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Bell Atlantic Corp
25 April 2000


                Bell Atlantic First-Quarter Revenues Jump 7.1%,
                        Adjusted Net Income Rises 10%

         Revenue Growth Rate Increases 300 Basis Points Year-Over-Year;
            Wireless Properties Add 727,000 Proportionate Customers;
                DSL Sales Double, With 62,000 Lines in Service;
          Long Distance Explodes on the Marketplace - 428,000 Customers

NEW YORK - On accelerating revenue growth of 7.1 percent, Bell Atlantic Corp.
(NYSE:BEL) increased adjusted net income for the first quarter of 2000 by 10
percent, to $1.3 billion from $1.2 billion in first quarter 1999. Adjusted
earnings per diluted share (EPS) rose 9.6 percent to 80 cents from 73 cents in
first quarter 1999.

"This was a terrific quarter, in which we continued to accelerate our revenue
growth," said Bell Atlantic Chairman and CEO Ivan Seidenberg. "Not only are our
growth engines firing on all cylinders, but our traditional business is
continuing to expand as well. We're going into our combination with Vodafone
AirTouch and our merger with GTE with terrific momentum."

First quarter highlights include:

- Approximately 428,000 residential long distance customers in the first
  three months of operation in New York.

- Data revenue growth of 31.8 percent, to $892 million.

- Net customer additions of 290,000 at Bell Atlantic Mobile, with 28.9
  percent revenue growth.

- Doubled sales of Infospeed DSL(sm)- service, ending the quarter with more     
 than 60,000 digital subscriber lines (DSL) in service.

-  An expanding wholesale business, with 1.9 million wholesale lines and
   approximately 328,000 unbundled loops in service at the end of the quarter.

-  Continued strong International Wireless growth, with 365,000 proportionate
   net customer additions.

" The communications industry is undergoing a radical restructuring, and
Bell Atlantic is further ahead in transforming itself than any other company,"
Seidenberg said. "Our long distance business is off to a rousing start; our data
business is succeeding in the most data-intensive market in the country; we are
building a thriving wholesale business, and we are reinventing our core business
as a mass-market data provider.

"Our long distance results put us well ahead of schedule in meeting our
target of one million residence customers by year-end. The overwhelming response
we've received in New York demonstrates the effectiveness of our marketing
message: surprise-free simplicity and superior customer service, 
all on one bill.

"Bell Atlantic Mobile had an excellent final quarter as a stand-alone
company and came into our new wireless joint venture at full speed. Verizon
Wireless opened for business this month as the market leader, with the most
extensive network coverage, the best digital technology and the best national
pricing plans of any U.S. wireless provider. We're very excited about the
prospects for Verizon Wireless.

"We're equally excited about launching Verizon Communications, following
our merger with GTE," Seidenberg said. "We completed state reviews of the Bell
Atlantic-GTE merger in the quarter, and we are now waiting only for approval
from the Federal Communications Commission. Our new name will signify just how
much progress we have made in transforming ourselves into one of the
communications industry's leading businesses."

Reported first quarter net income available to common shareowners was $731
million, or 46 cents per share, compared to reported net income of $1.1
billion, or 72 cents per share in first quarter 1999.

Reported results for first quarter 1999 reflect charges totaling 1 cent
per share for transition costs related to the Bell Atlantic-NYNEX merger.
Reported results for first quarter 2000 include charges totaling $536 million,
or 34 cents per share, for a non-operating "mark to market" accounting
adjustment related to the company's $3.2 billion in notes exchangeable into
shares of Cable & Wireless Communications plc (CWC). Generally Accepted
Accounting Principles require that when the market price of the underlying CWC
shares exceeds the exchange price, the difference must be recognized as an
increase in the company's liability for the notes and a charge to income. The
company will make such an accounting adjustment in future quarters, recording
either a gain or a loss to reflect any difference between the CWC market price
and the exchange price at the end of the quarter.

                      Domestic Telecom Highlights

The Domestic Telecom Group's first quarter revenues grew 3.9 percent over
first quarter 1999 on increased sales of core and advanced communications
services, especially data services. The number of voice-grade equivalents
(access lines plus data circuits) in service jumped 14.3 percent to 67.3
million, as more customers chose high-capacity, high-speed transport services.
Switched access lines in service grew 2.5 percent to 43.1 million. Access
minutes of use increased 4.4 percent in the quarter.

