Verizon Partner Solutions Enhances Wholesale Mobility Solutions With Addition of BlackBerry Smartphones

NEW YORK - Verizon Partner Solutions (VPS) announced Tuesday (March 24) a series of new enhancements to the Verizon Wholesale Mobility Solutions suite of services.  These include the addition of two BlackBerry® smartphones to the Wholesale Mobility Solutions line-up of handsets; a new bulk minutes purchasing option; and an offer of free consultative services for VPS wholesale clients to support the launch of their own wireless voice and data businesses.

Verizon Partner Solutions is a leading wholesale provider of networks and network services to competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs) and other telecommunications providers based in the United States.  The Verizon Wholesale Mobility Solutions suite of services was introduced in June 2008 to allow VPS wholesale clients to bundle their Verizon wholesale wireline voice, data and Internet services with new wireless voice, text messaging and mobile broadband services to offer their end-users a single source-solution to fulfill all of their communications needs.

"These new service enhancements are a direct response to requests we've received from current and prospective Verizon Wholesale Mobility Solutions customers," said Michael Millegan, president of Verizon Partner Solutions.  "This is just the latest example of how we are continuously working to offer our wholesale wireline clients new value-added opportunities to grow their business and their business relationship with Verizon Partner Solutions."

Beginning immediately, the BlackBerry® Curve^TM 8330 and BlackBerry® 8830 World Edition smartphones from Research In Motion (RIM) are available for resale by qualified Verizon Wholesale Mobility Solutions clients.  Both smartphones feature highly tactile, full-QWERTY keyboards, high-resolution displays, built-in GPS, enhanced HTML Web browsers and advanced media players.  Like all BlackBerry smartphones, each device also offers integrated access to BlackBerry services, the industry's leading mobile e-mail and messaging services.

(Note: Photos of the smartphones are available at http://verizon.mediaseed.tv/.)

When originally introduced, Verizon Wholesale Mobility Solutions offered wholesale clients prepackaged voice plans with a specified number of bundled calling minutes per handset per month (similar to bundled plans offered in the retail wireless market) to simplify the go-to-market process for new wireless service resellers.  To increase the flexibility of the Wholesale Mobility Solutions offer, VPS is adding a new bulk minutes option that allows clients to purchase blocks of wireless calling minutes that they can use to create their own unique calling plans for the customers they serve.

"While expanding into the mobile market is an attractive proposition, there is a learning curve that must be addressed by our clients," said Millegan.  "To support their success, we're introducing a free consultative support program to help Verizon Wholesale Mobility Solutions clients establish a solid foundation upon which to build their new wireless resale operations and value proposition."

Verizon Partner Solutions has retained the consulting firm Mission Critical Wireless, LLC (MCW) to provide the support program.  MCW will offer wireless service education and training, business consulting, and second-level help desk support to new Verizon Wholesale Mobility Solutions clients at no charge for the first 180 days.

More information on Verizon Wholesale Mobility Solutions and all Verizon Partner Solutions wholesale products and services is available at http://www.verizon.com/wholesale/.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ), headquartered in New York, is a leader in delivering broadband and other wireline and wireless communication innovations to mass market, business, government and wholesale customers.  Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable wireless network, serving more than 80 million customers nationwide.  Verizon's Wireline operations include Verizon Business, which delivers innovative and seamless business solutions to customers around the world, and Verizon Telecom, which brings customers the benefits of converged communications, information and entertainment services over the nation's most advanced fiber-optic network.  A Dow 30 company, Verizon employs a diverse workforce of nearly 224,000 and last year generated consolidated operating revenues of more than $97 billion.  For more information, visit www.verizon.com.

The BlackBerry and RIM families of related marks, images and symbols are the exclusive properties and trademarks of Research In Motion Limited.

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