Verizon Wireless Expands Wireless Broadband Network to Cape Girardeau, Sikeston, Poplar Bluff and Other Southeast Missouri Communities

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo., Nov. 1 /PRNewswire/ — Verizon Wireless announced today that it has expanded the national rollout of its high-speed wireless network to Cape Girardeau, Sikeston, Poplar Bluff, and other communities along Interstate 55 and U.S. Highway 60 in southeast Missouri.

Verizon Wireless also expanded its high-speed network to much of western Kentucky, including the greater Paducah area as well as Mayfield, Murray and Benton.

“Southeast Missouri represents a vital market with dynamic, tech-savvy residents — including many business people and students — who want to stay connected,” said Lou Sigillo, president-Kansas/Missouri Region, Verizon Wireless. “The launch of our broadband network here provides our customers with access to the very latest wireless technology.”

With the wireless broadband network now available in southeast Missouri’s most populated markets, Verizon Wireless customers in the area now enjoy two prime services:

   — BroadbandAccess, the enhanced high-speed wireless service that equips      Verizon Wireless’ business customers with a truly untethered mobile      office experience, enabling them to wirelessly access their calendars,      the Internet, email and critical business information residing behind      their companies’ firewalls; and   — V CAST, a consumer-oriented multimedia service that gives customers      access to the most comprehensive selection of downloadable music,      high-quality videos and the coolest 3D games found anywhere.     BroadbandAccess  

Based on Evolution-Data Optimized Revision A (EV-DO Rev. A) network technology, BroadbandAccess provides mobile workers with the ability to access their corporate information as if they were attached to this data via a high-speed wired connection but with the freedom of true mobility. Developed with a range of users in mind, the service enables large enterprises, small to medium-sized businesses and mobile professionals to conduct business anytime, anywhere in the BroadbandAccess coverage area via a secure, true high-speed data connection.

With BroadbandAccess, business customers, residents and visitors to these Missouri communities can expect average download speeds of 600 kilobits per second (kbps) to 1.4 megabits per second and average upload speeds of 500 kbps to 800 kbps. That means they can download a 1 megabyte email attachment — the equivalent of a small PowerPoint(R) presentation or a large PDF file — in about eight seconds and upload the same-sized file in less than 13 seconds.

BroadbandAccess also enables Verizon Wireless customers to download files approximately 10 times faster than customers of wireless service providers that use different broadly deployed network technologies. Furthermore, customers who travel outside the enhanced BroadbandAccess coverage area with an EV-DO device will switch seamlessly to the company’s NationalAccess service.

“Our enhanced BroadbandAccess service gives our customers three key advantages in wireless communication — speed, mobility and security,” Sigillo said. “With these advantages comes an increase in productivity and bottom-line business benefits.”

V CAST: Video and Music

The company’s wireless broadband network also enables its V CAST multimedia services, which offer customers the ability to download full-song tracks, play cutting-edge 3D games and stream video clips straight to the handset with top transmission speeds. With content updated daily, customers can watch dozens of on-demand videos, including breaking news, weather updates, sports highlights and the hottest entertainment clips.

With V CAST Music, Verizon Wireless has built a massive full-song mobile music store that contains more than 2.1 million songs — from well-known as well as independent artists — that customers can download over-the-air, directly onto their V CAST Music-enabled wireless phones.

Coverage

Verizon Wireless’ BroadbandAccess and V CAST coverage in the southeast portion of the Show Me state currently spans a nine-county area and includes the following communities:

   — In the Cape Girardeau area, coverage includes Southeast Missouri State      University and extends from I-55 eastward to the Mississippi River, and      from State Route 74 north to the Municipal Golf Course.   — In the Sikeston area, coverage extends throughout the city limits.   — In the Poplar Bluff area, coverage extends throughout the city limits,      bound by State Route 60 south to the intersection of U.S. Highway 67      and State Route 53.   — Along the I-55 corridor, coverage extends as far north as Perryville      and as far south as Kennett in the Missouri Bootheel.   — Along U.S. Highway 60 from Poplar Bluff to Charleston.     Investment  

The multi-million dollar expansion includes the installation of high-tech wireless hardware and software in wireless transmission sites throughout the region. Verizon Wireless has invested more than $40 billion since it was formed — more than $5 billion on average every year — to increase the coverage and capacity of its national network and to add new services. More than $199 million of this investment was spent in Missouri from 2003 to 2006. Through October 8 of this year, $86 million has been invested in Verizon Wireless’ Missouri network improvements.

Verizon Wireless was the first national wireless provider to commercially launch a high-speed wireless broadband network in the United States. These communities in Missouri are the latest market to be added to the coverage, which is available to more than 210 million people across the country.

For more information about Verizon Wireless products and services, call 1-800-2 JOIN IN or go to http://www.verizonwireless.com/.

About Verizon Wireless

Verizon Wireless operates the nation’s most reliable wireless voice and data network, serving 63.7 million customers. The largest U.S. wireless company and largest wireless data provider, based on revenues, Verizon Wireless is headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with 68,000 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: Cheryl Bini Armbrecht, Cheryl.Bini@verizonwireless.com, orBrenda Hill, Brenda.Hill@verizonwireless.com, both of Verizon Wireless,+1-314-920-4444; or Caroline Villanueva, +1-314-725-5645,caroline@sequel-llc.com, for Verizon Wireless

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