Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile Expands Footprint to GA

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 16, 1996

BELL ATLANTIC NYNEX MOBILE EXPANDS EAST COAST
FOOTPRINT TO GEORGIA

Acquisition of Horizon Cellular Southeast Property is
Completed

BEDMINSTER, NJ -- Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile announced
today that its
purchase from Horizon Cellular, of Georgia Rural Service Area 2
(Georgia 2),the cellular service area that abuts Atlanta and
encompasses Barrow and Hall counties, is now finalized. This move
extends the company's East Coast footprint and provides added value to
its more than 3.5 million customers. The completion of the acquisition
of the cellular property comes just in time for the Olympic Games,
when cellular phone usage in and around Atlanta is expected to exceed
the norm by a million minutes of airtime a day.

"The timing of the closing on this acquisition is fortunate for our
customers in the South," said Jim Akerhielm, regional vice president
for Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile in the Southeast. "Now, people going
to Atlanta for the Olympics, as well as residents of surrounding
suburbs who want to be a part of this historic event, will soon
benefit from the significant expansion of Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile's
in-zone and roaming calling areas."

Georgia 2 is contiguous with the current Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile
service regions of Anderson and Greenville, South Carolina, and
stretches as far south as suburban Atlanta's Gwinnett and Walton
counties. Specifically, in addition to Barrow and Hall counties, the
market includes Dawson, Lumpkin, White, Habershaw, Banks, Franklin,
Stephens, and Rabun counties. Within this extended calling region
lies the 20 mile stretch of U.S. Route 316, which serves as the main
commuting corridor between Atlanta and the suburb of Athens, Georgia.

Representing an addition of approximately 286,000 POPs (potential
customers), the acquisition is an important component in Bell Atlantic
NYNEX Mobile's ongoing strategy to maintain its leadership position in
the wireless industry.

"The purchase of this cellular property provides us with the kind of
strategic growth and opportunity we have identified in our company
goals for 1996," said Denny Strigl, president and CEO
of Bell Atlantic
NYNEX Mobile. "We will continue to consider acquisitions like this
one
in the future as they make sense for our customers and their calling
needs."

Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile announced its plans to purchase the
Horizon
Cellular property in March 1996.

Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile,
headquartered in Bedminster, NJ, is the
largest wireless service provider on the East Coast and the second
largest provider in the United States. The company offers a full range
of wireless voice, data, and paging communications solutions to its
more than 3.5 million customers in the Northeast, mid-Atlantic,
Southeast, and, through a separate subsidiary, in the Southwest. The
company was formed in July 1995, through the combination of Bell
Atlantic Mobile's and NYNEX Mobile's cellular operations. The company
has more than 5,000 employees.

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Media contacts:

Jim Gerace (908) 306-7508

Kristen Holmes (617) 520-7058