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Verizon Wireless Investment in Philadelphia Region Network Since 2000 Passes $1 Billion Milestone

Posted on: Thursday, 9 August 2007, 12:03 CDT

TREVOSE, Pa., Aug. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Verizon Wireless announced today it has spent $120 million to enhance services and coverage throughout southeastern, central and northeastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and Delaware so far in 2007, bringing the network investment in the region to more than $1 billion since 2000. The network expansion is part of an aggressive multi-billion dollar national network investment each year (more than $1 billion every 90 days) to stay ahead of the growing demand for Verizon Wireless voice and data services. The company's ongoing network investment now totals more than $40 billion nationally over the past seven years.

As part of its regional network investment during the second quarter, the company added 17 new cell sites to enhance coverage and capacity across the region. The company also continued to upgrade its high-speed Evolution Data Optimized (EV-DO) network first deployed here in late 2004, with Revision A (Rev. A) technology. The company's flagship business data service, BroadbandAccess, runs faster and more efficiently with the new network enhancements. Customers can take advantage of upload speeds that are 5 - 6 times faster than before and interact with Web-based applications for an even better experience. For example, BroadbandAccess customers with Rev. A-compatible devices can now expect average download speeds of 600 kilobits per second (kbps) to 1.4 megabits per second, and average upload speeds of 500-800 kbps, which means customers can download a 1 Megabyte e-mail attachment -- the equivalent of a small PowerPoint(R) presentation or a large PDF file -- in about eight seconds and send the same-sized file in less than 13 seconds.

The Rev. A network also provides access to the company's V CAST service -- which enables customers to stream video clips, download full song tracks directly to their wireless phones and access VZ Navigator(SM), a full-featured GPS navigation service, on their Verizon Wireless cell phones. VZ Navigator offers maps and audible driving directions to more than 14 million points of interest, and automatically recalculates the directions if you miss a turn.

"Customers count on us to deliver wireless service they can rely on, that will allow them to complete calls, experience clear call quality and enhance their productivity through leading-edge services such as our wireless broadband service," said Christine Baron, president of Verizon Wireless' Philadelphia Tri-State Region, "We will make more of these significant investments in our wireless network to ensure we continue to deliver the reliable and innovative services our customers want."

The new, faster wireless broadband service is now available throughout Philadelphia and its surrounding counties, the Lehigh Valley, and in portions of central and southeastern Pennsylvania including the Greater Harrisburg and Hershey areas, York and Lancaster. To the north, the service is also available in Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Williamsport, Pa., and the immediate surrounding areas.

The company also continued to invest in its industry-leading quality assurance program during the second quarter. Locally, the company's three real-life "test men" for the Philadelphia region drove specially equipped "baseline testing" vehicles thousands of miles across the region on Interstate, U.S. and state highways as well as major roads and surface streets in high-population areas to determine if voice calls and data connections were successful on the first attempt and stayed connected. Ninety-eight Verizon Wireless test engineers nationwide are dedicated full-time to driving and testing the company's as well as its competitors' networks to measure performance and reliability. Each baseline testing vehicle has $240,000 worth of test equipment.

Strong demand for Verizon Wireless services continued during the second quarter of 2007 as the company added 1.3 million net new customers. For the 11th consecutive quarter, Verizon Wireless also led the wireless industry in customer loyalty. The company posted a churn (customer turnover) rate of just 1.1% (average per month for the quarter), well below the rate reported by the other major wireless carriers.

About Verizon Wireless

Verizon Wireless operates the nation's most reliable wireless voice and data network, serving 62.1 million customers. The largest US wireless company and largest wireless data provider, based on revenues, Verizon Wireless is headquartered in Basking Ridge, NJ, with 67,000 employees nationwide. The company is a joint venture of Verizon Communications and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE: VOD). Find more information on the Web at http://www.verizonwireless.com/ . To preview and request broadcast-quality video footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon Wireless operations, log on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at http://www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia .

Verizon Wireless

CONTACT: Sheldon Jones of Verizon Wireless, +1-215-638-5668, or cell,+1-215-219-8890

Web site: http://www.verizon.com/http://www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia

Source: PRNewswire-FirstCall

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