
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, October 14, 1994                   TAG: 9410140107
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: A-15   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: The Washington Post
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Short

MCI, 2 BELLS NEAR WIRELESS NET ACCORD

Bell Atlantic Corp. and Nynex Corp. are close to sealing an agreement with MCI Communications Corp. to create a nationwide wireless communications network, industry sources said Thursday. It would be the first such alliance between local and long-distance telephone giants.

By linking with Washington-based MCI, the nation's second-largest long-distance carrier, the two Bell companies are gambling they could better compete against recently merged AT&T Corp. and McCaw Cellular Communications Inc. in the race to provide the next generation of cellular services. ``There clearly is an advantage to having a long-distance carrier in your group,'' said one official at Bell Atlantic, which provides local telephone service in the Washington area. The official spoke on condition of anonymity.

The two Bell companies in June announced plans to pool their cellular operations, which together serve 1.8 million customers along the East Coast. With MCI, their territory could stretch from coast to coast.

The terms of the deal were not known. The discussions were reported in Thursday's Wall Street Journal.

by CNB