Verizon Wireless Expands Popular Raleigh, North Carolina Wireless Broadband Network To Neighboring Counties

RALEIGH, NC — In an effort to provide more North Carolina residents with access to high-speed business and entertainment-based services on their wireless phones, laptops and other wireless devices, Verizon Wireless has expanded its Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO) third generation (3G) wide-area network in the Raleigh area to surrounding cities and towns.

Since September 2005, customers in metropolitan Raleigh have enjoyed the high-speed business and entertainment-based services and now more Verizon Wireless customers in Johnston County can experience the high-speed wireless service.

"Due to the growing popularity of Verizon Wireless' established EV-DO service, we have expanded our service beyond Raleigh, Durham and Cary to neighboring Johnston County," said Jerry Fountain, Carolinas/Tennessee region president for Verizon Wireless. "Now, more North Carolinians have access to superior wireless data experience while away from the office and full access to their corporate information, just as if they were attached via a high-speed wired connection, but with the freedom of true mobility."

Verizon Wireless was the first national wireless provider to commercially launch a high-speed wireless broadband network in the United States, and the company's EV-DO network reaches more than 200 million Americans. In North Carolina, Verizon Wireless' EV-DO network is available in Raleigh/Durham, Charlotte, Greensboro, Wilmington, Greenville and Jacksonville.

In 2006, Verizon Wireless invested $146 million to build, maintain and expand its high-quality network, and since 2003, the company has spent $531 million in North Carolina to ensure network reliability and expanded coverage and capacity. On a national level, Verizon Wireless spent $35 billion nationwide over the last seven years to ensure network reliability and expanded coverage and capacity.

BroadbandAccess
BroadbandAccess provides on-the-go professionals with full, mobile access to their corporate information as if they were attached to the information via a high-speed wired connection. Users can conduct business anytime, anywhere in the BroadbandAccess coverage area via a secure, true high-speed data connection.

With average access speeds of 400-700 kilobits per second (kbps), users can download a 1 Megabyte e-mail attachment — the equivalent of a small PowerPoint^® presentation or a large PDF file — in about 20 seconds. Current and new customers with any voice plan can now get unlimited BroadbandAccess for $59.99 monthly access with a two-year customer agreement. For non-voice customers, BroadbandAccess is available for $79.99 monthly access for unlimited use with a one-year customer agreement.

BroadbandAccess customers who travel outside the coverage area with an EV-DO-capable device will switch seamlessly to Verizon Wireless' existing NationalAccess network that offers average data transmission speeds between 60 and 80 kbps, with bursts up to 144 kbps.

V CAST
V CAST, the nation's first wireless broadband multimedia service for consumers, offers the most comprehensive selection available of music, videos and 3D games on demand. Users can stream video clips (up to five minutes long) of the hottest entertainment, music videos, movie trailers, sports highlights, news and breaking weather directly to their Verizon Wireless V CAST-capable phone.

With V CAST Music, customers can browse and download music from the V CAST Music library of 1.5 million songs directly onto their V CAST Music-enabled phone or Windows^® XP-enabled PC. They can also transfer music from their PC to their V CAST Music-enabled phone and take their tunes with them without a second device.

Customers with select V CAST-enabled phones can check out V CAST whenever they want for just $3.00 for 24-hour use. Additional BroadbandAccess and V CAST pricing and product information is available at www.verizonwireless.com.  

* Network details at www.verizonwireless.com/bestnetwork.

About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless operates the nation's most reliable wireless voice and data network, serving 57 million customers. The largest US wireless company and largest wireless data provider, based on revenues, Verizon Wireless is headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with 60,000 employees nationwide. The company 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 preview and request 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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