2nd Quarter Results - Part 1

GTE CORPORATION 
27 July 1999


PART 1

  GTEs Strong Financial Performance Continues with Second
                           Quarter
          Earnings per Share Growth of 14.5 Percent

IRVING, Texas.  -- GTE Corp.  today announced its second
quarter 1999 financial results, with earnings per share
(EPS) from consolidated operations of 79 cents, an increase
of 14.5 percent over the year-ago quarter, on net income of
$776 million.  Consolidated revenues were $6.3 billion in
the second quarter compared with adjusted revenues of $5.9
billion in the second quarter of 1998, an increase of 7
percent.  (Reported and adjusted results are described in
the associated financial statements and accompanying notes.)

     GTE Chairman and CEO Charles R. Lee said, The first two
quarters of this year represent a turning point in GTEs
financial results, and deliver on a commitment we made in
May 1997 to grow earnings in the 13-to-15 percent range.
Especially gratifying is the outstanding growth and
continued evolution of our data and Internet businesses, in
which we have made substantial investments over the past two
years as part of our overall strategy for growth.  In
addition, during the past quarter we have continued to grow
our existing core businesses, while successfully divesting
non-strategic assets and working diligently to close our
merger with Bell Atlantic.  These successes bolster GTEs
position as a top-tier provider of telecommunications
services with global reach.
     
     Strong customer demand for GTE services was evidenced
by the achievement this quarter of 5 million wireless
customers and 3 million long-distance customers.  The long-
distance customer base was built in just over three years,
from when GTE entered the long-distance business in March
1996.
     
     On the merger front, GTE and Bell Atlantic gained U.S.
Department of Justice (DOJ) and shareholder approvals for
the proposed merger.  The DOJ cleared the merger after
exhaustive review, finding no competitive issues in the
companies' combined wireline businesses.  At the state
level, 28 public service commissions have either approved or
declined to review the transaction.  In addition, the
shareholders of each company overwhelmingly approved the
merger.
     
     In its property repositioning initiatives, GTE
announced purchasers for its Government Systems and Airfone
units as well as for wireline properties located in Alaska,
Arizona, Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, and parts of California
and Missouri.  The company will use the proceeds from these
sales to finance its pending purchase of Ameritechs wireless
territories in Illinois and Missouri, and to invest in other
high-growth opportunities.
     
     We are delighted with the high level of interest and
value we are receiving for these wireline properties.
Having signed agreements for more than half of the 1.6
million lines we are selling, we are confident that, along
with the sale of our Government Systems and Airfone units,
we will now exceed $4 billion in after-tax proceeds from
these transactions, said Mr.  Lee.

                    Consolidated Results

GTEs consolidated revenues in the second quarter grew $410
million, or 7 percent, over adjusted revenues in the second
quarter of 1998.  Major contributors to this revenue growth
include:
-  Domestic access line growth of 2.2 million or 10 percent,
   for a total of 25 million access lines in service.  This
   includes 5 percent growth in switched access lines and 35
   percent growth in special access lines;
-  Domestic access minutes of use growth of 1.7 billion
   minutes or 8 percent;
-  Domestic wireline revenue growth, representing the
   combined results of GTE Network Services and GTEs CLEC,
   of approximately 5 percent;
-  GTE Internetworking data revenue growth of $87 million or
   62 percent;
-  Long-distance revenue growth of $52 million or 40 percent;

-  Revenue growth of 13 percent from consumer vertical
   services, such as call waiting, Caller ID and voice
   messaging;
-  International consolidated revenue growth of $52 million
   or 13 percent, with proportionate revenue growth of $218
   million or 30 percent;
-  Continued domestic customer growth, including:

                        Total as of      Increase    Percent
                            6/30/99          over   Increase
                                          last 12
                                           months
      Long distance       3,045,000       801,000       36 %
      Internet              517,000       206,000           
      billable                                          66 %
      subscribers                                           
      (GTE.net)
      Wireless            5,027,000       396,000        9 %
      CLEC bundled          150,000        98,000      188 %
      customers
      Video                 110,000        20,000       22 %

Consolidated operating income for the second quarter was $1.5
billion, an increase of $185 million, or 14.5 percent, over
the same period in 1998.  The increase resulted from revenue
growth and the favorable effects of continuing cost-cutting
initiatives.  Operating income includes the losses associated
with GTEs continuing investments in its data and competitive
local exchange company (CLEC) initiatives.

