Bell Atlantic Partnership Spurs Jobs, Economic Development throughout Pennsylvania

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Bell Atlantic Partnership Spurs Jobs,
Economic Development throughout
Pennsylvania

October 22, 1999

Media
contact:

Michel Daley,
202-392-1021

Sharon Shaffer,
215-963-6200

LEWISTOWN, Pa. -- More and more employees are being hired at a new
telemarketing firm in Lewistown, Pa., proving that Bell Atlantic's

partnership with state initiatives is helping to bring jobs to rural
Pennsylvania.

The recent opening of the ICT Group, Inc. office here is the latest success
story for Phase II of an economic development initiative called
FutureSites, which Bell Atlantic implemented in 1996. Working in
cooperation the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic
Development (DCED) and Economic and Industrial Development
Corporations, the company helps convince back-office industries, like call
centers and telemarketing firms, to move to Pennsylvania.

Bell Atlantic Economic Development Director Dave Hendricks plays a
key role in helping recruit new businesses to Pennsylvania by promoting
the telecommunications infrastructure in the state, which is essential to
these back-office industries. He met with ICT Group representatives and
also helped them make the connection with the Industrial Development
Corporation in Mifflin County to discuss the possibility of moving to
Pennsylvania instead of moving elsewhere.

"Bell Atlantic's ability to provide an advanced telecommunications
network in the state is a primary attribute to convincing technology-
dependent businesses to move to or expand in Pennsylvania," said
Hendricks. "The firms we are targeting with FutureSites have
sophisticated telecommunications needs. They need a highly reliable
network and digital services like ISDN and high-bandwidth T1 lines to
send and receive large amounts of data. Bell Atlantic has them all. We
have spent nearly $1 billion, in 1999 alone, to upgrade our network to
meet the needs of existing and future customers.

"Each month, Pennsylvania experiences a net outward migration of
nearly 2,000 of its brightest people seeking employment elsewhere,"
Hendricks said. "When FutureSites helps bring more jobs to the
state, we are helping to turn the tide in the other direction."

ICT Group's Lewistown telemarketing center will eventually employ over
300 people.

Hendricks said prior to 1996, not a single nationally recognized consulting
firm recommended that their clients move to Pennsylvania. Today,
FutureSites has convinced 13 businesses to establish operations in
Pennsylvania and over 6,000 new jobs have been created by the project.

Bell Atlantic is at the forefront of the new communications and
information industry. With more than 43 million telephone access lines
and more than 10 million wireless customers worldwide, Bell Atlantic
companies are premier providers of advanced wireline voice and data
services, market leaders in wireless services and the world's largest
publishers of directory information. Bell Atlantic companies are also
among the world's largest investors in high-growth global communications
markets, with operations and investments in 23 countries.

Bell Atlantic Partnership Spurs Jobs,
Economic Development throughout
Pennsylvania

October 22, 1999

Media
contact:

Michel Daley,
202-392-1021

Sharon Shaffer,
215-963-6200

LEWISTOWN, Pa. -- More and more employees are being hired at a new
telemarketing firm in Lewistown, Pa., proving that Bell Atlantic's

partnership with state initiatives is helping to bring jobs to rural
Pennsylvania.

The recent opening of the ICT Group, Inc. office here is the latest success
story for Phase II of an economic development initiative called
FutureSites, which Bell Atlantic implemented in 1996. Working in
cooperation the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic
Development (DCED) and Economic and Industrial Development
Corporations, the company helps convince back-office industries, like call
centers and telemarketing firms, to move to Pennsylvania.

Bell Atlantic Economic Development Director Dave Hendricks plays a
key role in helping recruit new businesses to Pennsylvania by promoting
the telecommunications infrastructure in the state, which is essential to
these back-office industries. He met with ICT Group representatives and
also helped them make the connection with the Industrial Development
Corporation in Mifflin County to discuss the possibility of moving to
Pennsylvania instead of moving elsewhere.

"Bell Atlantic's ability to provide an advanced telecommunications
network in the state is a primary attribute to convincing technology-
dependent businesses to move to or expand in Pennsylvania," said
Hendricks. "The firms we are targeting with FutureSites have
sophisticated telecommunications needs. They need a highly reliable
network and digital services like ISDN and high-bandwidth T1 lines to
send and receive large amounts of data. Bell Atlantic has them all. We
have spent nearly $1 billion, in 1999 alone, to upgrade our network to
meet the needs of existing and future customers.

"Each month, Pennsylvania experiences a net outward migration of
nearly 2,000 of its brightest people seeking employment elsewhere,"
Hendricks said. "When FutureSites helps bring more jobs to the
state, we are helping to turn the tide in the other direction."

ICT Group's Lewistown telemarketing center will eventually employ over
300 people.

Hendricks said prior to 1996, not a single nationally recognized consulting
firm recommended that their clients move to Pennsylvania. Today,
FutureSites has convinced 13 businesses to establish operations in
Pennsylvania and over 6,000 new jobs have been created by the project.

Bell Atlantic is at the forefront of the new communications and
information industry. With more than 43 million telephone access lines
and more than 10 million wireless customers worldwide, Bell Atlantic
companies are premier providers of advanced wireline voice and data
services, market leaders in wireless services and the world's largest
publishers of directory information. Bell Atlantic companies are also
among the world's largest investors in high-growth global communications
markets, with operations and investments in 23 countries.

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