Omnitel Meets Wireless License Requirements Ahead of Schedule

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 7, 1996

OMNITEL, BELL ATLANTIC INVESTMENT, MEETS WIRELESS
LICENSE
REQUIREMENTS AHEAD OF SCHEDULE; COVERS MORE THAN 50 PERCENT
OF ITALIAN MARKET IN FIRST FIVE MONTHS OF SERVICE

Company Introduces Four Pricing Plans
to Meet Growing Customer Demand

Arlington, VA -- Omnitel, Italy's new private GSM
operator and Bell
Atlantic investment, announced today it has notified the Italian PTT
(Post Telecom & Telegraph) Ministry that it satisfied all
requirements
for its Italian licensing agreement since beginning service there in
December 1995.

The targets met and exceeded include: Land covered -- with the
network now reaching more than 52 percent of the Italian territory;
population covered -- at more than 78 percent; and employees hired --
800 more employees hired than the 1,163 required by the PTT Ministry
by May 31. In addition, cumulative investments have been 1,000
billion lire compared to the 969 required by the PTT Ministry.

Demand for Omnitel service is so strong that the company has seized
about a 40 percent share of subscribers in the Italian GSM market.

"We continue to be pleased with the great progress we're seeing from
Omnitel," said Tom
Bartlett, president of Bell Atlantic International
Wireless. "Omnitel has consistently exceeded expectations and has
continued its commitment to the highestlevels of customer service and
innovation."

To meet growing customer demand for wireless, Omnitel recently
launched four new pricing plans. The four plans are designed to meet
the needs of a variety of market segments developing in Italy.
Omnitel's "GOLD" plan offers higher usage customers a 50
percent
discount after meeting certain usage thresholds while the
"LIBERO"
plan offers no monthly subscription fee for less frequent users.

Omnitel also introduced two new corporate user plans, "POOL"
and
"PARTNER."

The POOL plan helps multi-line accounts control costs, providing
phones programmed to dial only pre-set numbers and helping to
trackusage through specialized reports. The PARTNER plan targets
corporations with at least 50 cellular phones, providing bundled
pricing for the phone, the monthly subscription fee, Caller ID
service, itemized billing, and other services.

"Once again Omnitel is the innovator in the Italian GSM market"
states
Silvio Scaglia, General Manager, Omnitel Pronto Italia. "Our market
segmentation strategy is further exemplified by the plans we have
presented today and we are confident that we will continue to maintain
our current growth rates in the Italian GSM market."

The company also announced new services available to all subscribers.
"Omnitaxi" connects callers to taxi companies in any Italian
city by
simply dialing the number 2525. The service is already active in
Milan, Rome, Florence, Padua, Turin, Genoa, and Naples, and will be
extended to other cities over the next few months.

"YOU and ME" is an option that targets communications among
couples,
friends and family by offering low rates any time a customer dials
another Omnitel number they select ahead of time.

Bell Atlantic Corporation (NYSE: BEL) is at the forefront of the new
communications, entertainment and information industry. In the
mid-Atlantic region, the company is the premier provider of local
telecommunications and advanced services. Globally, it is one of the
largest investors in the high-growth wireless communication
marketplace. Bell Atlantic also owns a substantial interest in
Telecom Corporation of New Zealand and is actively developing
high-growth national and international business opportunities in all
phases of the industry.

####

Media contacts:

Steve Fleischer, 215-963-6822
steve.fleischer@bell-atl.com

Brian Wood, 215-963-6204
brian.r.wood@bell-atl.com