Czech Cellular Carrier Reaches 500,000 Customer Milestone

Czech Cellular Carrier Reaches 500,000
Customer Milestone

EuroTel Praha market share nears two-thirds

September 23, 1998

Prague, Czech Republic and PHILADELPHIA, USA -- EuroTel
Praha today announced it reached the 500,000 customer milestone, adding
150,000 new customers to its base just since January of this year.

With around 5,000 new customers joining its service every week, Bell
Atlantic's Prague-based wireless investment is outpacing most other
European cellular providers' customer growth rates, helping EuroTel
achieve nearly two-thirds market share in the Czech Republic.

"At this pace, the Czech market will get close to one million customers by
the end of this year" said Jamie Macdonald, acting managing director of
EuroTel Praha.

EuroTel Praha began providing analog service to the Czech Republic in
1992. The company introduced digital GSM (Global Service for Mobile)
service to the market at the end of 1996 and provides consumer- and
business-oriented offerings including prepaid plans and Internet-based
billing options.

EuroTel Praha: Customer Base Growth

Year 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 Sept. 98

Base 4,600 11,000 27,500 45,800 168,400 350,000 500,000

EuroTel Praha operates NMT (Nordic Mobile Telephone) service as well
as a digital GSM system launched commercially in the Czech Republic in
1996. EuroTel provides service to 500,000 customers and its GSM service
reaches about 90 percent of the population. Visit the EuroTel Praha
Website at http://www.eurotel.cz

Bell Atlantic is one of the world's largest wireless communications
companies, with domestic operations in 25 U.S. states and international
investments spanning Latin America, Europe, and Asia. For information
on our global operations, visit http://www.bellatlantic.com/worldwide.