NYNEX Merger With Bell Atlantic Approved By New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission

January 6, 1997

CONTACT: Susan Kraus, 212-395-0500

Erle Pierce, 603-641-1651

NYNEX Merger With Bell Atlantic Approved By New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission

Concord, NH, Jan. 6, 1997 -- The New Hampshire Public

Utilities Commission today approved the merger of NYNEX and

Bell Atlantic.

Ivan Seidenberg, NYNEX chairman and CEO, said,

"Today's action means that now five of the seven NYNEX

states have either approved the merger or have not sought

jurisdiction over it. We are on track to bring the

substantial benefits of this merger to our customers."

The proposed merger was announced on April 22, 1996.

Shareowners of both companies overwhelmingly approved the

merger at special meetings in early November. The new Bell

Atlantic will serve 39 million telephone access lines in 13

states and more than 4 million cellular customers.

Wayne Budd, NYNEX senior vice president in New

England, said, "I am pleased that New Hampshire regulators

recognized that this merger is good for NYNEX customers in

New Hampshire and for the state of New Hampshire itself. I

look forward to positive responses to the proposed merger

from the remaining states in the NYNEX region, as well as

the Department of Justice."

Regulators in New York and Vermont are now conducting

reviews of the merger in accordance with applicable state

laws. Massachusetts and Rhode Island have not sought to

assert jurisdiction over the proposed merger, although

Massachusetts is reviewing the merger within the context of

its general supervisory authority over telephone

operations.

All reviews are expected to be completed shortly, and

the companies expect to close the merger in the first

quarter.

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,

Slovakia and the Czech Republic. 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.

FAX copies of recent NYNEX news releases are

available free of charge, 24 hours a day. Call

1-800-331-1214 and an automated system will provide

instructions.