After months of waiting, a new deal may help complete the long-delayed merger between giants Bell Atlantic and GTE. New York-based local carrier Bell Atlantic told analysts today it would ask regulators as soon as Wednesday to let it spin off GTE's high-profile BBN data and networking services division. Bell Atlantic does not yet have approval to offer long-distance data service in many places in the country, making it impossible for the combined company to offer services over the GTE data network. Analysts said the news marks a warming in the talks between Bell Atlantic and Federal Communications Commission officials, who have rejected several previous ideas for how to handle the sticky issue of GTE's data business. "I assume that the reason they're going this far is that they've been encouraged by FCC staff response," said Prudential Securities analyst Susan Lynner. "(The data business) has presented a particular problem.