Verizon Wireless Adds Low-Cost Weekend Calling Option for SingleRate Customers

Verizon Wireless Adds Low-cost Weekend Calling Option
for SingleRate^sm Customers

Wireless Long Distance Now Even More Affordable

March 16, 2001

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KNOXVILLE, TN
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Simple, affordable, national SingleRate^sm service from Verizon Wireless is now even more affordable on weekends. Customers of Verizon Wireless' flagship service, SingleRate^sm, now have the option of adding 1,000 additional weekend minutes to their nationwide plan for just $10 a month. And like SingleRate^sm, the National Weekend plan offers free long-distance, free roaming and, in most areas, includes time management features such as voice mail, call waiting and three-way calling.

Verizon Wireless' SingleRate National Weekend, in contrast to offerings by other carriers, allows customers to call anyone, from anywhere in the country without paying roaming charges. Combined, Verizon Wireless' SingleRate National Weekend and SingleRate^sm service is one of the industry's lowest priced nationwide plans.

"More and more customers are using their wireless phones as an economical means of managing their long-distance bills," said Debra Carroll, Verizon Wireless' vice president of marketing. "Keeping in touch with college-age children or relatives located in different cities just got easier and even more affordable with the addition of the SingleRate National Weekend plan."

For customers who have become accustomed to using wireless phones with the peace of mind that comes from knowing exactly how much they are paying for their monthly service, the SingleRate National Weekend flat rate is a natural complement to their SingleRate^sm service.

"Wireless service should be simple," Carroll said. "When you hit the "send" button, you shouldn't have to worry about imposed calling boundaries. Using your wireless phone should be as easy as visiting with a neighbor over the backyard fence... regardless of where the "neighbor" lives. We firmly believe that SingleRate^sm and SingleRate National Weekend on the Verizon Wireless coast-to-coast network set a new standard for nationwide calling."

The extensive Verizon Wireless network allows neighbors from Hawaii to Florida and from Washington to Maine to visit as often as they like. The company has committed more than $4 billion in upgrades and network enhancements including of extensive quality control and testing to ensure customers have coast-to-coast service.

Customers in Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada and western New Mexico were among the first to take advantage of the new service, which began February 28. SingleRate National Weekend will be phased in with all Verizon Wireless customers having access to the service by April 8.

About Verizon Wireless

Verizon Wireless is the largest wireless communications provider in the U.S. with 27.5 million wireless voice and data customers. The new coast-to-coast wireless provider was formed by the combination of the U.S. wireless businesses of Bell Atlantic Corp. and GTE Corp -- now Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) -- and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE: VOD). The new company includes the assets of Bell Atlantic Mobile, AirTouch Cellular, GTE Wireless, PrimeCo Personal Communications and AirTouch Paging. The company has a footprint covering nearly 90 percent of the U.S. population, 49 of the top 50 and 96 of the top 100 U.S. markets. Verizon Wireless, headquartered in Bedminster, NJ, is 38,000 employees strong. Reporters and editors can find more information about the company on the Web at http://www.verizonwireless.com.