Bell Atlantic Scores with Voice, Data and Video Packages In New York Multifamily Housing Market

Bell Atlantic Scores with Voice, Data and
Video Packages
In New York Multifamily Housing Market

Reliability, Reputation, Choices Impress Apartment Owners,
Co-ops, Colleges

February 2, 2000

NEW YORK - On move-in day, over 900 residents of River Place I will
be able to plug into the latest in voice, data and video services, provided
by Bell Atlantic as part of the company's aggressive campaign to wire and
serve both new and existing multifamily housing complexes.

River Place I, Silverstein Properties' residential building now under
construction at 650 W. 42nd St., will have a feature-rich package of
services for its residents, including local phone service, four-digit intra-
complex dialing, Bell Atlantic Infospeed^SM DSL high-speed Internet
access, DIRECTV® programming available through Bell Atlantic Video,
and Bell Atlantic's own long distance service. The building is scheduled
to open this summer.

Since breaking into the multifamily housing market in late 1997, Bell
Atlantic has succeeded in capturing a diverse group of customers using
their feedback and the latest technology to re-define the packages it offers.

"Our brand has a solid reputation for reliability and service among
our residential customers," said Terry Young, director of
Multifamily Housing sales for Bell Atlantic. "So when we packaged
video, high-speed Internet access and some impressive call management
features along with our local phone service, we wrote the formula for
capturing and satisfying customers."

In this increasingly competitive market, where players can acquire access
to hundreds of customers with a single contract, Bell Atlantic is defending
its customer base with customized service packages. In New York,
promotions will now include long distance service provided by Bell
Atlantic.

To differentiate itself in the Multifamily Housing market, Bell Atlantic
relies on its brand name, reputation and feature-rich network.

"Just beyond every curb in the neighborhoods we serve there's a
magical pipeline of Bell Atlantic facilities connected to an intelligent
network. It's a network that can be custom-designed to satisfy the needs
of diverse customers. That makes it an incredible resource, and all we
need to show property managers is how much we can do with it,"
Young said.

Bell Atlantic sells these packages through a direct sales team and sales
agents who negotiate the sale of services provided by Bell Atlantic, its
independent subsidiaries and other suppliers as needed. For River Place I,
Bell Atlantic is working with its sales agent, Lextel Communications Inc.,
to coordinate the sales and marketing efforts for the property.

Bell Atlantic has also offered a variety of customized packages on other
properties throughout Manhattan. Residents of a new apartment complex
at 66 Leonard St. and a luxury co-op at 271 Church St. are enjoying
unique calling options, DIRECTV programming and high speed Internet
access, along with their local phone service.

A diverse package of voice services, calling features, Home Voice Mail
and customized billing is now serving students at New York University.
As many as 1,000 students are expected to take advantage of this offer.

For senior citizens at the Classic Hyatt Residence north of Yonkers, N.Y.,
a package of local service, satellite TV and calling features, including a
two-channel closed circuit TV system, has proven convenient and
economical. Forest City Daly, a limited partnership, owns the property.
"We'll continue to pull together customized, one-stop shopping
packages that meet the diverse needs of the residential Multifamily
Housing market," Young said.

Bell Atlantic's provides Multifamily Housing Solutions in 13 northeast
states and the District of Columbia.

Bell Atlantic is at the forefront of the new communications and
information
industry. With nearly 44 million telephone access lines and 12 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.

DIRECTV has more than 8 million customers, including customers subscribing to
PRIMESTAR By DIRECTV. DIRECTV is a registered trademark of DIRECTV,
Inc., a unit of Hughes Electronics Corporation. Hughes Electronics is the world's
leading provider of digital television entertainment, and satellite and wireless
systems and services. The earnings of Hughes Electronics, a unit of General
Motors Corporation, are used to calculate the earnings per share attributable to
the General Motors Class H common stock (NYSE: GMH). Visit DIRECTV on the
World Wide Web at www.directv.com.