NYNEX Brings Digital Network, Features to Olean

May 14, 1997

Contact: Cliff Lee, 518-396-1095

NYNEX Brings Digital Network, Features to Olean

(OLEAN) -- NYNEX will activate a $2.8 million state-of-the-art, digital call-switching
system on Sunday, May 18, for Olean customers in the 372, 373, 375 and 379 exchanges.

This new switch in NYNEX's Hamilton Avenue central office, which serves about
26,000 customer lines, will bring a variety of new services for both residential
and business customers in the city. When combined with the regions nearly 100,000
miles of optical fiber -- the pipeline for rapid, high-volume transmission of voice,
data and video messages -- the NYNEX digital switching system will provide Olean
customers with the most advanced telecommunications network in the world.

"This effort is another example of NYNEX's commitment to its customers
in Cattaraugus County and throughout the region," said Don Henry, NYNEX director
of engineering and construction in Western New York. "As the importance of telecommunications
in business and everyday life continues to grow, NYNEX and its employees will continue
to upgrade services and enhance our more than $1.4 billion investment in the region."

The digital switching center will provide Olean's 26,000 business and residential
customer lines with new features and services, including ISDN (Integrated Services
Digital Network), PhoneSmart and Digital Centrex. ISDN allows customers to transmit
and receive video, voice and data simultaneously over a single telephone line at
rates significantly faster than conventional computer modems.

In addition, digital switching is the backbone for other NYNEX services, such
as telemedicine and distance learning.

Some new PhoneSmart features include:

• Caller ID - Displays the telephone number of the person calling you after
  the first ring. Customers must order the service from NYNEX and purchase devices
  separately to display numbers of incoming calls. Blocking options that prevent numbers
  from being displayed on Caller ID devices are available at no charge to NYNEX customers.
• Repeat Dialing - Automatically redials a busy number for up to 30 minutes.
• Call Return - Redials the number of the last caller.
• Call Trace - Sends the telephone number of the last caller to the NYNEX Annoyance
  Call Bureau.
• Ringmate Service - Allows two or three telephone numbers to be associated
  with one telephone line. Each number has a distinctive ring. The service is convenient
  for families with teenage children or people with home businesses.
• Call Answering Service - Allows residential and small business customers
  to set up one or more voice mailboxes to automatically answer calls when the customer
  is not available to answer the phone.

NYNEX is a global communications and media corporation that provides a full
range of services in the northeastern United States and high-growth markets around
the world, including the United Kingdom, Thailand, Gibraltar, Greece, Indonesia,
the Philippines, Poland, and the Czech and Slovak Republics. The corporation is a
leader in telecommunications, wireless communications, directory publishing and video
entertainment and information services. NYNEX is also managing sponsor of FLAG --
Fiberoptic Link Around the Globe -- the world's longest undersea fiber optic communications
cable.

NYNEX news releases are available on the Internet at http://www.ba.com/nr/pastnews.html
or via fax for no charge at 1-800-331-1214.