Verizon International Foundation Established Scholarship Program at Instituto Politecnico Nacional

MEXICO CITY, Mexico - To help support the development of technical and social science professionals in Mexico, Verizon International Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Verizon International, has established a scholarship program for students at the Instituto Politecnico Nacional (IPN). The announcement was made today at a ceremony at Hacienda de los Morales.

Ten incoming students in the Engineering and Physic-Mathematics, Social and Administrative Science programs have been awarded scholarships of $2,500 each for the 2001-2002 academic year. The grants will be renewable annually during the department's five-year undergraduate program. Ten additional scholarships will be added annually for a total of 50 students.

The scholarship program - which will total $625,000 when fully funded - will cover the student's living expenses books, transportation and health insurance. The Instituto Politecnico Nacional is a tuition-free institute.

"Verizon is committed to supporting educational programs that provide the training necessary to develop a skilled workforce," said Fares Salloum, president-international, the Americas for Verizon, and president of Iusacell's board of directors.

Verizon has a 37.2 percent ownership stake in Iusacell, a leading wireless provider in Mexico.

"In addition to helping increase the number of qualified technical and social science professionals, the scholarship program will provide these students the opportunity to contribute to the future economic growth of Mexico," said Salloum. "I congratulate these students for their outstanding academic achievement."

The scholarship recipients are Brigido Alejo Allende; Laura Aviles Gomez; Angelica Baezavila; Leticia Cruz Tome; Esther Dominguez Aviles; Gustavo Noel Flores Hernandez; Oscar Marin Rueda; Roberto Jose Reyes Perez; Jorge Alejandro Santos Rodriguez and Jennely Marcelina Vivar Garcia.

"By helping these exceptional students achieve their full academic potential, we are honoring our commitment to foster education in Mexico and ensuring that Mexico will have a pool of trained professionals," said Peter Burrowes, president of Iusacell.

Miguel Angel Correa Jasso, director general of IPN said, "The Verizon International Foundation scholarship program will strengthen our mission and vision to offer affordable education to all."

Verizon International Foundation expects to expand the program in the future to cover other students at IPN. Verizon International has similar scholarship programs in Asia and Puerto Rico and plans to expand the program to other Latin American countries.

To qualify for a scholarship, students must have a grade point average of 9.0 for Engineering and Physic-Mathematics Science and 9.5 for Social and Administrative Science program; demonstrate financial need; be educated and reside in Mexico, and be enrolled in the institute's five-year degree program.

Verizon International Foundation supports a variety of educational and economic initiatives that focus on bridging the digital divide, workforce development and literacy. The Foundation is committed to improving the quality of life of the global communities and customers served by Verizon and its international affiliates. The Foundation works closely with Verizon's affiliates and a variety of advisory groups and other organizations to identify local needs and to develop and nurture programs that address those needs.

Verizon International is a business division of Verizon Communications.

Verizon Communications

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 125 million access line equivalents and approximately 28 million wireless customers. Verizon is also the largest directory publisher in the world. A Fortune 10 company with about 260,000 employees and more than $65 billion in annual revenues, Verizon's global presence extends to 40 countries in the Americas, Europe, Asia and the Pacific. For more information on Verizon, visit www.verizon.com.