Bell Atlantic's long distance unit got off to a very strong start in its
first quarter of operation in New York, adding 428,000 residential customers and
exceeding its customer acquisition target. The unit attracted customers at all
usage levels, and the international calling plans it offered to New York's
diverse customer base generated strong international long distance revenues. The
unit's average revenue per customer was in line with industry trends, and its
churn rate was below the industry average.

Sales of data services accounted for approximately 84 percent of Domestic
Telecom's revenue growth for the quarter. Data revenues reached $892 million for
the quarter, 31.8 percent higher than in first quarter 1999. These include
revenues from high-bandwidth packet-switched and special access services as well
as Bell Atlantic's network integration business.

    In the enterprise (large business) and general business markets:

    - Bell Atlantic's Data Solutions Group revenues increased 47.8 percent over
      first quarter 1999, to $99 million.

    - The number of "DSO" circuits in service (digital, high-bandwidth and
      packet-switched services as measured in 64-kilobit voice-grade
      equivalents)increased 42.7 percent over first quarter 1999, to 25.9 
      million.


     In consumer markets: 

    - In addition to doubling the number of Infospeed DSL customers to 62,000,
      Bell Atlantic ended the quarter with 886 wire centers ready to sell DSL
      with approximately 19 million access lines and more than eight million 
      households qualified for the high-bandwidth Internet access service.

    - Vertical service revenues continued to grow, as the number of packages
      combining Caller ID, Home Voice Mail and other features with basic
      services increased 40.7 percent over first quarter 1999. More than 30
      percent of Bell Atlantic consumers subscribed to Caller ID at the end of
      the quarter, and the number of Home Voice Mail subscribers grew to 3.3
      million.

     In network services markets:

    - At the end of the quarter, Bell Atlantic was providing other carriers     
     with approximately 1.9 million wholesale access lines and approximately    
    328,000 unbundled loops.

    - Special access revenues for the quarter increased 28.7 percent to $574
      million.

     Domestic Telecom's adjusted first quarter operating expenses of $5 billion
     were 4.7 percent above first quarter 1999 levels. Cash expenses increased  
     4.2 percent.


                       Wireless Group Highlights

In the last full quarter prior to the launch of Verizon Wireless, Bell
Atlantic's Wireless Group posted strong gains at home and abroad. 

The Wireless Group ended first quarter 2000 with 12.7 million global
proportionate wireless subscribers, up 39.7 percent over first quarter 1999.
Proportionate net customer additions in the quarter totaled 727,000, 36.7
percent more than in the first quarter of 1999, with Bell Atlantic Mobile (BAM)
totaling 290,000 net additions, 52.6 percent more than in the prior-year period.


Total proportionate wireless revenues for the quarter increased 32 percent to
$1.7 billion. Proportionate operating income reached $294 million, an increase
of 58.1 percent over first quarter 1999, with proportionate operating cash flow
growing 43.2 percent to $547 million.

On April 3, Bell Atlantic and Vodafone AirTouch created Verizon Wireless,
the market leader of the U.S. wireless industry, through the combination of BAM,
PrimeCo Personal Communications, the U.S. cellular, PCS and paging assets of
Vodafone AirTouch, and certain properties of ALLTEL Corp. Following the Bell
Atlantic-GTE merger, Verizon Wireless will serve more than 24 million customers
and cover 96 of the top 100 U.S. markets.

On April 4, Verizon Wireless introduced new nationwide flat-rate pricing
options for consumer and business customers and announced it will invest more
than $3 billion in its nationwide network in 2000 to further expand its CDMA
network, introduce two-way short messaging service (SMS), deploy over-the-air
provisioning capabilities, and conduct field trials of 3G technology. Bell
Atlantic and Vodafone AirTouch also announced they are planning an initial
public offering of part of Verizon Wireless.

     Other domestic highlights:

- Bell Atlantic Mobile closed out the quarter with nearly 8 million customers,
  up 24.8 percent from first quarter 1999. Quarterly revenues grew 28.9 percent
  over first quarter 1999, to $1.2 billion. Average revenue per subscriber was
  up 3.8 percent, to nearly $50, and represents BAM's highest-ever ARPU growth
  year-over-year.

- Three-quarters of BAM's new retail customers subscribed to CDMA digital
  services. Nearly 45 percent of BAM customers use digital services, as BAM
  enjoyed its largest increase in digital subscribers in any quarter. Digital
  subscribers increased their share of BAM's busy-hour usage to 78 percent.

