Verizon Wireless Begins Service And Retail Operations In St. Cloud, Minnesota

ST. CLOUD, MN — Verizon Wireless announced today that it has completed the purchase of Cellular 2000 of St. Cloud from its owner, St. Cloud Wireless Holdings LLC. Verizon Wireless starts today serving Cellular 2000's approximately 42,000 customers and offering nationwide service plans with no roaming or long-distance charges, as well as other products and services, to the greater St. Cloud community.

Additionally, Verizon Wireless today officially opened its Communications Store at 126 West Division St. in Waite Park, Minn., which was formerly the flagship retail location of Cellular 2000. The former Cellular 2000 store location at 37 N. Benton Dr. in Sauk Rapids now offers Verizon Wireless service through an authorized Verizon Wireless agent, Wireless World. Service also is available locally through the RadioShack stores at 2932 Division St. and in Crossroads Center.

"We look forward to offering the quality and value of Verizon Wireless service to the St. Cloud community," said Nancy B. Clark, president—Great Plains Region, Verizon Wireless. "We also have hired 13 former employees of Cellular 2000 as retail store managers, representatives and a business account executive."

Under terms of the transaction, Verizon Wireless acquired Cellular 2000's spectrum license and network and operations assets for the St. Cloud market. The spectrum license covers a population of approximately 250,000 people in Benton, Stearns and Sherburne counties-growing communities adjacent to the greater Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan area.

Verizon Wireless will update the existing network cell sites and transition operations in these counties to its CDMA 1xRTT technology by the end of the year.

The St. Cloud operations of Verizon Wireless will be part of the company's Great Plains Region, which is headquartered in Plymouth, Minn., and includes Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota and Nebraska.

For more information, customers may call 800-879-2991 or 320-250-8255 during the Waite Park store business hours or visit the store Monday through Friday, 8 a.m.—8 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m.—5 p.m. and Sunday, noon—4 p.m.

About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless owns and operates the nation's most reliable wireless network, serving 43.8 million voice and data customers. Headquartered in Bedminster, N.J., Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE: VOD). Find more information on the Web at www.verizonwireless.com. To receive broadcast-quality video footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon Wireless operations, log on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.  

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