Exhibit 18



                                                            December 31, 1996


Bell Atlantic Corporation
1717 Arch Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103

We are providing this letter to you for inclusion as an exhibit to your 
Form 10-K filing pursuant to Item 601 of Regulation S-K.

We have read management's justification for the change in accounting from the
"amortization" revenue recognition method to the "point of publication" method
contained in the Company's Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1996.
Based on our reading of the data and discussions with Company officials of the
business judgment and business planning factors relating to the change, we
believe management's justification is reasonable.  Accordingly,  we concur that
the newly adopted accounting principle described above is preferable in the
Company's circumstances to the method previously applied.



/s/ Coopers & Lybrand L.L.P.