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Verizon Wireless' Chicagoland Customers Are Covered During Tornado Season

Posted on: Tuesday, 14 April 2009, 11:54 CDT

Company Completes Installation of Backup Generators at Cell Sites

CHICAGO, April 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Verizon Wireless recently completed the installation of permanent backup generators at every cell site possible in Chicago and surrounding suburbs, ensuring its customers can continue to communicate during power outages, tornados, flooding and other disasters.

The backup generators, which cost about $35,000 each and can keep a cell site up and running for days before needing refueling, enable Verizon Wireless' network to remain operational in times of emergency when power goes out.

Verizon Wireless' network team will deploy portable generators during emergencies to the few cell sites that do not have permanent backup generators due to environmental or location reasons, so that these remain operational as well.

The generators serve as a redundancy measure, augmenting the battery back-up power installed at all Verizon Wireless cell sites.

"Network reliability is the No. 1 reason that customers choose and stay with Verizon Wireless," said T.J. Fox, president-Illinois/Wisconsin Region, Verizon Wireless. "We build redundancy into our network so that our customers can depend on us every time they pick up their wireless device -- particularly in times of emergency."

Verizon Wireless has invested more than $50 billion since it was formed --$5.5 billion on average every year -- to increase the coverage and capacity of its national network and to add new services. Of this investment, $1.2 billion was spent in Illinois, including more than $179.5 million in 2008.

About Verizon Wireless

Verizon Wireless operates the nation's most reliable and largest wireless voice and data network, serving more than 80 million customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with more than 85,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE: VOD). For more information, visit 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 www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.

SOURCE Verizon Wireless

Source: PR Newswire

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