Regarding GTEs business performance during the second quarter,
Mr.  Lee said, Our results reflect strong growth in data, long-
distance and bundled services on the domestic side, while our
investments in Latin America and the Caribbean continue to fuel
our international expansion.  Additionally during the quarter,
further steps were taken to strengthen our position in the
industry, announcing an agreement to purchase Ameritechs
wireless properties in the Midwest and acquiring a new PCS
license in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

                     National Operations

For the quarter, GTEs national operations delivered operating
income of $1.4 billion, an increase of $125 million, or 10
percent, over the second quarter last year.  Over the same
period, national operations revenue grew $363 million or 7
percent to $5.9 billion.  The major business units generating
these results include:
                              
Network Services
GTE Network Services revenues for the quarter increased by $90
million, or 2 percent, to $3.9 billion.  This increase was due
to growth in access lines, minutes of use, data services and
vertical services, partially offset by mandated price
reductions and intraLATA toll erosion.  Growth in total access
lines was 10 percent, with residential and business switched
access lines growing by 911,000 or 5 percent and special
access lines increasing 1.3 million, or 35 percent, over the
past 12 months.  Minutes of use increased 8 percent compared
to the same quarter last year.

   Data services generated revenue growth of $61 million, or
27 percent.  These include special access data lines, frame
relay, ISDN and CyberPOP.  GTEs ADSL service, which provides
customers with ultra-fast Internet access, is currently
offered through 483 central offices in 17 states.  Through
successful promotions, consumer vertical services units have
increased 2.5 million, or 21 percent, from the same quarter
last year, generating additional revenue of $18 million.

Offsetting the revenue increases were mandated federal and
state price reductions of approximately $88 million in the
quarter and approximately $327 million over the past
12 months.  In addition, revenue has been affected by erosion
in GTEs intraLATA toll and local markets.  The impact on local
markets is evidenced by the loss to-date of approximately
247,000 of the Companys 25 million domestic access lines to
resale (approximately half of these lines were resold to GTEs
CLEC).

Operating income in the second quarter was $1.4 billion, an
increase of $185 million or 15 percent, over the year-ago
quarter, primarily due to revenue increases and continuing cost-
cutting initiatives, including the favorable effects of the
employee-reduction program largely completed in the first quarter
of 1999.  These cost-cutting initiatives have mitigated the
impact of price reductions and allowed operating margins to be
maintained in the mid-30 percent range.

                              
Wireless Products and Services
Domestic wireless revenues for the quarter were $870 million
compared to $769 million in the year-ago quarter.  Wireless
subscribers grew 396,000, or 9 percent, from the second
quarter of 1998 to a new high of 5 million.  Net customer
additions were 80 percent higher than the first quarter and 57
percent higher than the same quarter last year, largely due to
the GTE CHOICE pricing plans introduced earlier this year.
Initial customer response has been very favorable as evidenced
by strong retention of high-value customers and reduced churn.
Through the end of the second quarter, 31 percent of total
customers now subscribe to the new GTE CHOICE pricing plans.
The average revenue per user per month also increased to $48
this quarter from $46 in the first quarter.

Operating cash flow improved $16 million, or 6 percent, from
the second quarter of 1998, while operating cash flow margin
for the quarter remained strong at 39 percent, consistent with
its performance over the past 12 months.  Cash operating
expense per customer dropped to a new low of $25 per month due
to ongoing process and productivity improvements.  In
addition, improved efficiencies in all distribution channels
and lower telephone equipment subsidies have decreased the
cost per gross customer add by 18 percent from the year-ago
quarter.

Data Products and Services

   GTE Internetworking revenues were $227 million in the
second quarter, an increase of $87 million, or 62 percent,
over the second quarter of 1998.  Operating cash flow for GTE
Internetworking improved 29 percent from the same quarter last
year.

   GTEs consumer Internet Service Provider (ISP), GTE.net,
generated additional revenue of $17 million, or 89 percent,
above the year-ago quarter.  Over the same period, Internet
billable subscribers grew 66 percent to 517,000.  Compared to
the first quarter, the number of subscribers decreased due to
the churn of customers recently obtained through promotional
offers on new PC sales.


   Revenue from business services, which include web hosting,
virtual private networks and e-commerce, increased $22
million, or 58 percent, from the second quarter last year.
With the recent expansion of GTEs international dial-up remote
access service, which we have branded DiaLinx, the Company now
has comprehensive global reach.  It also expanded its fully
managed virtual private networking service to key business
markets in 39 countries.  In addition, revenue increased $30
million, or 50 percent, over the prior year quarter from
networking services provided to non-affiliated ISPs.

