additional
1,000 rooms coming online in July.

Robert A. Graham,
president of Bell Atlantic Directory Services, and
James Earl Jones, actor and Bell Atlantic spokesperson, will honor
InfoTravel advertisers and participating hotel representatives in a
reception this evening at The Library of Congress.

"The impressive usage statistics, the increased advertiser content
and
the addition of participating hotels in the last year are a strong
testimonial to the success of the service in Washington, D.C.," said
Graham. "Based on this success, Bell Atlantic will expand InfoTravel
to Chicago later this year."

Guests in the participating hotels used InfoTravel 112,801 times to
view 1,028,039 advertisements during the first 10 months of the
service. "Nightlife" and "Things to See and Do"
continue to be the
most popular categories with 29 percent and 27 percent of all
advertisements viewed, respectively. On April 21, 1996, InfoTravel
eclipsed the one million mark for total views. The usage figures were
compiled by MarketWyse, an independent market research firm located in
Cleveland, Ohio.

Since its Washington debut last June, InfoTravel has realized a 37
percent increase in advertisers and a 65 percent renewal rate from
existing advertisers. The number of participating hotels has grown
from seven to 13.

"The market has defined the product," said Brent Grimes,
marketmanager
for Bell Atlantic Electronic Publishing. "System enhancements, the
sign-up of national advertisers like Saks Fifth Avenue and Cartier, and
the expansion to Chicago has helped to develop InfoTravel into a
viable, commercial reality."

InfoTravel, which is advertiser supported and free to the user and the
hotel, is a multimedia guide for business and leisure travelers that
operates in conjunction with the On Command Video hotel-based TV
service. InfoTravel's directory menu includes Places To Eat, Things to
See and Do, Services & Getting Around, Nightlife and Shopping. Hotel
guests can use the service to call advertisers, print maps and
coupons, and obtain community and theater information through features
like the Sports and Entertainment Calendar of Events.

The expansion of InfoTravel to Chicago was announced at a news
conference on June 3. Nine Chicago-based hotels already have agreed to
carry InfoTravel beginning in late 1996.

InfoTravel is offered by Bell Atlantic Electronic Publishing Inc.,
part of the directory services group of the Bell Atlantic Corporation.
Bell Atlantic Electronic Publishing and Bell Atlantic Directory
Services are headquartered in Bethesda, Md.

Young & Associates, at 301-309-9404, can provide a complete
list of
InfoTravel hotels, advertisers and usage figures.

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.

####

Media contacts:

Stephanie Hobbs, 301-493-3134
stephanie.s.hobbs@bell-atl.com

Mara Radis, 301-309-9404
marar@ya.com