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                                                                      Exhibit 3b

                          VERIZON WASHINGTON, D.C. INC.


                                     BY-LAWS

                          (As Amended August 12, 2002)

                                    ARTICLE I

                             SHAREHOLDERS' MEETINGS


     Section 1-a  Place of Meetings.  All meetings of the shareholders shall be
held at the registered office of the corporation in the City of Washington, D.C.
or at such other place, within or without such City, as the Board of Directors
or shareholders may from time to time determine.

     Section 1-b  Annual Meeting.  An annual meeting of the shareholders shall
be held in April of each year on a business day and at an hour to be fixed by
the President and set forth in the notice of the meeting, for the election of
Directors and the transaction of such other business as may properly be brought
before the meeting.

     Section 1-c  Special Meetings.  Special  meetings of the shareholders may
be called at any time by the Board of Directors or the President.

     Section 1-d Notice of Meetings.  Written notice of every meeting of the
shareholders shall be given by or at the direction of the person or persons
authorized to call the meeting, to each shareholder or record entitled to vote
at the meeting, not less than ten (10) nor more than fifty (50) days prior to
the date named for the meeting, unless a greater period of notice is required by
law in a particular case, by delivery of or by mailing such notice to each
shareholder addressed to such shareholder at such shareholder's address
appearing on the books of the corporation for the purpose of notice. Such notice
shall specify the place, day and hour of the meeting, and shall state the nature
of the business to be transacted if, and to the extent, required by law.

     Section 1-e Quorum.  The presence, in person or by proxy, of the holders of
a majority of the shares entitled to vote thereat shall constitute a quorum at
any meeting of the shareholders for the election of Directors or for the
transaction of other business, except as otherwise provided by statute or in the
Certificate of Incorporation.

     Section 1-f Shareholders Entitled to Vote.  Except as may be otherwise
provided in the Certificate of Incorporation, every shareholder of record shall
have the right at every shareholders' meeting to cast one vote, either in person
or by proxy, for every share standing in his or her name of the record of
shareholders.

     Section 1-g Voting.  When a quorum exists at any meeting of shareholders
and unless otherwise provided by law or the Certificate of Incorporation, action
to be taken by vote of the shareholders shall be authorized by a majority of
votes cast by the holders of the shares entitled to vote thereon, in person or
by proxy, except that Directors shall be elected by a plurality of the votes so
cast.

     Section 1-h Informal Action.  Except as may be otherwise provided in the
Certificate of Incorporation, any action which could be taken at a meeting of
the shareholders may be taken without a meeting, if a consent in writing,

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setting forth the action so taken, is signed by all of the shareholders who
would be entitled to vote at a meeting for such purpose and is filed with the
Secretary of the corporation.

                                   ARTICLE II

                                    DIRECTORS


     Section 2-a  Number and Term of Office.  The business of the corporation
shall be managed under the direction of the Board of Directors. The Board of
Directors shall consist of not less than seven (7) nor more than ten (10)
Directors. Directors must be at least eighteen years of age. At each annual
meeting the directors shall be elected by the shareholders to serve until their
respective successors shall be elected and shall qualify.

     Section 2-b  Place of Meetings.  The meetings of the Board of Directors may
be held at such place, within or without the City of Washington, D.C., as a
majority of the Directors may, from time to time, by resolution prescribe, or as
may be designated in the notice of waiver of notice of a particular meeting. In
the absence of specification, such meetings shall be held at the registered
office of the corporation.

     Section 2-c  Time of Meetings.  The first meeting of each newly elected
Board of Directors shall be the regularly scheduled meeting of the Board of
Directors next following the annual meeting of shareholders, unless otherwise
provided in the notice of the meeting. Such meeting shall be for the purpose of
organization, the election of officers and the transaction of other business.

     Regular meetings of the Board of Directors may be held at such times as the
Board of Directors may by resolution determine. Unless otherwise specified by
resolution of the Board of Directors, if any day fixed for a regular meeting
shall be a legal holiday, then the meeting shall be held at the same hour and
place on the immediately preceding business day which is not a legal holiday.