   GTEs national fiber network deployment continues on track,
with the network carrying voice traffic in California and data
traffic for GTEs other business units.  With the planned
17,000 mile network expected to be fully operational in the
second half of the year, GTE is now in the process of adding
additional capacity throughout the network to meet projected
customer demand.

GTE Internetworking continues its industry-leading role
through aggressive development and rapid deployment of new and
innovative product offerings that will stimulate and shape the
evolution of the Internet.  For example, the company has
recently introduced three new wholesale services to be offered
over its national fiber network.  Internet Call Manager
provides dial-up ISP users with an Internet version of call
waiting.  Unified Messaging offers customers a consolidated in-
box for voicemail, fax, and e-mail, with message retrieval via
PC or telephone.  Virtual ISP Service provides companies the
ability to offer full-service, branded Internet access to
their customers by outsourcing the entire infrastructure and
back-office support functions from GTE.

GTE Internetworking revenues do not include data revenues from
other business units, such as T-1 connections and ISDN sold by
GTE Network Services.  Combined data revenue from all business
units grew to $571 million in the quarter, providing
annualized data revenues in excess of $2.2 billion.

Other National Operations

Second quarter revenue for our CLEC, long-distance, video and
strategic accounts businesses, was $350 million, an increase
of $104 million, or 42 percent, over the second quarter of
1998.  This revenue growth was driven in part by a 36 percent
increase in the number of long-distance customers over the
past 12 months, ending the quarter with over 3 million long-
distance customers.  GTE's CLEC, now operating in 8 states,
generated revenue growth by providing bundled local, long-
distance, wireless, paging and Internet services to 150,000
customers by the end of the quarter, an increase of 188
percent over the past 12 months.

                  International Operations

International operations net income for the quarter was $122
million, an increase of $13 million, or 12 percent, from the
second quarter last year.  Contributing to the favorable net
income performance were strong proportionate revenue gains and
operational efficiencies, as evidenced by a 53 percent
increase in operating income.  Proportionate revenue of $947
million in the second quarter increased $218 million, or 30
percent, from the same quarter last year, primarily due to
GTEs investment in the Puerto Rico Telephone Company.  Strong
demand for prepaid services in Latin America and rapid growth
of the Taiwan cellular operations contributed to an 89 percent
increase in proportionate wireless customers.

GTE expanded its Latin American wireless presence in the
quarter by winning the bid for one of two PCS wireless
licenses that were auctioned by the Argentine government for
the Buenos Aires greater metropolitan area.  The PCS license,
which covers a population of 13 million, complements GTEs
existing investment in CTI, an Argentine wireless company
serving the interior of Argentina.  CTI implemented enhanced
digital service during the second quarter and Buenos Aires PCS
is expected to be operational in late 1999 or early 2000.
Together they will provide nationwide wireless service in
Argentina.


                          About GTE

With 1998 revenues of more than $25 billion, GTE is a leading
telecommunications provider with one of the industrys broadest
arrays of products and services.  In the United States, GTE
provides local service in 28 states and wireless service in 17
states, as well as nationwide long-distance, directory, and
internetworking services ranging from dial-up Internet access
for residential and small-business consumers to Web-based
applications for Fortune 500 companies.  Outside the United
States, the company serves customers on five continents.

                              
Note:   All references noted above to earnings per share (EPS)
reflect diluted earnings per share.


A  copy of this release and associated tables can be found  on
the Internet at www.gte.com


                 Forward-Looking Statements

This announcement contains forward-looking statements.  For
each of these statements, GTE claims the protection of the
safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  If future
events and actual performance differ materially from GTEs
assumptions, actual results could vary significantly from the
performance projected in these forward-looking statements.
                                                  
The following important factors could affect the future
results of GTE, and could cause these results to differ
materially from those expressed in this announcement:
materially adverse changes in economic conditions; material
changes in available technology; the final resolution of
certain federal, state and local regulatory initiatives and
proceedings pertaining to, among other matters, the terms of
interconnection, access charges, universal service, unbundled
network elements and resale rates; the effects of competition
in GTEs markets; the success of GTEs efforts in achieving
Year 2000 compliance; and the success of GTEs efforts to
expand its service capability in the data communication, long-
distance and enhanced services segments of the
telecommunications marketplace and to provide a bundle of
products and services both in and outside of its traditional
service territories.

GTEs Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 1999
discusses in greater detail the important factors that could
cause its actual results to differ materially.


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