BAN Banco Lat.8%Pfd

RNS Number:4711M
Vodafone AirTouch PLC
19 June 2000

             Bell Atlantic, Vodafone AirTouch and GTE
Eliminate Wireless Market Overlaps in San Francisco, San Diego and
                              Houston

      Near Completion of National Verizon Wireless Footprint

NEW YORK, LONDON, IRVING, Texas  - Bell Atlantic Corp. (NYSE: BEL),
Vodafone AirTouch Plc (LSE: VOD; NYSE: VOD), and GTE Corp. (NYSE:
GTE) moved one major step closer to completing a nationwide
wireless footprint with the announcement that they have reached
agreement to sell overlapping wireless operations in San Francisco,
San Diego and Houston to AT&T Wireless.

The companies, operating as Verizon Wireless, will maintain a
wireless presence in San Francisco, including San Jose and Oakland,
and in Houston, including Beaumont and Galveston, through the GTE
Wireless operations.  In San Diego, Verizon Wireless operates the
former Vodafone AirTouch property.

Verizon Wireless will also retain 10 MHz of PCS spectrum in the
Houston market.

In San Francisco, AT&T Wireless is acquiring the remaining interest
in a wireless partnership from Vodafone AirTouch.  In San Diego,
AT&T Wireless is buying 100 percent of the GTE Wireless operations.
In Houston, AT&T Wireless is buying 100 percent of the PrimeCo PCS
LP operation.
     
Collectively, the transactions are valued at approximately $3.3
billion.  The combined operations cover about 15 million POPs and
serve over 1.3 million customers.  About 1,400 employees will be
involved in the transfer. The companies expect the transactions to
close concurrent with or following the Bell Atlantic/GTE merger and
before year-end.

The agreements are a major step toward eliminating remaining
overlapping cellular operations that would be created by the
integration of GTE Wireless assets into Verizon Wireless, which
will occur following the merger of Bell Atlantic and GTE.  As a
condition to approval of the combination Bell Atlantic, GTE and
Vodafone AirTouch on Dec. 6, 1999 agreed with the Department of
Justice to resolve, through the sale or swap of assets, overlaps
that would be created by the combination of their domestic U.S.
wireless operations.

April 3 marked the formal combination of Bell Atlantic and Vodafone
AirTouch's U.S. cellular, paging and PCS businesses to create
Verizon Wireless.  With the addition of GTE Wireless, Verizon
Wireless will rank as the nation's largest wireless company,
serving 25 million wireless and 4 million paging customers.  Its
nationwide footprint will cover a population of 232 million in 96
of the top 100 U.S. markets.
                                 
                                 
                         Market Status Summary

San Francisco

Business Being Divested

*    Vodafone AirTouch's remaining stake in wireless operation
     owned in partnership with AT&T.
*    Marketed as CellularOne
*    TDMA digital standard
*    Status: Vodafone AirTouch has signed agreement to sell the
     business to AT&T.

Business Being Retained

*    GTE Wireless operation
*    Marketed as GTE Wireless
*    CDMA digital standard
*    Status: To join Verizon Wireless after merger between GTE
     Corp. and Bell Atlantic


Houston

Business Being Divested

*    PrimeCo PCS LP's wireless operation (100 percent)
*    Marketed as PrimeCo PCS
*    CDMA digital standard
*    Status: PrimeCo PCS LP has signed agreement to sell business
to AT&T.

Business Being Retained

*    GTE Wireless operation
*    Marketed as GTE Wireless
*    CDMA digital standard
*    Status: To join Verizon Wireless after merger between GTE
     Corp. and Bell Atlantic
*    Note: 10 MHz of PCS spectrum to be retained from PrimeCo
     operation.


San Diego

Business Being Divested

*    GTE Wireless operation (100 percent)
*    Marketed as GTE Wireless
*    CDMA digital standard
*    Status: GTE has signed agreement to sell business to AT&T.

Business Being Retained

*    Former Vodafone AirTouch wireless operation
*    Marketed as Verizon Wireless
*    CDMA digital standard
*    Status: Officially became part of Verizon Wireless on April 3,
     2000

                                 
                           Bell Atlantic

Bell Atlantic is at the forefront of the new communications and
information industry. With more than 44 million telephone access
lines and more than 20 million wireless customers worldwide, Bell
Atlantic companies are premier providers of advanced wireline voice
and data services, market leaders in wireless services and the
world's largest publishers of directory information. Bell Atlantic
companies are also among the world's largest investors in high-
growth global communications markets, with operations and
investments in 23 countries.

                         Vodafone AirTouch

Vodafone AirTouch PLc, based in the United Kingdom, is the world's
largest wireless communications firm. It has mobile operations in
26 countries on five continents, with more than 53 million
proportionate customers.   In the United States, Vodafone AirTouch
provides wireless voice, data and paging services through its
ownership interest in Verizon Wireless, the nation's largest
wireless communications provider.

                                GTE

With 1999 revenues of more than $25 billion, GTE is a leading
telecommunications provider with one of the industry's broadest
arrays of products and services. In the United States, GTE provides
local service in 28 states and wireless service in 18 states, as
well as nationwide long-distance, directory, and internetworking
services ranging from dial-up Internet access for residential and
small-business consumers to Web-based applications for Fortune 500
companies. Outside of the United States, the company serves
customers on five continents.
     
Visit www.bellatlantic.com, www.vodafone-airtouch-plc.com and
www.gte.com for information about Bell Atlantic, Vodafone AirTouch
and GTE.
     
     
For further information:
     
Terry Barwick, Director of Corporate Affairs
Tim Brown, Investor Relations Director
Melissa Stimpson, Senior Investor Relations Manager
Mike Caldwell, Corporate Communications Director
At Vodafone AirTouch Plc
Telephone: +44 (0) 1635 33251

Lulu Bridges
Tavistock Communications Limited
Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7600 2288
     
END

MSCLKLFFBQBLBBX

Banco Lat.8%Pfd (LSE:BAN)
Gráfica de Acción Histórica
De May 2024 a Jun 2024

Banco Lat.8%Pfd (LSE:BAN)
Gráfica de Acción Histórica
De Jun 2023 a Jun 2024