     Special meetings of the Board of Directors may be called at any time by the
President, and shall be called upon the written request of any two or more
Directors delivered to the Secretary. Upon receipt of such request it shall be
the duty of the Secretary promptly to issue the call for such meeting.

     Section 2-d  Notice of Meetings.  Written notice of every meeting of the
Board of Directors shall be given personally or by mailing the same at least
forty-eight (48) hours before the time named for such meeting, except that
notice of a special meeting of the Board of Directors may instead be given by
telegraphing or telephoning the same, at least twenty-four (24) hours before the
time named for such meeting. Such notice shall specify the place, day and hour
of the meeting, and shall also state the nature of the business to be transacted
at a special meeting or if otherwise required by law.

     Section 2-e  Quorum.  At all meetings of the Board of Directors, a majority
of the Directors in office shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of
business, and the acts of a majority of the Directors present at a meeting at
which a quorum is present shall be the acts of the Board of Directors, except as
may otherwise be specifically provided by statute.

     Section 2-f  Vacancies.  Vacancies in the Board of Directors, whether or
not caused by an increase in the number of Directors, may be filled by a
majority of the remaining members of the Board of Directors though less than a
quorum, and each person so elected shall be a Director until his or her
successor is elected and qualified or until his or her earlier death,
resignation or removal. Any Director may resign at any time upon written notice
to the corporation.

     Section 2-g  Removal of Directors.  Any Director, or the entire Board of

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Directors, may be removed with or without cause by vote of a majority of the
shareholders.

     Section 2-h  General Powers.  The Board of Directors may exercise all such
powers of the corporation and do all such lawful acts and things as are not by
statute, or by the Certificate of Incorporation, directed or required to be
exercised and done by the shareholders. The Board of Directors may adopt and
enforce such rules and regulations, not inconsistent herewith, as they may deem
necessary for the conduct of the corporation's business; the Board of Directors
may, from time to time, designate one of its members to serve as Chairman, with
such duties as the Board of Directors shall specify. The Chairman or, if the
position is vacant, the President, shall preside at all Board Meetings.

     Section 2-i  Board Committees.  The Board of Directors may, by resolution
adopted by a majority of the whole Board of Directors, designate an Executive
Committee, which shall consist of two or more Directors and the Board of
Directors may, by resolution adopted by a majority of the whole Board of
Directors, designate from time to time such other Committees consisting of two
or more Directors, as it shall deem necessary or appropriate, each to have such
powers, in addition to those set forth in these By-Laws, as the Board of
Directors by resolution shall authorize. Vacancies in the membership of any
Committee shall be filled by the Board of Directors at a regular or special
meeting of the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors may designate one or
more Directors as alternate members of the Executive or other Committee (to
serve in the order named if more than one) who may replace any absent or
disqualified member at any meeting of such Committee. If the Board of Directors
has not made such designation, or if none of the alternate members designated is
available, in the absence or disqualification of any member of the Executive or
other Committee, the member or members thereof present at any meeting and not
disqualified from voting, whether or not the member or members constitute a
quorum, may unanimously appoint another Director to act at the meeting in the
place of any such absent or disqualified member. The Executive or other
Committee shall keep regular minutes of its proceedings and shall report actions
taken by it to the next meeting of the Board of Directors.

     Section 2-j  Specific Powers of Executive and other Committees.  The
President, if a Director, shall be a member of the Executive Committee. Except
as prohibited by law or granted to another Committee by resolution of the Board
of Directors, the Executive Committee shall have and exercise all the powers of
the Board of Directors provided that neither the Executive nor any other
Committee shall have the power to adopt, amend or repeal the By-Laws of the
corporation or to elect Directors. At any meeting of a Committee a majority of
such Committee shall constitute a quorum. Each Committee may fix the time and
place of its regular meetings, and after such time and place shall have been
fixed no notice of such regular meeting shall be necessary. Special meetings of
the Executive Committee may be called by the President whenever he or she shall
think proper, and the President shall call such meetings whenever requested, in
writing, by any two members of the Executive Committee. Special Meetings of
other Committees may be called by the respective chairmen. Notice of the time
and place of every special meeting of a Committee shall be given by the
Secretary to each member of the Committee in the manner prescribed in Section
2-d for special meetings of the whole Board.

