(FORTUNE Magazine) – Bell Atlantic chairman Ray Smith was back in New York's Waldorf-Astoria Hotel last month with another big deal to talk about, and this time nobody was going to jerk him around. His agreement with Nynex pools the cellular assets of the two companies, creating a wireless powerhouse stretching from Boston to Washington. Bell Atlantic will own 62.35% of the new company, and Nynex 37.65%. Those shares are roughly comparable with the number of cellular customers each company serves today -- but the potential for growth is greatest in Nynex's New YorkNew England territory. The deal will bring both companies efficiency and clout. A seamless system is easier to use for cellular customers who roam from one territory to the other. More important, the new combo will now have the financial wherewithal to become a nationwide cellular company when the Federal Communications Commission auctions off new wireless frequencies later in the year. Smith was nearly burned last year with a deal that would have enriched Tele- Communications Inc. chairman John Malone at the expense of Bell Atlantic shareholders. This time, Smith may have the better of the bargain. Nynex has been slow to sign up cellular customers, and new services for business subscribers also point to growth in its territory. "There will be a major explosion in the wireless data market," says Smith. "That's the part of Manhattan we think is going to be absolutely dynamite." Nynex chairman William Ferguson is similarly sanguine. Nynex and Bell Atlantic have had a similar arrangement limited to New York City and northern New Jersey for ten years, though Nynex had the bigger share. "We've reduced our ownership in the terrific New York metro area," says Ferguson, "but we've gained ownership in a wonderful area -- Baltimore, Washington, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh. And it positions us for the auction." Though Bell Atlantic will own more of the company, control will be split fifty-fifty -- at least in theory. The two chairmen won't say who gets to break the tie in case of disputes. Says Smith: "If you have a partner who has the same vision, the same culture, and you are simpatico, you each have 100% control." Sounds a lot like something John Malone might have said.