- Some 658,000 BAM customers subscribed to regional and national SingleRate(sm)
  plans at the end of the quarter. Approximately 60 percent of those
  subscribers are on plans priced at $59 a month or higher.

- BAM and Amazon.com announced an agreement that provides BAM customers with
  access to Amazon.com Anywhere service via their Web-enabled digital handsets.
  Users can select and purchase a complete array of products and services from
  Amazon.com.

- At PrimeCo Personal Communications, total revenues for the quarter grew 32.7
  percent over first quarter 1999 to $250 million, with average monthly revenue
  per subscriber of $50. PrimeCo also reported positive operating cash flow
  that increased $55 million over first quarter 1999.

- During the quarter, PrimeCo grew its customer base to 1.5 million, 40.6
  percent over first quarter 1999. PrimeCo ended the quarter with a 3.6 percent
  penetration rate of covered P0Ps.

Bell Atlantic's international wireless portfolio ended the first quarter
with 4 million proportionate subscribers, up 79.8 percent over the prior-year
period. International proportionate net subscriber additions of 365,000 rose
47.2 percent over first quarter 1999.

Proportionate international revenues for the quarter were $388 million,
38.6 percent higher than first quarter 1999. Proportionate operating income
increased 94.1 percent over first quarter 1999, to $99 million, with
proportionate operating cash flow growing 70.3 percent to $155 million.

     International highlights:

- Omnitel Pronto Italia ended the first quarter having boosted usage through
  the introduction of Internet access and SMS services. Omnitel averaged more
  than 6 million SMS messages a day during the quarter, and expanded its
  Omnitel 2000 wireless portal through an agreement with French Net broker Self
  Trade to enable users to trade on-line and receive advice and trading alerts.

- EuroTel Praha added more than 180,000 new customers to finish the first
  quarter with approximately 1.25 million total customers. EuroTel, one of the
  first carriers in Europe to launch WAP (Wireless Application Protocol)
  technology for mobile Internet access, introduced its new GSM-Data Service,
  which at 43.2 Kbps provides the fastest mobile data transmission in Central
  Europe.

- Grupo Iusacell is expected to end the first quarter with approximately 1.5
  million customers. In March, Iusacell became the first wireless provider in
  Latin America to launch WAP technology. The company also completed its first
  PCS trial calls in key markets of northern Mexico.

- STET Hellas added more than 95,500 new customers in the quarter, growing its
  base more than 60 percent and ending the period with 1.3 million subscribers.
  The company focused its efforts on its B Free prepaid products and introduced
  pricing plans to address the corporate and small- and medium-business
  markets. B Free buyers now represent more than 65 percent of Stet Hellas's
  total customer base.




Bell Atlantic (www. bellatlantic.com) is at the forefront of the new
communications and information industry. With more than 44 million telephone
access lines and more than 20 million wireless customers worldwide, Bell
Atlantic companies are premier providers of advanced wireline voice and data
services, market leaders in wireless services and the world's largest publishers
of directory information. Bell Atlantic companies are also among the world's
largest investors in high-growth global communications markets, with operations
and investments in 23 countries.

INTERNET USERS: Further information on quarterly results, including tables, is
available at Bell Atlantic's News Center or Investor Information sites on the
World Wide Web (www.ba.com and www.bellatlantic.com/invest) or through Fax on
Demand at 800-329-7310. To receive news releases by email, visit the News Center
and register for personalized automatic delivery of Bell Atlantic news releases.

NOTE: This press release contains statements about expected future events and
financial results that are forward-looking and subject to risks and
uncertainties. For those statements, we claim the protection of the safe harbor
for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. The following important factors could affect future results
and could cause those results to differ materially from those expressed in the
forward-looking statements: materially adverse changes in economic conditions in
the markets served by us or by companies in which we have substantial
investments; material changes in available technology; the final outcome of
federal, state, and local regulatory initiatives and proceedings, including
arbitration proceedings, and judicial review of those initiatives and
proceedings, pertaining to, among other matters, the terms of interconnection,
access charges, universal service, and unbundled network element and resale
rates; the extent, timing, success, and overall effects of competition from
others in the local telephone and toll service markets; the timing and
profitability of our entry into the in-region long distance market; the timing
of, and regulatory or other conditions associated with, the completion of the
merger with GTE and our ability to combine operations and obtain revenue
enhancements and cost savings following the merger; and the ability of Verizon
Wireless to combine operations and obtain revenue enhancements and cost savings.

END
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