CTIA HONORS BELL ATLANTIC NYNEX MOBILE CUSTOMER WITH NATIONAL "CRIMESTOPPER" AWARD

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 8, 1996

CTIA HONORS BELL ATLANTIC NYNEX MOBILE CUSTOMER WITH NATIONAL
"CRIMESTOPPER" AWARD

Association's "Wireless Safety Week" Prompts Other Initiatives

Throughout Company Footprint

BEDMINSTER, NJ -- Lisa Talmadge of Bayonne, NJ, received
national
recognition for her role in thwarting a would-be carjacking by dialing
9-1-1 from her Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile cellular phone. At a
reception hosted by the Cellular Telecommunications Industry
Association (CTIA) in Washington, DC, Talmadge received the
Crimestopper Award from William Shatner, host of the television series
"Rescue 9-1-1." The awards ceremony also celebrated the
industry's
annual "Wireless Safety Week," highlighting the value of 9-1-1
service
for wireless customers.

The Crimestopper award is one of the CTIA's five VITA Awards presented
to wireless customers nationwide who have used their cellular phone to
save a life, prevent a crime, or report an emergency. According to
CTIA, more than 18,000 calls a day are made to 9-1-1 by cellular phone
customers.

Talmadge, a nursing student, was driving home last fall when she was
side-swiped by a car. While attempting to call 9-1-1 from the side of
the road, the driver confronted her and tried to pry the portable phone
from her grasp. Her assailant then jumped in Talmadge's car and tried
unsuccessfully to start it before getting back into his own car and
fleeing the scene. Thanks to the phone, Lisa was able to maintain her
composure and give the dispatcher a full description of the assailant,
as well as his license plate number.

"I think the phone saved my life," Talmadge said. "He
obviously was
scared that I was on the phone with the police, because he tried to
get it away from me."

Her stepdad, John Waltz, agrees. "My daughter is alive today
because
she had that phone with her," Waltz said. "This phone is
$14.99 a
month. That's about $180 a year. I would gladly have paid $180
million for that phone just for this one time my daughter needed it."

Denny Strigl,
president and CEO of Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile said,
"We're very grateful that Lisa was able to escape her frightening
experience without injury. Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile congratulates
Lisa on her award and her quick thinking in calling 9-1-1."

"In today's society, personal safety is a serious concern,"
Strigl
continued. "Through innovative price plans for cellular phones and
service, Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile has made that sense of security an
affordable reality for millions of customers."

Throughout the Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile footprint, and in
recognition of Wireless Safety Week, the regional offices are
implementing programs which reinforce the company's commitment to
safety for both customers and local communities. Some of these
include:

• In the Washington/Baltimore region, BANM is loaning 4 phones,
  including monthly service and airtime charges, to the Baltimore
  County Police Department's Firearms Violence Unit for one year.
  Also in this region, BANM is providing cellular phones to people
  identified by the Sheriff's Office as being at risk for domestic
  abuse. With the phones, these victims can alert the police
  immediately if they are threatened or attached.

• In the Pittsburgh region, BANM is offering, through its "Wireless at
  Work..." program, up to three free cellular phones to any EMS, fire,
  police or other emergency service organization.

• In BANM's Southeast region, headquartered in Greenville, SC, the
  company is helping to ensure security on the University of South
  Carolina campus by donating cellular phones and TalkAlong(sm)
  service to the Campus Police Department.

• Finally, in the Philadelphia region, BANM has launched a campaign
  designed to encourage customers to remove their cellular phones
  from their parked vehicles to combat cellular crime, and use their
  phones to report suspicious activity as necessary. The company
  also has plans to join forces with the Department of Environmental
  Resources to promote safety in the region's parks by loaning phones
  and donating service to park rangers.

With more than 3.4 million customers, Bell Atlantic
NYNEX Mobile is the largest wireless service provider on the East
Coast. Based in Bedminster, NJ, the company offers a full range of
wireless voice, data, and paging services to 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 company's New York regional headquarters is located
in Orangeburg, NY.

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Media contacts:

Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile, Andrea Linskey, 908-306-7845
alinskey@mobile.bam.com

The Weber Group, Kristen Holmes, 617-520-7058
kholmes@webergroup.com