BEDMINSTER, NJ — Bell Atlantic Mobile today announced that new customer additions for the quarter totaled 190,000, 50 percent better than the first quarter 1998.
Among the new net subscribers, 40 percent chose one of the company's DigitalChoicesm SingleRate pricing plans, underscoring the company's ability to meet the growing demand for digital wireless pricing with no roaming and long distance charges.
"The launch of our DigitalChoice SingleRate service last September has completely revolutionized our business," said Dennis Strigl, group president and CEO of Bell Atlantic Global Wireless. "These plans have compelled consumers to analyze their telephone usage and consider the benefits, such as mobility, of designating a wireless phone as their primary phone. This trend will gain momentum and propel our growth in the months and years ahead."
Bell Atlantic Mobile's DigitalChoice SingleRate USA provides customers who travel nationwide with a high-value, simplified pricing structure that includes a large allowance of bundled minutes that travel with them without incurring roaming or long distance charges. SingleRate customers can choose from a variety of digital handsets to accompany their service, including the popular Motorola digital StarTac.
Bell Atlantic Mobile's digital CDMA network - one of the most advanced in the world - offers superior voice quality and seamless transmission capabilities that out-perform competing national services running on other digital networks.
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In the New York, Boston, Washington/Baltimore and Pittsburgh markets, Bell Atlantic Mobile was named leader in overall customer satisfaction among wireless users, according to the prestigious J.D. Power and Associates 1998 U.S. Wireless Customer Satisfaction Studysm. Bell Atlantic Mobile (NYSE:BEL) owns and operates the largest wireless network in the East, covering 116,000 square miles, and the largest chain of retail outlets devoted exclusively to wireless voice, data and paging. Based in Bedminster, NJ, Bell Atlantic Mobile has 6.4 million customers and more than 8,000 employees from Maine to Georgia and, through a separate subsidiary, in the Southwest. Through its "Wireless at Work…" community service program, the company uses its technology to help individuals and communities improve security and emergency communications. Bell Atlantic Mobile's parent is one of the world's largest wireless communications companies, with domestic operations in 25 states and international investments in Mexico, Europe and the Pacific Rim. For more information on Bell Atlantic Mobile visit: www.bam.com; for global operations visit: www.bellatlantic.com/worldwide.
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