Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile introduces affordable portable service in Pittsburgh region for its around town customers

PITTSBURGH -- Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile today said it introduced a unique cellular communications plan that is designed to meet to needs of consumers in the western Pennsylvania area who once thought they couldn't afford a cellular phone. Known as the "affordable portable," TalkAlong(SM) is an easy-to-purchase, simple-to-use, affordably-priced service with the lowest access rates available in Pittsburgh, the company said.

The service will only be available to Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile customers. This product is the second major benefit the newly formed company has brought to the highly competitive Pittsburgh market in the last month. On July 10, the company launched its MobileReach(R) Network, giving customers the largest East Coast footprint and the lowest roaming rates available from Maine to the Carolinas.

Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile is responding to its customers who have said their top priority in wireless phone service is a low monthly access price.

"If you thought local cellular access rates could never meet your expectations for price and convenience, TalkAlong will change your mind," said Jerry Fountain, Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile Regional Vice President-Pittsburgh. "Customers have made it clear that a low access fee is a top priority for their cellular needs -- now our customers can get it right here in western Pennsylvania."

TalkAlong breaks the price barrier at $14.99 as a basic monthly access charge. It allows customers to select a "local zone." The "East Zone" includes

Allegheny, Westmoreland and Fayette counties. The "West Zone" covers Allegheny, Beaver and Washington counties.

Customers can make and receive calls in their local zone for $0.35 per airtime minute -- 25 to 30 percent lower than traditional cellular offerings. Outside their local zone, customers will be able to make and receive calls for $0.99 per airtime minute.

"TalkAlong's name says what it is -- an around-town communicator," Fountain said. "Our customer base grew by more than 57 percent in 1994 -- with more than half of that growth coming from personal use. We expect TalkAlong to really open up the market to even more general consumer and local business customers."

A version of the service has been introduced in other Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile markets and will be offered in most of the company's regions by the end of the year.

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 three 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 new company has more than 5,000 employees.

NYNEX is a global communications and media company that provides a full range of services in the northeastern United States and high-growth markets around the world, including the United Kingdom, Thailand, Gibraltar, Greece, Indonesia, the Philippines, Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

The Corporation is a leader in the telecommunications, wireless communications, cable television, directory publishing and entertainment and information services.