Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile Announces Major Retail Stores, Job Expansions And Upgraded Wireless Infrastructure

ORANGEBURG, NY — Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile today announced a major retail expansion in New York City, with nine new stores and more than 150 new jobs planned in 1996. The company will also invest $200 million to upgrade and add to the wireless infrastructure of the region next year. New York Metro Regional President Rick Conrad will provide details at the Grand Opening of Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile's flagship Communications Store in Manhattan, on Saturday, October 28, 1995, at 1:00 p.m. Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani is scheduled to join Conrad for the ceremonies and demonstrations of the latest wireless technology.

Located at 310 Madison Avenue (on the corner of 42nd Street), the new store is the "nerve center" for the company's retail operations in the New York/New Jersey metropolitan area. It is the first Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile store to open after the combination of Bell Atlantic Mobile and NYNEX Mobile Communications on July 1. By the end of the year, the company will have added 400 jobs in New York, mostly in retail sales and customer service.

"Our flagship store is a symbol of the company's commitment to doing business in New York," said Conrad. "In these challenging economic times of corporate downsizing and companies leaving major cities, we are adding new stores, a total of 550 jobs over 18 months, investing in infrastructure and committing ourselves to serving New Yorkers and the entire metro region over the long term."

The Mayor's presence demonstrates his commitment to business expansion and the benefits of wireless communications in New York. In addition, on Sunday afternoon, Conrad will join Mayor Giuliani in announcing a joint public/private initiative involving two City programs that use wireless technology to enhance the quality of life and provide greater services for less fortunate New Yorkers.

Both programs are among the City's foremost efforts to reduce violence.

Mayor Giuliani added, "Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile has clearly made a strong commitment to New York City to provide not only essential emergency wireless communications services and business solutions, but to jobs and the area economy as well. I am happy to support this commitment and investment in our City and look forward to our joint community partnership tomorrow."

The company's new Communications Store will offer the latest in cellular equipment and services with a variety of plans and packages designed to meet the needs of residential and business customers. John Stratton, Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile vice president, Retail Operations, added, "Being available to our customers is top priority for us. I think that is well-demonstrated by the fact that more than 75 percent of our new jobs since the merger have been in customer service and sales."

Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile's investment in New York's infrastructure will involve major improvements and additions to cellular antennas, microcells, mobile switching stations, and other equipment that will benefit New York well into the 21st century. This investment is needed to support the company's annualized 45 percent customer growth rate and resulting coverage requirements. The company has already installed microcells at Madison Square Garden, Penn Station, the Lincoln and Holland Tunnels, and the floor of the New York Stock Exchange which have enabled uninterrupted wireless coverage for the first time at these locations.

With more than three million customers, Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile is the largest wireless service provider on the East Coast and the second largest provider in the United States. Headquartered in Bedminster, NJ, the company offers a full range of wireless voice, data and paging communications solutions to customers in the Northeast, mid- Atlantic and Southeast. Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile was formed in July 1995 through the combination of Bell Atlantic Mobile and NYNEX Mobile cellular operations and now has more than 5,000 employees. The company's New York-New Jersey metro region is based in Orangeburg, NY, and employs more than 800 area residents.

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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