DATE: Saturday, March 15, 1997              TAG: 9703150295

SECTION: BUSINESS                PAGE: D1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY DAVE MAYFIELD, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: NORFOLK                           LENGTH:   37 lines

INQUIRIES UP AFTER ISDN FEE CUT

A cut in fees for one of Bell Atlantic Corp.'s high-speed data services has meant a big increase in activity at a Norfolk center that handles sales and customer service.

Bell Atlantic said this week that it has eliminated a $125 installation fee for its so-called ISDN service, if customers sign up by April 30. In addition, the phone company said it cut from $299 to $259 the price of the modem for the service.

ISDN, short for Integrated Services Digital Network, allows users to cruise the global Internet computer network at speeds up to 128 kilobits per second - about four to nine times faster than most conventional modems.

At Bell Atlantic's InfoSpeed center in the Norfolk Commerce Park, the promotion has meant a tripling of customer inquiries - to about 1,500 a day - said manager Ed Lamb. ``It's been an unbelievable response,'' he said.

Bell Atlantic and a contractor that operates at the center are tentatively planning to add moreemployees to the full-time work force of about 100. The phone company, which leases about 18,000 square feet of office space, is also looking for more space in the office park, Lamb said.

ISDN doesn't come cheaply, in spite of the price cuts.

Residential users must still pay monthly ISDN service charges starting at $23.50, and there are additional per-minute usage charges of 1 cent to 4 cents. In addition, consumers must sign up for a separate Internet-access subscription from Bell Atlantic or another provider. The monthly price for such a subscription generally runs between $15 and $20.

But because of well-publicized slowdowns in cyberspace, Bell Atlantic has found success marketing its high-speed service. Lamb said his center has signed up more than 8,000 ISDN customers since it opened in the spring of 1995. The Norfolk center handles residential ISDN sales and customer service for the entire Bell Atlantic territory, including Virginia.

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