Verizon Reaches One Million DSL Lines-in-Service Milestone; Announces $29.95 Introductory Monthly Rate

NEW YORK - Verizon Communications' (NYSE:VZ) Advanced Services subsidiary now has one million DSL (digital subscriber line) high-speed Internet lines in service, the company announced today.

The company also unveiled a sales promotion designed to help meet previously announced 2001 targets of 1.2 to 1.3 million DSL lines in service.

The consumer offer from Verizon Online, the company's Internet service provider, begins Friday and will include a special three-month introductory rate of $29.95 a month. There is no annual commitment required, no activation or service termination fees and a 30-day, money-back guarantee. The service package also includes a do-it-yourself DSL installation kit and a Logitech Express Cam PC camera.

"We're proud to reach this important milestone of one million lines in service and to launch a compelling new sales promotion," said Keiko Harvey, senior vice president - Verizon Advanced Services. "Demand for high-speed Internet access remains high, and we're meeting America's need for speed by continuing to expand availability of our DSL service, reduce our installation time and enhance our customer service."

Strong Strides Made in Deployment, Provisioning and Service

More than half of Verizon's 62.5 million access lines currently are qualified to offer DSL in Verizon's local service area. Harvey said an additional 3.5 million new lines have been qualified since the beginning of the current year.

"There is a growing recognition in Washington that there is a need for a national broadband policy that removes the barriers to deployment and encourages even more investment in high-speed technology," Harvey said.

Once customers order DSL service from Verizon Online, it now takes an average of 10 days until the service is up and running. That is down from 15 to 22 days at the start of 2001. Ninety-eight percent of all Verizon Online DSL customers now use do-it-yourself installation kits, which eliminates the need to schedule a home service call.

"We will continue to streamline our ordering, qualification and provisioning processes with the aim of soon cutting our ten-day provisioning time in half," Harvey said. "We know that people do not want to wait for their high-speed access and we're determined to deliver it quickly." Verizon Online also is enhancing its customer support to provide DSL customers with quicker status updates and to resolve customer issues on the first call.

"We're now seeing dramatic increases in our overall consumer satisfaction ratings, which have improved by over 50 percent since the beginning of this year," Harvey said.

Strong Demand to Fuel Sales Growth

Veronica Pellizzi, group president - Internet and data for Verizon, said that demand for DSL remains high and that bodes well for continued sales growth.

"Studies show that almost 20 percent of consumers with dial-up Internet access expect to subscribe to some form of high-speed connectivity by mid-2002," she said. "Up to 16 percent of all new high-speed subscribers are first-time Internet users. The market for high-speed access isn't limited to early-adapters or the Internet savvy. It is wide-open for the Internet novice as well."

Pellizzi said Verizon will aggressively market its DSL service with continued product enhancements and compelling value propositions supported by interest-grabbing advertising campaigns.

Customers who sign up for DSL service from Verizon Online during the promotion, which runs from Oct. 19 to Nov. 30, will get equipment and service activation valued at $250 at no charge and save $60 in monthly fees.

"These savings, combined with the elimination of any annual commitment, provide a great incentive for customers to order broadband," said Pellizzi.

"We have one million DSL lines in service today. But clearly our deployment reaches millions more who have not yet signed up. Our job is to give them good reasons to join the broadband revolution today," Pellizzi said.

Verizon Online recently began offering networking options that allow consumers or businesses to share one DSL connection among multiple PCs and laptops, and a new broadband portal. Future plans include offering value-added services such as games, streaming video and audio clips, movies and trailers, music downloads, Internet radio, and enhanced Internet filtering and security.

"Our promotion and ongoing product enhancements will be supported by our 'Get On With It' advertising campaign that features real people and the many ways they use DSL to get more out of the Internet," said Pellizzi.

The campaign rolled out nationally on Sept.1 in17 regional markets with broadcast and print ads, direct mail, bill inserts, e-mail and online media.

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 more than 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.

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