Most Advanced Digital Wireless Phone Service Available For The First Time In Fairfield And New Haven Counties

Most Advanced Digital Wireless Phone Service Available For The First Time In Fairfield And New Haven Counties

Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile DigitalChoice^SM Expands to

Southern Connecticut

WALLINGFORD, Conn. -- Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile announced today that

it has launched the first digital wireless phone service to the

Southern Connecticut area, including Fairfield and New Haven Counties.

The new service, called DigitalChoice^SM, delivers improved call

clarity and gives customers the ability to answer pages, receive voice

mail and identify the number of the incoming call, all while providing

extended battery life and better security. And, customers can use the

new phones virtually anywhere in the United States because Bell

Atlantic NYNEX Mobile wireless service is integrated, working on both

analog cellular and compatible digital networks.

Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile provided the state's first wireless digital

service to the Greater Hartford area in May. The company leads the

industry in deploying the area's first Code Division Multiple Access

(CDMA) service. This 'next generation' wireless technology also

provides enhanced service features, and operates on the most

extensive, integrated network on the East Coast.

"The best way to measure interest in this new technology is through

sales, and since launching DigitalChoice^SM in our other markets,

consumers have responded favorably," said Jack Plating, president of

the Northeast Region of Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile. "As for the

product, the sound quality of our digital network is so good that

people won't believe they're on a cellular phone. Customers have the

best of both worlds and can use our digital service in our markets,

including New York City, and then hop on a plane or drive outside our

East Coast service area and use the phones' analog capability anywhere

in the country."

With Bell Atlantic digital service available in Boston, Hartford, New

York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Washington markets, the

company has the largest digital coverage area on the East Coast.

Price plans for DigitalChoice begin at $19.99 a month for access.

There is no activation fee. Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile is selling

handheld digital phones at its Communications Stores throughout

Connecticut on sale in August starting at $189, or $139 with a

cellular/PCS phone trade-in. For more information, call

1-800-255-BELL..

While on the digital network, DigitalChoice service provides customers

with:

• free first minute of airtime on incoming calls within the

  home airtime rate area which includes: Connecticut, Maine,

  Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island and

  Vermont, depending on rate plan selected

• free caller ID -- lets you know who's calling
• free voice mail with message-waiting indicator
• dramatically increased battery life
• built-in electronic fraud protection
• free call forwarding, call waiting and three-way calling
• optional text messaging for an added monthly charge of

  $12.99 or operator-assisted text messaging for $24.99

Consumers are invited to preview the service this week (August 5-11)

at the following Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile Communications Store

locations -- in Fairfield County: Norwalk, Fairfield, and Stamford;

-- in New Haven County: North Haven and Orange, where they can make a

free DigitalChoice call to anyone in the continental United States.

DigitalChoice is already available in metro New York/New Jersey,

Boston, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Washington/Baltimore, Charlotte and

Spartanburg, NC, and Columbia and Greenville, SC.

Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile is the largest wireless service provider on

the East Coast and the second largest in the United States. The

company owns and operates the most extensive network in the east,

covering 111,000 square miles, and the largest chain of wireless

retail outlets offering a full range of wireless personal

communications services, including voice, data and paging. Based in

Bedminster, NJ, Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile has 4.9 million customers

and 6,500 employees in the Northeast, mid-Atlantic, Southeast, and,

through a separate subsidiary, in the Southwest. The company was

formed in July, 1995, by combining the cellular operations of Bell

Atlantic Mobile and NYNEX Mobile.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Mark Lowenstein of the Yankee Group is currently using

Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile's CDMA DigitalChoice service. For

comments, please contact Mr. Lowenstein at (617) 956-5000. For a

demonstration of the service and/or for an interview with a Bell

Atlantic NYNEX Mobile spokesperson, please contact Lynn Luczkowski at

(203) 393-1101.