Bell Atlantic

Bell Atlantic Corp., the Philadelphia-based parent of Chesapeake & Potomac Telephone Co. of Maryland, announced a plan yesterday to reduce its management ranks by more than 3,500 through an early retirement incentive program.Bell Atlantic has 68,000 employees, including about 10,300 in Maryland. About 18,000 of its workers are salaried employees in management positions."The area where we feel that we are overstaffed is in the management ranks," Cynthia M. Ciangio, a Bell Atlantic spokeswoman, said.

WASHINGTON -- Bell Atlantic Corp. said yesterday that it will introduce a service in Montgomery County Monday that will leave a voice message for an individual or up to 75 other customers with a single call.Bell Atlantic executives suggested numerous applications: LittleLeague coaches will be able to spread the news of a game cancellation to every team member with one call. Night owls can leave voice messages for sleeping friends without ringing their phones. Schools can more easily notify teachers of snow cancellations.

Bell Atlantic Corp. elevated senior executives James G. Cullen and Lawrence T. Babbio Jr. to the newly created ranks of vice chairmen yesterday, setting up an apparent two-way race to eventually succeed Chief Executive Raymond W. Smith.Neither Mr. Cullen, 52, nor Mr. Babbio, 50, is likely to move up soon. Mr. Smith, 57, is eight years away from Bell Atlantic's mandatory retirement age of 65 and shows no desire for an early departure.Until yesterday, Mr. Cullen had held the rank of president, while Mr. Babbio was executive vice president and chief operating officer.

NEW YORK -- Bell Atlantic Corp., the No. 1 U.S. local phone company, is in talks to acquire AirTouch Communications Inc., the nation's second-largest wireless phone company, for $45 billion in stock, CNBC reported yesterday, citing people close to the negotiations.The acquisition, which may be announced as early as next week, would be the eighth-largest acquisition of all time. The price would represent a premium of 10 percent to 15 percent above AirTouch's stock price, which touched a record $75 a share yesterday, CNBC said.

Bell Atlantic Corp., the dominant local telephone company in Maryland, reported 1997 earnings per share of $4.96 before special charges and gains yesterday, 10.5 percent higher than in 1996.Company Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Raymond W. Smith said in a statement, "1997 was Bell Atlantic's third consecutive year of double-digit earnings growth, with results for the full year, as well as the quarter, in line with expectations."The New York-based regional phone company had fourth-quarter earnings of $1.25 per share before special items, up 6.8 percent from the same period in 1996 but slightly lower than some analysts had predicted.

Bell Atlantic Mobile Systems, the cellular arm of Bell Atlantic Corp., said yesterday it has placed orders for 40,000 cellular phones that can handle both analog and digital signals, making it one of the first cellular operators in the country to move ahead with the dual-use phones.The new phones are in use experimentally in a few markets but are not commercially available.The phones are designed to switch easily between traditional analog signals and digital signals, which use a newer technology to transmit communications.

Bell Atlantic Corp. will disband the outside boards of directors of its state operating companies, including Bell Atlantic-Maryland, and replace them with all-employee boards, a company spokesman said yesterday.The board of the Philadelphia-based parent company will continue to have outside directors.The state-level boards will disband at the end of the year, said spokesman Jay Grossman.The change does little more than ratify a trend toward centralized operations of the telephone company.

U.S. District Judge Harold J. Greene gave permission to Bell Atlantic Corp. yesterday to transmit TV programs virtually anywhere in the country -- a move that will let the telephone company extend the reach and cut the costs of its video ventures.Judge Greene's ruling in Washington came as a waiver to the "modified final judgment" (MFJ) that has been the de facto charter for the U.S. telecommunications industry since it set the rules for the breakup of the Bell system in 1984.The MFJ, drafted at a time when sending video over phone lines would have been seen as science fiction, generally prohibited regional Bell companies from transmitting signals across long-distance lines.

Bell Atlantic Corp. reported a $1.9 billion net loss for the third quarter yesterday as solid but unspectacular operating earnings growth offset a fraction of the $2.3 billion in charges the company announced in August.The Philadelphia-based regional phone company reported that operating income came to $397.4 million, or 91 cents a share, up from $386.7 million, or 89 cents a share, a year ago.Revenues for the third quarter increased to $3.4 billion, a 3.8 percent gain over the $3.29 billion taken in during last year's third quarter.

WILMINGTON, Del. -- Bell Atlantic Chairman Raymond W. Smith had some advice yesterday for investors who might be waiting for the next big deal after the collapse of the $30 billion merger with Telecommunications Inc.: "Don't hold your breath."Speaking at the Philadelphia-based phone company's annual meeting in Wilmington, Mr. Smith outlined a growth plan that will rely on internal expansion rather than acquisition. The TCI deal, jTC he said, was "a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that will not come again."