FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (April 26, 1994) Steve Fleischer 908-306-7539 Glenn Jasper/Maria Papa 212-697-5600 WMATA/Patricia Lambe 202-962-1051 BELL ATLANTIC MOBILE AND WASHINGTON METRO LAUNCH FIRST U.S. CELLULAR SUBWAY SERVICE WASHINGTON, DC, JOINS HONG KONG IN PROVIDING UNDERGROUND CELLULAR Washington, D.C. -- From the peak of the Washington Monument to 115 feet below street level, Washingtonians and tourists alike can talk with each other using cellular phones. For the first time in U.S. history, riders on an American subway system will be able to use cellular phones to place and receive calls several stories below street level, thanks to a joint effort between Bell Atlantic Mobile (BAM) and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority (WMATA). Beginning today, with the expansion of BAM's cellular service into the subway, Metrorail passengers in Washington, D.C., will be the first American commuters to have access to cellular phone use in underground stations and while riding the train. "Critics charged that early cellular systems prevented true anytime, anywhere commu- nications because calls couldn't reach inside skyscrapers or to cars moving through tunnel, said President and CEO of Bell Atlantic Mobile Dennis F. Strigl. But the expansion of BAMs cellular system into the subway means Americans don't have to wait for the allocation of new radio spectrum to get these services. That's because cellular carriers are tapping the power of the nations cellular infrastructure to bring real personal communications services to the market today. Currently, Hong Kong is the only other city in the world in which people in an underground subway system can place and receive cellular calls. Even major subway systems like Germany's U-Bahn and the Paris Metro don't have this service. This project represents the local marriage of the two fields that will determine our nation's future, transportation and telecommunications said U.S. Secretary of Transportation Federico Pena. "Our ability to move people and information efficiently must keep pace with technology if we are going to maintain our competitive edge. By early next year the average 500,000 daily Metrorail riders will have access to cellular phone coverage in 48 stations and nearly 55 miles of subway track. The cellular service will use a series of "microcells, small radio transmitters placed in underground stations, plus a network of antennas provided by Cleveland-based Allen Telecom Group and placed in the tunnels, to carry signals through the subway system. The "microcell" technology that enables this kind of cellular coverage is easily adaptable for deployment in other American cities with underground subways, such as Chicago, New York and San Francisco. "Nothing gets people around Washington more quickly and conveniently than Metro, and nothing gets their messages across faster than their cellular phones," said Lawrence G. Reuter, general manager of WMATA. "Bell Atlantic Mobile has put the information superhighway on the fast track." WMATAs initial underground service is available in the six stations linking the Orange Line's Metro Center and Court House stops, and from Metro Center to Rosslyn on the Blue Line, covering more than three and a half subway miles. 17 additional underground stations are scheduled to have cellular service by April 1995; from Gallery Place to Crystal City on the Yellow Line; from Union Station to Dupont Circle on the Red Line; and from Capital South to Crystal City on the Blue Line, covering a total of approximately 16 subway miles. Bell Atlantic Mobile already provides cellular service at 25 above-ground stations covering more than 38 additional miles, as well as in Amtrak's Union Station. "Our customers have expressed a distinct need to communicate when they travel, regardless of their mode of transportation," said Bob Johnson, regional vice president of Bell Atlantic Mobile. "As a result of this pioneering effort, customers will benefit from increased productivity, convenience and security--allowing them to keep in touch with family, business associates, or whomever they need to reach." Metrorail and its riders will also benefit from enhanced fire, police, and emergency communications, which are being delivered to participating jurisdictions through the special antenna system provided by Bell Atlantic Mobile. Arlington County (Va.) is the first local government to sign on to the new emergency communications service. WMATA and Bell Atlantic Mobile anticipate expansion of cellular service in and between underground stations on the Red and Green Lines in 1995. The Washington Metrorail System is considered the premier subway system in the United States and logs more than a half-million trips daily. Bell Atlantic's global wireless communications business in the United States, Mexico, New Zealand, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia serve markets with a total population of 132 million. The company's owned POPS in those markets total 65 million. Bell Atlantic Mobile is the largest cellular carrier on the East Coast and one of the fastest growing cellular carriers in North America, serving more than one million customers in Washington, DC, and 15 states in New England, the mid-Atlantic, the Carolinas, and the Southwest. Bell Atlantic Mobile provides wireless voice, data, and paging services. Headquar- tered in Bedminster, NJ, the company is a subsidiary of Philadelphia-based Bell Atlantic Corporation.