Bell Atlantic Rolls-Out ADSL, Offers Snap!

Bell Atlantic Internet
Solutions and CNET/NBC-owned Snap!
announced today they have developed a specialized version of the Snap!
portal and search engine for customers of Bell
Atlantic.net and Bell
Atlantic’s Infospeed DSL services, which also launched today.

The two organizations teamed to create a special version of the popular
Snap! Internet portal and search engine for customers of Bell Atlantic.net
who also subscribe to Bell Atlantic Infospeed DSL services. Infospeed DSL
is Bell Atlantic’s brand name for ADSL, or Asymmetric Digital Subscriber
Line technology, which will provide
Internet access to consumers at speeds 11 to 126 times faster than that
afforded by a 56 kilobits per second (Kbps) modem.

Bell Atlantic’s Infospeed DSL service is now available in selected Washington,
D.C., and Pittsburgh metropolitan areas for $59.95 a month for the basic
service package. The service will be offered to users in the Philadelphia
area and on the Hudson River waterfront in New Jersey beginning next month.
New York City, Boston and other markets will be added early next year.

When Bell Atlantic users open their browsers they will automatically be
greeted by the customizable Snap! portal. The Snap service is a directory
of Web sites, gathered by a team of editors and reviewers, and allows users
to search the directory by keywords, or browse through the directory’s 16
topics such as Arts & Humanities; Business & Money; Computing & Internet;
Entertainment; and Science & Technology. Snap also
provides content from more than 75 different Web publishers.

“Bell Atlantic’s addition of the Snap service means our customers will be
provided with more than just speed,” said Bob Beran, president-Bell
Atlantic Internet Solutions. “Right out of the gate Snap provides an
impressive array of quality information and brand-name resources. Snap is
positioned to keep pace with longer term developments as well, because it
is backed by
owners such as NBC and CNET, companies that clearly understand multimedia.”

“Snap and Bell Atlantic.net make a powerful combination,” said Halsey
Minor, chief executive officer of both CNET and
Snap. “We’re going to take the Internet experience to a whole new level by
coupling Snap with the high-speed, always-on
connectivity offered by Bell Atlantic’s Infospeed DSL service.”