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NORTON, Va. -- Starting March 1, Verizon's Lee County customers whose phone numbers start with 445 will be able to place local calls to five out-of-state exchanges. The move comes with the consolidation of the Lee exchange into the existing Cumberland Gap (Va.) exchange.
"Our customers in the Cumberland Gap exchange have long been able to make local calls into neighboring Tennessee and Kentucky communities," said Verizon's Area Manager Richard Settle. "Now, with the newly expanded Cumberland Gap exchange, our customers in the Lee exchange will be able to do the same."
Verizon is undertaking the consolidation to accommodate customers in Lee County who have shown a growing interest in the elimination of long-distance rates on calls to nearby exchanges in Tennessee and Kentucky.
Customers in the former Lee exchange will now be able to make local calls to: Middlesboro, Ky. (numbers that start with 242, 248 and 347); Cumberland Gap, Tenn. (869 exchange); Fork Ridge, Tenn. (249 exchange), New Tazewell, Tenn. (526, 626, 851) and Sharpes Chapel, Tenn. (278 and 438 exchanges). In addition, customers in the four affected Tennessee and Kentucky exchanges will be able to make local calls to the former Lee exchange customers.
The consolidation of the two exchanges also means that Verizon's customers in Cumberland Gap (861 exchange) and Pennington Gap (546 exchange) will no longer have to call long-distance to reach each other. Calls between the two exchanges are now local, requiring customers to dial only seven digits.
In addition, the consolidation eliminates "adder" rates on calls between Cumberland Gap and Jonesville (346 exchange) and between the former Lee exchange and Pennington Gap. The adder rates vary between 34 cents and 56 cents per call for residential customers, depending on the class of local service to which the customer subscribes.
Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) is one of the world's leading providers of communications services. Verizon companies are the largest providers of wireline and wireless communications in the United States, with 135.8 million access line equivalents and 32.5 million Verizon Wireless customers. Verizon is also the largest directory publisher in the world. With more than $67 billion in annual revenues and 229,500 employees, Verizon's global presence extends to 33 countries in the Americas, Europe, Asia and the Pacific. For more information on Verizon, visit www.verizon.com.
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