     Section 2-k  Informal Action.  Any action which could be taken at a meeting
of the Board of Directors or the Executive or other Board Committee, may be
taken without a meeting, if consent in writing setting forth the action so taken
is signed by all of the Directors or the members of the Executive or other
Committee, as the case may be, and is filed by the Secretary of the corporation
with the minutes of the proceedings of the Board of Directors or appropriate
Committee.

     Section 2-l  Emergency Authority.  The Board of Directors may adopt
emergency succession rules which make advance provision for the continuity and
authority of the corporation's management in the event of a major catastrophe,
such as the nuclear attack, or other disaster resulting in the loss or
unavailability of members of the Board of Directors, whether by death,

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incapacity, isolation or otherwise, or in loss or unavailability of officers of
the corporation, and in the event of such a major catastrophe or disaster, the
terms of any such rules shall have the same effect as if included in these By-
Laws and shall supersede the terms of these By-Laws and any resolutions of the
Board of Directors, to the extent that they may be inconsistent therewith, until
the Board of Directors can be convened pursuant to such rules.

     Section 2-m Telecommunications.  One or more Directors may participate in a
meeting of the Board of Directors or a Committee thereof, by means of conference
telephone or similar communications equipment by means of which all persons
participating in the meeting can hear each other. Participation in a meeting
pursuant to this Section shall constitute presence in person at such meeting.

                                   ARTICLE III

                                    OFFICERS

         SECTION 3-a Number, Qualifications and Designation. The officers of the
corporation shall be (i) one or more of any of the following: a chairman or a
vice-chairman of the board or a president or a vice president (or such other
officer as may be duly authorized to exercise the duties, respectively,
ordinarily exercised by the president or vice president), (ii) a secretary,
(iii) a treasurer, and (iv) such other officers as may from time to time be
elected by the board of directors or appointed in accordance with the provisions
of Section 3-c hereof. One person may hold more than one office. Officers may
be, but need not be, directors or shareholders of the corporation.

     Section 3-b  Election and Term of Office.  The officers of the corporation,
except subordinate officers appointed pursuant to Section 3-c hereof, shall be
elected by the Board of Directors for such terms as may be specified by the
Board of Directors, and each such officer shall hold such office until such
officer's successor shall have been elected and qualified, or until such
officer's earlier death, resignation or removal. The Board of Directors shall
designate a principal financial officer and a principal accounting officer. Any
officer may resign at any time upon written notice to the corporation and,
unless otherwise specified therein, the acceptance of such resignation shall not
be necessary to make it effective. If the office of an officer elected by the
Board of Directors becomes vacant for any reason, the vacancy may be filled by
the President on an interim basis until the next meeting of the Board of
Directors, at which time the position shall be filled by the Board of Directors.

     Section 3-c  Subordinate Officers, Employees and Agents.  The Board of
Directors may from time to time appoint such subordinate officers, employees or
agents (who may also be officers or employees of an affiliated company) as it
deems necessary, who shall hold such positions for such terms and shall exercise
such powers and perform such duties as are provided in these By-Laws, or as the
Board of Directors may from time to time determine. The Board of Directors may
delegate to any officer or Committee of the Board of Directors the power to
appoint or remove subordinate officers and to retain, appoint or remove
employees or other agents, and to prescribe the authority and duties, not
inconsistent with these By-Laws, of such subordinate officers, employees or
other agents. In the absence of any such specific delegation, the President
shall have the authority to appoint subordinate officers, employees or agents.
The President shall have authority to approve giving one or more subordinates
officer(s) the title of Vice President, if deemed appropriate under the
circumstances.

     Section 3-d  Removal of Officers, Agents or Employees.  Any officer,
subordinate officer, agent or employee of the corporation may be removed, or his
or her authority revoked, by resolution of the Board of Directors whenever in
its judgment the best interests of the corporation will be served thereby. Any
subordinate officer, agent or employee likewise may be removed by the President
or, subject to the President's supervision, by the person having authority with
respect to the appointment of such subordinate officer, agent or employee.

