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RNS No 9181c
BELL ATLANTIC CORP.
1st May 1998


Bell Atlantic Accelerates Succession

Ivan Seidenberg to Become CEO June 1


NEW YORK -- Bell Atlantic announced today that its Board of Directors has
accelerated the succession of Vice Chairman, President and COO Ivan Seidenberg
to the CEO position.

The Board acted on the recommendation of Chairman and CEO Raymond W. Smith.
Smith will remain chairman of the Bell Atlantic Board until his retirement
later in the year.

"The new Bell Atlantic is off to a fast start," Smith said. "Integrating
two companies of this size is enormously complex and demanding, and
yet our tuition has been remarkably smooth and is proceeding more rapidly than
even we expected. Bell Atlantic continues to gather momentum and is ready to
enter its next growth phase in data, long distance and global communications
services. The Board has agreed with my recommendation that this critical
juncture for our company is the most appropriate time to ask Ivan to lead the
way."

Seidenberg said, "Over the past decade, Ray Smith has been the author of Bell
Atlantic's great success story. He has been a terrific partner during our
merger transition, but that was no surprise. We have shared a common view of the
enormous potential stored in Bell Atlantic since we shook hands on the deal two
years ago. His leadership, insight, and dynamic personality have been
indispensable. I look forward to his continuing guidance on the Board and his
friendship for years to come."

Seidenberg will assume executive leadership -- with the title of vice chairman,
president and CEO -- on June 1. This advances the timetable established by the
Bell Atlantic-NYNEX merger agreement, which provided for Seidenberg to succeed
Smith as CEO on Aug. 14, 1998, the first anniversary of the merger's close.

Since becoming CEO in January 1989, Smith has led Bell Atlantic to the forefront
of the new communications and information industry. "I'm proud to have led a
team that has been able to re-fashion Bell Atlantic from its roots as a local
telephone company into one of the top telecommunications firms worldwide," Smith
said. "It has been most important to me that we have been able to sustain growth
and innovation before, during and after our merger. Our strategic repositioning
efforts have been a great success, and I've never been more confident about Bell
Atlantic's potential."

Seidenberg added, "To deliver on our merger's long-term promise, we have
developed the industry's best and deepest management team. This is an
extraordinary enterprise, and it is being led by an extraordinary group of
people. So I am pleased that the Board has acted on my recommendations for
management retention."

Seidenberg announced that the Board has approved retention agreements for the
company's next six senior officers, ensuring continuity of leadership. The
officers are Lawrence T. Babbio, president and CEO, Network Group, and chairman,
Global Wireless Group; James G. Cullen, president and CEO, Telecom Group; Donald
S. Sacco, executive vice president, Human Resources; Frederic V. Salerno, senior
executive vice president and CFO/Strategy and Business Development; Morrison
DeS. Webb, executive vice president, External Affairs and Corporate
Communications, and James R. Young, executive vice president and general
counsel.

With more than 41 million telephone access lines and 6.7 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 22 countries.


INTERNET USERS: Bell Atlantic news releases, executive speeches, news media
contacts and other useful information are available at Bell Atlantic's News
Center on the World Wide Web (http://www.ba.com). To receive news releases by
e-mail, visit the News Center and register for personalized automatic delivery
of Bell Atlantic news releases.


END

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