Companies, HandsNet(TM) to Show Participants
                     How Web Bolsters Good Works at Home

    PHILADELPHIA and NEW YORK, April 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Volunteers and
delegates at the Presidents' Summit for America's Future will receive the
tools and training that will enable them to use the power of the Internet to
increase their effectiveness, Bell Atlantic and NYNEX announced today.
    Bell Atlantic, NYNEX, and their wireless subsidiary Bell Atlantic NYNEX
Mobile, are the primary providers of all telecommunications services for the
Presidents' Summit.  The companies are transforming the Pennsylvania
Convention Center into a telecommunications hub through a massive deployment
of cable, high-speed data pipelines and new networking capabilities.
    The telecommunications firms will assist HandsNet(TM), a national
non-profit technology intermediary which helps non-profit organizations
harness the Internet to increase awareness, raise funds, attract volunteers
and address community problems and challenges.
    "This technology will change the way we volunteer in America," said
Raymond W. Smith, Bell Atlantic chairman and CEO.  "The Internet and our
networks will make our efforts to mobilize new volunteers and gather support
faster and more effective.  All of us at Bell Atlantic commend the Presidents'
leadership in recognizing the potential good technology can do in our
communities."
    With a grant from Bell Atlantic and NYNEX, HandsNet will train
approximately 200 people attending the Presidents' Summit, April 27-29 in
Philadelphia.  In breakout sessions during the event, those trained volunteers
will work with summit delegates to draw up community action plans on
196 laptop computers, distributed by Bell Atlantic and NYNEX.  Of these,
40 are equipped with a wireless modem.  Action plans will be sent through
modems through the summit web site at http://www.americaspromise.org.  Delegates and
anyone with an Internet connection can review and comment on these plans,
including people monitoring the summit from back home.
    "People viewing the summit website worldwide will provide instantaneous,
real-time feedback to the delegates.  As a result, they'll have access to a
world of new resources to help address local issues and track new sources of
support," said Sam Karp, executive officer of HandsNet.  "With the help
of  Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile's wireless technology, delegates from
170 communities nationwide will find new helping hands in ways previously
unimagined."
    The Bell Atlantic/NYNEX grant also will enable HandsNet to establish an
Internet Resource Center in Room 202B of the Convention Center.  Delegates
will be able to explore the summit's interactive website, and check out a list
of bookmarks providing easy access to nonprofit and human resource
organizations.
    HandsNet staff, aided by employees and volunteers from Bell Atlantic,
NYNEX, the Foundation Center, and Philadelphia-based LibertyNet, will conduct
continuous training sessions on the use of web browsers, Internet search
engines, fundraising tools available on the web and other useful applications.
    "These technologies will assure the continuing success of this effort,
long after the summit is over," said Ivan Seidenberg, NYNEX chairman and CEO.
"When they see what the Internet can do for efforts at home, volunteers will
be inspired nationwide, and the Presidents' goal of protecting at-risk
children will be easier to achieve."
    Sixteen non-profit organizations using innovative approaches to online
mentoring, learning, fundraising, and information sharing will be showcased in
the bridge area of the convention center.
    For the past ten years, HandsNet has built and managed an on-line
community, now linking five thousand human service organizations throughout
the United States.  Its members include many of the nation's premier policy
and advocacy organizations, trade and membership associations, foundations and
local service providers.
    Bell Atlantic Corp. (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.
    NYNEX (NYSE: NYN) is a global communications and media corporation that
provides a full range of services in the northeastern United States and
high-growth markets around the world, including the United Kingdom, Thailand,
Gibraltar, Greece, Indonesia, the Philippines, Poland, Slovakia, and the Czech
Republic.  The corporation is a leader in telecommunications, wireless
communications, directory publishing and video entertainment and information
services.  NYNEX is also managing sponsor of FLAG -- Fiberoptic Link Around
the Globe -- the world's longest undersea fiber optic communications cable.

    INTERNET USERS:  Bell Atlantic news releases, executive speeches, news
media contacts and other useful information are available at Bell Atlantic's
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    NYNEX news releases are available on the Internet at http://www.nynex.com
or via fax for no charge at 1-800-331-1214.

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