     Section 3-e  President.  The President shall have such authority and

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perform such duties as usually appertain to that office in business
corporations, and shall perform such other duties as shall from time to time be
assigned to him or her by the Board of Directors.

     Section 3-f  Secretary.  The Secretary, or an Assistant Secretary shall
attend all meetings of the shareholders and of the Board of Directors and shall
record the proceedings of the shareholders and Directors in a book or books to
be kept for that purpose; see that notices are given and records and reports
properly kept and filed by the corporation as required by law; be the custodian
of the Seal of the Corporation and attest or cause to be attested documents on
behalf of the corporation under its seal; and in general, perform all duties
incident to the office of Secretary and such other duties as may from time to
time be assigned to him or her by the Board of Directors or President. The
Secretary shall appoint one or more Assistant Secretaries with such powers and
duties as the Board of Directors, the President or the Secretary shall from time
to time determine.

     Section 3-g  Treasurer.  The Treasurer, or an Assistant Treasurer, shall
have or provide for the custody of the funds and other property of the
corporation and shall keep or cause to be kept full and accurate accounts of
receipts and disbursements in books belonging to the corporation; collect and
receive, or provide for the collection and receipt of, moneys earned by or in
any manner due to or received by the corporation; deposit all funds in his or
her custody as Treasurer in such banks or other places of deposit as may be
designated from time to time by the Board of Directors or pursuant to its
authority; whenever so required by the Board of Directors, render an account
showing his or her transactions as Treasurer and the financial condition of the
corporation; and, in general, discharge such other duties as may from time to
time be assigned to him or her by the Board of Directors or the President. The
Treasurer shall appoint one or more Assistant Treasurers with such powers and
duties as the Board of Directors, the President or the Treasurer shall from time
to time determine.

     Section 3-h  Controller.  The Controller, if one shall have been elected or
appointed, shall have custody and charge of all books of account, except those
required by the Treasurer in keeping records, of the work of the Treasurer's
office, and shall have supervision over subsidiary accounting records, wherever
located. The Controller shall have access to all books of account, including the
Treasurer's records, for purposes of audit and for obtaining information
necessary to verify or complete the records of the Controller's office. Unless
otherwise provided by the Board of the Directors, the Controller shall certify
to authorization and approvals pertaining to vouchers and shall perform such
other duties as may be assigned by the Board of Directors or the President. With
the approval of the President, the Controller may designate one or more persons
to perform all of the Controller's duties as may be found necessary to delegate
in the ordinary course of the business or in the event of the absence or
disability of the Controller.

     Section 3-i  Delegation of Duties.  The President may delegate duties to
other officers, subordinate officers, employees or agents and may similarly
provide for the redelegation thereof.

     Section 3-j  Voting of Stock.  Unless otherwise provided by the Board of
Directors, the President or the Treasurer shall have full power and authority,
on behalf of the corporation, to attend, and to act and vote, in person or by
proxy, at any meeting of the shareholders of any company in which the
corporation may hold stock, and at any such meeting shall possess and may
exercise any and all of the rights and powers incident to the ownership of such
stock which, as the owner thereof the corporation might have possessed and
exercised if present. The Board of Directors may from time to time confer like
powers upon any other person or persons.

     Section 3-k  Endorsement of Securities for Transfer.  The President and the
Treasurer shall each have power to endorse and deliver for sale, assignment or
transfer certificates of stock, bonds or other securities, registered in the
name

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of or belonging to the corporation, whether issued by this corporation or by any
other corporation, government, state or municipality or agency thereof.

                                   ARTICLE IV

                    CERTIFICATES FOR STOCK, TRANSFER, ETC.

     Section 4-a  Issuance.  Each shareholder shall be entitled to a certificate
or certificates, under the seal of the corporation, showing the number of shares
to which the shareholder is entitled. Such certificates shall be signed by the
President and by the Treasurer or an Assistant Treasurer.

