SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- Imagine sending a voice message to 10 business associates in 10 different locations around the country -- recording that message only once -- and knowing they'll get your message even though they're on different voice mail systems. Thanks to a joint venture announced today by Ameritech, Bell Atlantic, NYNEX and Pacific Bell Information Services, all of this will soon be a reality.

The joint venture, called The Messaging Alliance, L. P., will enable the companies to link their voice messaging services, currently used by over 4 million customers across the nation. Through The Messaging Alliance's directory service, voice mail customers will have the ability to send messages from one mailbox to another. To address a message, all they'll need to know is the recipient's phone number. The enhancement is significant for the voice mail market, which totals 45 to 50 million users.

In addition, The Messaging Alliance signed a memorandum of understanding with Stentor, the alliance of Canada's major telephone companies, which will provide The Messaging Alliance's first international gateway. This means that voice messages can be exchanged between the United States and Canada -- expanding the potential directory listing by an additional 3 million subscribers.

Voice mail customers, both businesses and consumers, who subscribe to this new service will be able to send messages directly from one mailbox to another, faster and cheaper than the traditional way of sending messages -- even if they use different voice mail systems and providers. For example, it will take only one phone call for: a national sales manager to communicate new pricing information to every sales representative; a financial firm to notify all of its customers of new rates; or a new parent to let each family member know about the birth of a child.

Once service agreements are final, The Messaging Alliance plans to begin offering service to the four alliance participants in the fourth quarter of this year and to expand service to include other voice messaging providers nationwide in 1997.

The voice messaging providers will determine specific pricing for their business and residential customers. Long-distance charges will apply on messages sent across LATA boundaries and will be paid to the sender's long distance company.

The Messaging Alliance also will offer a fax mailbox-to-fax mailbox directory service to the companies who offer fax mailboxes.

"The Messaging Alliance represents a solid solution for local phone companies and service bureaus to interconnect their millions of users -- both public and private -- through new, dynamic open-standards messaging capabilities," said Terry Mulready, chief executive officer of Pacific Bell Information Services, and chair of the Alliance's Management Committee. "What sets this apart from other previous announcements of the global messaging concept is that we will start with a potential directory of seven million business and residential users who will be able to exchange messages."

"This is a very real, very exciting first step in creating a true global system that will make it easy for businesses and consumers everywhere to exchange voice and fax messages at any time of day or night," said Thomas Reiman, president of product management at Ameritech.

The Messaging Alliance is planning to deploy a directory service on an IBM platform that provides open system and network connectivity. ITU-T X.400 and X.500 will be the backbone technologies; AMIS-Analog and AMIS-Digital interfaces will allow addressing and routing of voice mail and fax messages from one system to another regardless of what system they were created on. The Messaging Alliance will add internet mail protocol (SMTP/MIME) support this year.

The platform has been tested successfully with the exchange of messages between voice mail systems manufactured by Boston Technology, Centigram, Digital Sound, Octel and Unisys. Many of these systems are used by alliance members to provide voice mail to their business and residential customers.

"We're eliminating barriers to sending messages between different voice mail systems, by making voice messages as seamless as telephone calls," said Mark Kutner, Bell Atlantic Small Business Services president and vice chair of the Alliances management committee. "Small businesses can use this service to communicate easily and efficiently with their associates, suppliers and industry peers across the country. College alumni a ssociations will be able to communicate with their chapter presidents across the country and local governments can get in touch with volunteer groups about upcoming community events."

"In addition to the small business market, we see high-growth potential in the consumer market," said NYNEX Vice President, Core Marketing Amy McIntosh. "Consumers will find this service affordable, convenient and easy to use."

"Our involvement with The Messaging Alliance is in line with our commitment to provide U.S. and Canadian-based companies with operations in North America complete, cross-border, seamless telecommunications solutions," says Carol Stephenson, president and chief executive officer, Stentor Resource Centre, Inc. "This is only one of a number of cross-border services we will offer that allow our customers to more effectively manage their North American communications services."

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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