Bell Atlantic Subsidiary Unveils New Facility in Rosedale

Bell Atlantic Subsidiary Unveils New Facility in Rosedale

BACCSI Makes Major Investment in Maryland;
Offers Customers High-Tech Products and Services

December 3, 1999

ROSEDALE, Md. -- Bell Atlantic Communications and Construction
Services, Inc., (BACCSI) today unveiled its new national dispatch center
in Rosedale, the largest major investment made in Maryland by the Bell
Atlantic subsidiary.

Since 1996, BACCSI has brought more than 900 high-tech jobs to the
state -- 300 in the past year alone. Today, BACCSI announced that it will
add 40 new positions over the next six months to its national dispatch
team to handle growth in the business.

"Our new operations and data center in Rosedale is further evidence
of our commitment to the state of Maryland," said Bob Burich,
president of BACCSI. "We have created hundreds of high-tech
jobs in the state in the last three years, and our presence in Maryland will
continue to increase. BACCSI is a high-growth telecommunications
business, and our products and services are skyrocketing in
popularity."

BACCSI is the nation's largest provider of communications infrastructure
for residential and business customers, offering a large variety of products
and services. BACCSI specializes in the design and installation of
communications systems for voice and data applications, home offices,
home networks, local area networks, ISDN (Integrated Services Digital
Network), DSL (digital subscriber line), home entertainment, digital
video and interactive multi-media services including high-speed Internet
access.

"The addition of the BACCSI dispatch center means the Bell
Atlantic workforce in Maryland is approximately 14,000 strong,"
said Sherry F. Bellamy, president and CEO of Bell Atlantic -- Maryland.
"We continue to add jobs and invest in our network so we can
provide the absolute best in customer care and bring leading-edge
communications services to Marylanders.

"Bell Atlantic's $500 million annual investments provide a
telecommunications network that is second to none, making Maryland an
even more attractive place to live, work and run a business."

The Rosedale facility is BACCSI's crown jewel in Maryland. It is home
to the company's telephony dispatch operations for Maryland,
Pennsylvania and Delaware, and it contains BACCSI's Enhanced
Services Operations Center (ESOC). From the ESOC, BACCSI
dispatches technicians to install and maintain such enhanced services as
Bell Atlantic Ready ISDN or DSL across Bell Atlantic's service area.
The Rosedale facility will be BACCSI's national dispatch location for its
enhanced services product lines as new products are introduced to a
national audience. In addition, BACCSI's state-of-the-art data center and
information systems department are located in Rosedale.

Currently, BACCSI has nearly 4,000 employees throughout Bell
Atlantic's service area, including nearly 3,000 skilled, union-represented
technicians.

In Maryland, BACCSI employees operate 658 company vehicles and
occupy more than 100,000 square feet of office space in 11 different
locations. In 1998, BACCSI paid over $25 million in salaries and $1.9
million in taxes in Maryland. This year, the company expects to pay
$35.5 million in salaries and close to $3 million in taxes.

One of BACCSI's premier offerings is Bell Atlantic Ready, an advanced
home wiring system. This high-quality wiring network provides homes
with access to advanced technologies like high-speed Internet
connections using ISDN and DSL; satellite TV; in-home computer
networks; home theater; closed-circuit TV and intercom systems for
security and convenience.

"Bell Atlantic Ready has been a tremendous success for
BACCSI," Burich said. "This product is very popular in the
Baltimore and Washington, D.C., metropolitan areas where we have
wired developments for a number of major homebuilders. In the first six
months of 1999, our sales grew over 400 percent compared with the last
six months of 1998."

In early 2000, BACCSI will begin wiring existing homes with Bell
Atlantic Ready.

For more information on BACCSI, visit the company's web site at
www.baccsi.com or call 1-888-947-3782.

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.