     Section 4-b  Transfer.  Stock shall be transferable on the books of the
corporation only by the holder thereof in person, or by attorney, upon surrender
of the outstanding certificate; provided, however, that in the case of a lost,
stolen or destroyed certificate, a new certificate may be issued in place
thereof upon such terms as the Board of Directors may prescribe.

     Section 4-c  Record Holder of Shares; Record Date. The corporation shall be
entitled to recognize the exclusive right of a person registered on its books as
the owner of shares to receive dividends and to vote as such owner and shall not
be bound to recognize any equitable or other claim to or interest in such share
or shares on the part of any other person except as otherwise provided by law.
In order that the corporation may determine the shareholders entitled to notice
of or to vote at any meeting of shareholders, to receive any dividend or other
distribution, or to exercise any other right to which a shareholder is entitled,
the Board may fix in advance a record date in accordance with the provisions
specified by statute. If no record date is fixed, then the record date shall be
determined in accordance with the applicable statutory provisions.

                                    ARTICLE V

                   INDEMNIFICATION OF DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS


     Section 5-a  Indemnification of Directors and Officers.  Each person made
or threatened to be made a party to an action, suit or proceeding, civil or
criminal, by reason of the fact that he or she, his or her testator or intestate
is or was a director or officer of the corporation shall be indemnified by the
corporation against liabilities, costs and expenses of every kind actually and
reasonably incurred by him or her as a result of such action, suit or
proceeding, or any threat thereof or any appeal thereon, but in each case only
if and to the extent permissible under applicable law. The foregoing indemnity
shall not be exclusive of other rights to which such person may be entitled.

     Section 5-b  Advancing Expenses.  Expenses incurred in defending a civil or
criminal action or proceeding may be paid by the corporation in advance of the
final disposition of such action or proceeding upon receipt of an undertaking by
or on behalf of the officer or director to repay such amount if he or she is
ultimately found not to be entitled to indemnification or, to the extent that
the expenses so advanced exceed the indemnification to which he or she is
entitled.

     Section 5-c  Insurance.  The corporation may purchase and maintain
insurance on behalf of any person for whom indemnity would be provided pursuant
to Section 5-a above, in the capacity therein set forth, against liability
asserted against such person and incurred by such person in any such capacity,
or arising out of such person's status as such, whether or not the corporation
would have the power to indemnify such person against such liability under the
provisions of this Article or otherwise.

                                   ARTICLE VI

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                                  MISCELLANEOUS

     Section 6-a  Waiver of Notice.  Except as otherwise provided by law or the
Certificate of Incorporation, any notice required to be given under the
provisions of the By-Laws, or otherwise, may be waived in writing by the
shareholder, director or officer to whom such notice is required to be given,
either before or after the meeting or action of which notice is waived.
Attendance of any shareholder, in person or by proxy, and of any director or
officer at any meeting shall constitute a waiver of notice of such meeting
except where a person entitled to notice attends the meeting for the express
purpose of objecting to the transaction of any business because the meeting was
not lawfully called or convened. A shareholder or director who signs a written
consent, in lieu of a meeting, as provided for in these By-Laws, shall be deemed
to have waived any notice of such meeting.

     Section 6-b  Checks, Notes, Etc.  All checks, notes and evidences of
indebtedness of the corporation shall be signed by such person or persons as the
Board of Directors may from time to time designate or the Board of Directors may
adopt a single symbol to be affixed to such documents. In either case, the
signature of such person or persons, or a symbol, if such is adopted, and any
facsimile or facsimiles thereof, shall be an "authorized signature" of the
corporation and shall be affixed to such checks, notes, and evidences of
indebtedness in such manner, and by such persons, as the Board of Directors
shall authorize.

     Section 6-c  Corporate Seal.  The corporate seal shall have inscribed
thereon the name of the corporation, with such device or devices as the Board of
Directors may determine. The seal may be used by causing it or a facsimile
thereof to be impressed or affixed or in any other manner reproduced.

     Section 6-d  Amendment of By-Laws.  The By-Laws may be adopted, amended or
repealed by the Board of Directors at any meeting, except that Section 2-a
above, shall be amended or repealed only by the shareholders.

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