It's Summertime, and the Living and Saving Are Easy for Bell Atlantic Consumers

It's Summertime, and the Living and Saving
Are Easy for Bell Atlantic Consumers

Promotional Packages Offer Helpful Services
Just In Time for Summer Living

May 17, 1999

NEW YORK -- Bell Atlantic's mid-year campaign to promote sales of
calling features comes just in time for the lifestlye changes summer
brings.

"Our products like Home Voice Mail, Caller ID, and the Call
Manager Package make life easier for customers," said Bob Ingalls,
vice-president of consumer marketing for Bell Atlantic. "For
instance, with summer coming, parents might want to work at home more
often, and could benefit from an additional line for phone calls or e-mail,
three-way calling to conference with co-workers or customers, or Home
Voice Mail so they don't miss messages from the boss.

"And because Home Voice Mail is accessible from anywhere, even
folks who are not teleworking can stay connected while away on
vacation. Or, with Call Forwarding, calls can follow you directly to
another number within your regional calling area."

Services like Caller ID and *69 can be helpful even for patio living; calls
that are missed can be tracked or returned at a leisurely, summertime
pace. And with students home for the summer, Call Waiting services,
Home Voice Mail and additional lines can help manage inevitable
incoming call volumes.

The Summertime Save Like Wild campaign begins today and runs
through August 14, and includes discounts on various services, free
Caller ID boxes for some customers, discounts on Caller ID boxes used
with Call Waiting ID, and no service connection charges for many
products.

The campaign follows the company's enormously successful first-quarter
Save Like Wild campaign when more than 11 million calling features
were sold, beating the company's goal of 10 million units. As part of that
campaign, a sweepstakes featuring 10 dream vacations worth $25,000
each was conducted. Winners of the trips have been selected and will be
announced soon.

For the summer program, ordering services is easier, too. Customers who
register at the Bell Atlantic's Web site will receive a package of discount
coupons for movie tickets, vehicle rentals, steaks, flowers and other
products and services. Customers ordering certain promoted products
online will get a check worth $5 that can be applied to their home phone
bill

The company is using bill inserts, newsletters and Internet advertising
banners to encourage customers to register at the Bell Atlantic Web site
by logging on to www.bellatlantic.com/online.

The company is sending information on the process to customers in their
bills. To register, customers need to provide information from their
phone bill to verify their account information.

Once registered, they can order services, view their current phone bill and
submit questions to service representatives. For those who agree,
automatic electronic mail notification of other sales and service
information can be sent automatically from time to time.

"This online program is a first-step in doing business with Bell
Atlantic using the World Wide Web," Ingalls said. "We'll be
enhancing the site and the processes it uses in the coming months, but it
gives our customers access to us using an increasingly familiar
channel."

Bell Atlantic has been using its Web site to creatively position its
products and services. Its "AccessAbility" Web pages on the
"For Your Home" page provide an innovative, barrier-free
source of information on products and services for people with
disabilities. Customers interested in the company's Infospeed DSL high-
speed data service can check on availability in their area via the
"For Your Home" pages. The Year 2000 pages feature charts
and tables businesses can use to pinpoint information about Y2K
readiness of the products they use.

Bell Atlantic is at the forefront of the new communications and
information industry. With 43 million telephone access lines and nine
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.