July 6, 1995

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

FLAG Finalizes Agreements to Build World's Longest Undersea Cable

HAMILTON, Bermuda -- FLAG Limited has finalized construction and finance agreements to build the world's longest fiber optic submarine cable, which will link telecommunications carriers in Europe, the Middle East and Asia with a record 27,000 kilometers (17,000 miles) of fiber.

The FLAG (Fiberoptic Link Around the Globe) cable system will take 27 months to build at a capitalized cost of $1.5 billion. The system is scheduled to go into service on Sept. 6, 1997.

FLAG will connect three continents on a route linking business centers and high-growth regions between the United Kingdom and Japan. More than 40 carriers around the world have signed agreements to

purchase capacity on the FLAG cable, including the 12 landing parties, which also have responsibility for landing the cable in their countries.

Sponsors based in the United States, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong and Thailand finalized the agreements to build FLAG on July 3.

"FLAG is one of the most expansive projects our industry has ever undertaken - both in terms of its global reach and the capacity it will make available to telecommunications carriers on-demand," said Joseph Timpanaro, newly elected chairman and chief executive officer of FLAG Limited. "The system will integrate state-of-the-art technology and system architecture to carry traffic to and from 12 landing points across three oceans and two terrestrial crossings."

The construction phase began immediately with the manufacturing of equipment that will be used to install and operate the FLAG system. The cable system will use 326 state-of-the-art optical amplifiers to maintain the integrity of the optical signals along its route. Work will start immediately on land crossings and landing stations for the cable system and ships will begin to lay the cable in November 1995.

The build-out schedule calls for cable ships to begin installing the first leg of the cable system in the Mediterranean and Red Seas near the Egyptian landing points of Alexandria and Suez.

Several cable ships will work simultaneously to lay cable at different points along the route. During the same period, telecommunications carriers in a dozen countries will oversee the construction of landing stations and facilities to connect their national networks to the cable system.

"The FLAG cable system will be built on schedule and to the highest international standards," said Timpanaro.

Landing points are located in the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, India, Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong, China, Korea and Japan.

More than 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) of fiber will be laid underground at two land crossings along the FLAG route - one in Egypt and one in Thailand. Each land crossing will be comprised of two fully redundant terrestrial cables to insure system reliability.

The system will be built by AT&T Submarine Systems, Inc., and KDD Submarine Cable Systems of Japan.

The cable will dramatically improve the quality of communications in the areas it serves, many of which depend largely on satellite transmissions. Fiber optic transmission offers increased security, speed, accuracy and reliability of transmission as well as increased bandwidth capability for advanced applications.

NYNEX is the managing sponsor of FLAG. NYNEX provides a full range of communications services in the northeastern United States and selected markets around the world. Other sponsors of the privately financed project are: the Dallah Al Baraka Group of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, a large multinational investment company; Marubeni Corporation, one of Japan's leading general trading companies; Gulf Associates Inc., a New York-based corporation that focuses on trade and project development; Telecom Holding Co., Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of TelecomAsia, the largest market-capitalized company on the stock exchange of Thailand; and The Asian Infrastructure Fund (AIF) of Hong Kong, a $1 billion fund that invests in entities engaged in developing and operating infrastructure projects in Asia.

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.

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