Verizon to Complete Sale of Missouri Exchanges to Spectra Communications, a Partner of CenturyTel, on July 31

WENTZVILLE, Mo. - Verizon Communications, the national telecommunications company formed by the merger of GTE and Bell Atlantic, is soon expecting to complete the sale of 127,000 lines that serve 107 exchanges in Missouri to Spectra Communications Group - a partnership that includes Spectronics Corporation, CenturyTel, Local Exchange Carriers (LEC), LLC, and other investors.

The sale, originally announced in July 1999, becomes effective on July 31, 2000. Spectra Communications will provide service under the CenturyTel brand name. The impact on service will be virtually transparent to customers, as all accounts in the 107 exchanges will transfer to the new company. Additionally, all 136 employees in the Missouri exchanges will become employees of Spectra Communications.

Upon completion of the transaction, Verizon Communications will continue to provide local telecommunications service to 325,047 customer access lines in Missouri. The transaction does not affect Verizon Communications' offering of long distance, Internet, wireless and directory services to Missouri customers.

For a brief period of time after closing, customers in Missouri can continue to call the established Verizon numbers for repair, billing, residential and business services - and the calls will be transferred to customer service representatives from the new company. Additionally, customers can reach the new company through the following toll-free numbers:

Verizon Communications

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ), formed by the merger of Bell Atlantic and GTE, is one of the world's leading providers of communications services. Verizon companies are the largest providers of wireline and wireless communications in the United States, with 95 million access lines and 25 million wireless customers. A Fortune 10 company with more than 260,000 employees and approximately $60 billion in 1999 revenues, Verizon's global presence extends to 40 countries in the Americas, Europe, Asia and the Pacific. For more information on Verizon, visit www.verizon.com .