Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile launches CDMA service using Lucent Technologies equipment

BEDMINISTER, N.J. -- March 25, 1996 -- Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile today announced the launch of its CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) service, making it the first company to provide customers with 13 kilobit-per-second (kb/s) CDMA digital service. The service incorporates equipment supplied by Lucent Technologies including a 13 kb/s vocoder to improve voice quality. Selected Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile customers in Trenton, N.J., and Bucks County, Pa., will be the first in the country to experience the CDMA service.

Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile and Lucent Technologies have been testing both the phone and system designs in the Trenton area for the past year. Starting in April, customers will begin using the system, providing feedback on the service and its many features.

Along with improved call quality, Caller ID, and Message Waiting Indicator, CDMA offers customers features such as extended battery life, Short Message Service, and Authentication to protect against fraud.

Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile is providing small businesses and consumers with dual mode CDMA handsets. These dual mode handsets are capable of functioning in both CDMA and analog systems. They are designed to scan for CDMA and default to analog if they are outside the digital service area.

"We've been testing CDMA in the field for a year and we're extremely pleased with the performance of the system, particularly the 13 kb/s vocoder," said Dick Lynch, executive vice president and chief technology officer, Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile. "We're convinced CDMA is ready for customers and see the Trenton system as the beginning of our commercial deployments. We look forward to our customers' reaction to the next generation of digital communications."

"We're delighted with the opportunity to help Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile by providing them with the improved voice quality of the Lucent Technologies CDMA solution," said Bill Rohrbach, sales vice president, Lucent Technologies. "We believe that Lucent Technologies' support of the CDMA 13kb/s vocoder, and our commitment to all wireless industry standards, are some of the strengths which influenced Bell Atlantic Mobile's decision to select our CDMA solution for digitilizing its network."

CDMA is a digital service standard that provides increased call capacity and enhanced call quality. CDMA virtually eliminates the static and cross-talk sometimes heard on analog systems, and provides a "soft hand-off" capability that makes cell hand-offs unnoticeable to customers.

Note to editors: With more than three million customers, Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile is the largest wireless service provider on the east coast and second largest in the United States. Headquartered in Bedminster, N.J., the company offers a full range of wireless voice, data, and paging services to the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast and, through a separate subsidiary, in the Southwest. The company was formed in July 1995 through the combination of Bell Atlantic Mobile's and NYNEX Mobile's cellular operations.

Lucent Technologies is the new systems and technology company formed as part of AT&T's previously announced restructuring.