April 8, 1996

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

National Wireless Alliance Unveils Brand Strategy

AirTouch Communications, Bell Atlantic, NYNEX, U S WEST and PCS PrimeCo Partnership to Leverage Strong Regional Brands with Common National Service Platform

New Name Also Announced for PCS PrimeCo

SAN FRANCISCO, NYC, DALLAS and ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Furthering its commitment to bring high-value, nationally branded wireless services to customers across the United States, the alliance of AirTouch Communications (NYSE: ATI), Bell Atlantic (NYSE: BEL), NYNEX (NYSE: NYN), U S WEST Media Group (NYSE: UMG), and its jointly owned PCS partnership, PCS PrimeCo, L.P. today announced plans to market two families of wireless services under two common brands from coast to coast.

The alliance also announced that PCS PrimeCo has adopted a new company name -- PrimeCo Personal Communications, L.P. -- and will market the alliance wireless services under that company name later this year in 11 U.S. markets, to complement its affiliates' existing cellular networks.

"To maintain strong growth in the increasingly competitive wireless industry, we will offer consumer-friendly products and services under recognizable national brands," said Lawrence T. Babbio, Jr., Bell Atlantic vice chairman, and chairman of the alliance's committee that created the brand strategy.

"The partners have agreed to a branding strategy that will help assure our wireless alliance succeeds on the national playing field, and well ahead of our scheduled launch of PCS services later this year," Babbio added.

"By pursuing a common service brand strategy in conjunction with our very strong regional brands, we now have a platform to launch wireless services nationwide," said Denny Strigl, president and CEO of Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile. "At the same time, our customers will benefit from wireless packages that are tailored to their local needs, yet offered nationally."

The alliance will market a family of wireless services, under two umbrella service categories -- TalkAlong(SM) and PowerBand(SM).

The TalkAlong services are designed to be mass market, entry-level services, and will be increasingly distributed by convenient mass-market retailers such as drug, grocery and discount stores, where consumers routinely shop. Since the alliance cellular companies introduced the TalkAlong line last year, over 500,000 customers have signed up for the service, which is available in more than 1,000 retail sites.

The PowerBand service line will provide enhanced wireless services to meet the needs of consumers and business customers who seek more fully featured offerings, and will include a choice of value-added services such as Caller ID, Short Messaging and Voice Activated Dialing.

Both service brands would be used in conjunction with the partners' individual wireless company corporate names.

"The growth potential of the TalkAlong and PowerBand services is enormous -- our alliance has the scope and scale to make these brands the most powerful in the industry," said Lee Cox, vice chairman of AirTouch Communications and chairman of the Wireless Management Company that provides support services to AirTouch Cellular and U S WEST Cellular.

"This strategy gives us the best of both worlds -- the ability to capitalize on national retail distribution and scale efficiencies, while leveraging our strong local brand equity position."

The alliance's brand strategy will provide the flexibility to create nationally recognized services, that can be simultaneously tailored to meet local customer needs or respond to local competitive dynamics.

"The PrimeCo Personal Communications company name is a one-two punch in the brand arena, because it fortifies the already well-known PrimeCo name by describing the service we will provide," said Ben Scott, president and CEO of PrimeCo Personal Communications. "Our service names clearly signal the high level of control and versatility our products will provide in terms of the basic and advanced features our digital network can offer. The national service brands also will give us a powerful jump start when we enter the market this fall, and will help customers understand that PrimeCo's networks ultimately will work seamlessly with our owners' cellular networks, nationwide."

The four-way wireless alliance was formed by AirTouch Communications, Bell Atlantic, NYNEX and U S WEST in October, 1994 to create the broadest market coverage in the industry. The partners formed PCS PrimeCo, which successfully bid $1.1 billion for new PCS licenses in 11 major cities, and will launch service later this year. Combined, the wireless alliance players serve nearly seven million domestic customers, operate in 19 of the top 20 U.S. markets, and cover a population base of nearly 170 million in 46 states and the District of Columbia.

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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