Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile Supports Albany Crime Watch Efforts

Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile Supports Albany Crime Watch Efforts

National Program Donates Nearly 8,000 Wireless Phones In First Year

July 17, 1997

ALBANY, N.Y. -- Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile, a participant in the
Cellular Telephone Industry Association (CTIA's) national
crime-fighting effort called Communities On Phone Patrol (COPP), today
donated cellular phones and service to four Albany-area neighborhood
watch groups -- Washington Park Neighborhood Association, Park South
Neighborhood Association, Hudson Park Neighborhood Association, and
Center Square Neighborhood Association.

It was also one year ago today -- last July 17, 1996 -- when President
Clinton and the wireless industry launched COPP, a program that
provides volunteer neighborhood patrol groups with free cellular
phones. Since the launch of COPP, nearly 8,000 wireless phones have
been donated to neighborhood watch patrols that protect 50 million
Americans. The phones are pre-programmed with emergency service
numbers so volunteers can immediately reach law enforcement officials
when they spot crime in their neighborhoods.

"Cities throughout the country who have participated in the COPP
program have seen crime drop by as much as 47 percent," said Ken
Dixon, executive director for the Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile Upstate
Region. "Each day over 50,000 calls are made to 911 and other
emergency numbers from wireless phones. Whether it's reporting a
crime or accident, or providing basic communications in time of
disaster or emergency, wireless improves personal and community
safety."

In the past year, Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile has provided phones and
services for 260 watch groups.

At today's press conference, Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile also cited
that since participating in the COPP program, Salt Lake City's Mobile
Neighborhood Watch reported a 47 percent reduction in burglaries,
while break-ins are down 27 percent; in Chicago's Rogers Park, crime
has decreased 33 percent in six months; and in a sampling of 11
communities in Dade County, Florida, burglaries dropped 33 percent and
robberies decreased 24 percent.

To request a COPP application, neighborhood watch patrols can contact
the Community Policing Consortium at 1-800-833-3085.

Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile is the largest wireless service provider on
the East Coast and the second largest in the United States. The
company offers a full range of wireless personal communications
services, including voice, data, and paging. Based in Bedminster, NJ,
Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile has more than 4.6 million customers and
6,500 employees in the Northeast, mid-Atlantic, Southeast, and, through
a separate subsidiary, in the Southwest. The company was formed in
July, 1995, by combining Bell Atlantic Mobile's and NYNEX Mobile's
cellular operations.