BELL ATLANTIC LAUNCHES DIAL-UP INTERNET ACCESS SERVICE WITH 30 DAYS FREE UNLIMITED ACCESS FOR FIRST TIME SUBSCRIBERS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 21, 1996

BELL ATLANTIC LAUNCHES DIAL-UP INTERNET ACCESS SERVICE
WITH 30 DAYS FREE UNLIMITED ACCESS FOR FIRST TIME
SUBSCRIBERS¹

Bell Atlantic Also Offers Dedicated Internet Access Services
And Web Services To Southwestern Virginia
Customers

BLACKSBURG, VA -- Bell Atlantic.net, a dial-up
Internet access
service, is now available to consumers and businesses in Blacksburg
and other communities in southwestern Virginia. For a limited time,
Bell Atlantic will offer new subscribers 30 days of free, unlimited
access.

The company also announced that high-speed, dedicated Internet access
services and Web services that enable businesses and governments to
establish a presence on the World Wide Web are now available in the
southwestern Virginia area.

Bell Atlantic.net makes using the Internet as easy as making a
phone
call. Its simple-to-use navigation and information directories link
customers to useful resources, events, organizations and services in
their local community. It also provides easy access to the best of
global resources, places and information in hundreds of interest
areas.

Bell Atlantic.net features the Netscape Navigator* browser and
will
add the Microsoft** Internet Explorer browser later in the year, to
provide increased customer choice. Bell Atlantic.net subscribers
will
also have access to Cyber Patrol***, a tool
that enables parents to
manage and control their children's Internet access, at a sharply
discounted rate. Communications services for staying in touch with
family, friends and colleagues are also readily accessible, including
e-mail, chat and news groups. The service includes superior customer
service and technical support available 24 hours a day, seven days a
week, with the high reliability customers have come to expect from
Bell Atlantic.

Designed to meet both personal and business needs, Bell Atlantic.net
will help business users find information and resources to start, run
and/or grow their business. It will provide access to news, market,
networking and technology information necessary for a business to stay
competitive. Communication among workers, suppliers and customers
will also be simplified.

"This is great news," said Congressman Rick Boucher (D-Va.).
"I am
very pleased that Bell Atlantic has accepted my suggestion that it
enter the Internet access market in southwest Virginia. The added
competition will be of great benefit to our region's personal computer
users. I thank and congratulate Bell Atlantic."

"Under Congressmen Boucher's leadership, some of the pioneering
activities of the Information Age have occurred in southwestern
Virginia," said Bob
Beran, president-Bell Atlantic Internet Solutions.
"The Blacksburg Electronic Village was one of the earliest examples
of using on-line, computer communications to further the interests of
local community and businesses. Its success has been one of the
inspirations for Bell Atlantic.net, and we are proud to become a
service provider to this area."

There are three pricing plans for Bell Atlantic.net, all of which
include browser software. Users can access the Internet as much as
they wish with Bell Atlantic's unlimited access plan of only $17.95 a
month. They can realize a monthly savings of eight percent by signing
up for one year of unlimited access for $198. Under an hourly plan,
users can pay $4.95 a month for five hours and $1.95 for each
additional hour. These prices do not include the fee for a Global
Service Provider, a company providing the interexchange portion of the
service, which can run as low as $2 a month for unlimited access.

Rates apply for analog modem access, as well as for ISDN (Integrated
Services Digital Network) access, which is available from Bell
Atlantic. ISDN provides
the fastest dial-up connection to the Internet
with end-to-end digital connectivity.

The minimum system requirements for Bell Atlantic.net are a 386
Intel-equipped, IBM-compatible PC, 8 megabytes of memory, 6 megabytes
of free hard disk space, a14.4 kilobits per second modem, and a three
and one-half inch floppy disk drive. Bell Atlantic.net currently
works with Microsoft Windows** 3.1, 3.11 and Windows 95 **. An
Apple **** Macintosh **** version of the software will be available
shortly.

Customers interested in ordering a free copy of Bell Atlantic.net
software and subscribing to Bell Atlantic's Internet access service
can call 1-800-NET-2026. They will receive a copy of the software
within two weeks of placing their order. For more information on the
service, customers can visit the company's Web site at
http://www.bellatlantic.net. For
information regarding Bell
Atlantic's ISDN Internet access, customers can call Bell Atlantic
InfoSpeed on 1-800-204-7332.

Bell Atlantic Internet
Solutions is a new unit of Bell Atlantic
created to develop and deliver a full range of Internet services to
businesses, governments and consumers -- from Internet access to
electronic mail to World Wide Web site production and hosting.

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.

####

1 Excluding Global Service Provider charge.

* Trademark of Netscape Communications Corp.
** Trademark of Microsoft Corp.
*** Trademark of Microsystems Software, Inc.
**** Trademark of Apple Computer Inc.

Media contacts:

Larry Plumb, (703) 708-4360
lawrence.d.plumb@bell-atl.com

Ginger Fisk, (703) 708-4222
virginia.a.fisk@bell-atl.com