June 22, 1995

NYNEX CONTACT: Media Relations, (212) 395-0500

NYNEX VoiceDialing(sm) Service Introduced In Manhattan

NEW YORK CITY -- Just say the word, Manhattan, and NYNEX will dial your call.

Sound easy? Well, it is, thanks to the introduction tomorrow (6/23) of NYNEX VoiceDialingsm Service in midtown and southern Manhattan.

The advanced NYNEX network service, which allows customers to speak the name of the person they want to call, now is available on about 7.5 million telephone lines throughout New York and New England.

VoiceDialing Service was developed by NYNEX Science & Technology, Inc., the company's research and development organization. NYNEX also has licensed its speech recognition software to two regional Bell companies, Southwestern Bell Telephone and US West.

To help acquaint customers with VoiceDialing Service, NYNEX is running television advertising and placing inserts into monthly bills. The commercials highlight the technological innovations that led to the development of the service, and provide details on how the service works and how it can be ordered.

In addition, the company is offering a special waiver of charges to customers (in midtown and southern Manhattan) who order the service between June 26 and Aug. 24.

Residents and businesses ordering VoiceDialing Service will receive their first month's service free. Also, the standard service connection charges -- $16 for residence customers and $56 for businesses -- will be waived. Altogether, a residence customer could save up to $21.50; businesses could save $66.

With VoiceDialing Service, customers can program their own personal directory of telephone numbers by saying a name in any language and keying in the corresponding telephone number. After that, all a caller needs to do is pick up the telephone and say the pre-programmed words to make a call. NYNEX's network recognizes the voice and automatically dials the preset number.

No special equipment is needed by customers, and the service can be used with either rotary or touch-tone telephones. Voice prompts are available in both English and Spanish to instruct customers on how to program their personal directories.

With VoiceDialing, customers can store either 30 or 50 names and associated telephone numbers. The cost of the 30-number directory is $4.50 a month for residence customers and $8 for businesses. The 50-number directory is $5.50 and $10 per month, respectively.

NYNEX was the first telecommunications company in the world to offer voice-activated dialing to its customers. The service was tested in Bay Shore, Long Island, in early 1993. It became a full product offering in July of that year. Since then, NYNEX has installed the voice recognition equipment in its network throughout the New York City area, Long Island, Westchester and Rockland counties, Syracuse, and in several communities in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

NYNEX is a global communications and media company 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 the telecommunications, wireless communications, cable television, directory publishing and entertainment and information services.

FAX copies of recent NYNEX news releases are available free of charge, 24 hours a day. Call 1-800-331-1214 and an automated system will provide instructions.

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