Verizon Adds DIRECTV Programming, Creating the Most Comprehensive, Top-Quality Service Bundle in the Market

NEW YORK and EL SEGUNDO, Calif. - Already the market leader in sales of innovative, discounted bundles of calling, Internet access and wireless services, Verizon is introducing new offers that include DIRECTV, the nation's leading digital television entertainment service.

The new packages will be rolled out in Rhode Island on Tuesday and then in New England and the mid-Atlantic states in the coming months, with additional markets to follow.

"We want to make it easy for customers to get everything they want from one trusted provider - Verizon," said Bob Ingalls, president of Verizon's retail markets group. "Our offer of local, long-distance, wireless, Internet and now, video service with one call and, soon, on one bill is unmatched in breadth, simplicity, quality and value."

The packages offer great value and convenience by including DIRECTV entertainment services. Rhode Island customers who buy Verizon's best package, which includes unlimited all-distance calling, Verizon Online DSL and DIRECTV, can save over $240 a year, compared with a competitor's comparable bundle of calling, Internet access and entertainment. Other combinations of DIRECTV, calling and Internet access also are available with discounts.

Customers can order all Verizon and DIRECTV services by making a single call to Verizon. By mid-year, when the companies interconnect billing systems, all the services will appear on the Verizon bill. Verizon currently offers integrating billing of local and long-distance calling, Internet access and, in most areas, wireless services via its ONE-BILL option.

"Our package sales, now satisfying 48 percent of our local customers nationwide, have been astoundingly successful at meeting consumer demand for a great deal on an integrated offer. Adding DIRECTV programming gives customers even more value - great service and a great price -- all with a single call," Ingalls said.

In addition to the variety of calling and Internet services available from Verizon, customers can buy, for example, DIRECTV's TOTAL CHOICE^® PLUS with Local Channels package, which offers more than 135 channels. DIRECTV customers have access to a wide selection of sports subscriptions like the NFL SUNDAY TICKET^TM; DIRECTV digital video recording technology; several channels of high-definition programming; and DIRECTV-delivered local channels in all major markets.

"Through the Verizon offer, customers will have a convenient and simple way to order DIRECTV and save money on the bundled price at the same time," said Steve Cox, executive vice president, sales distribution and marketing for DIRECTV Inc. "We will leverage the strength of both brands along with the compelling array of telephone, data and video service bundles to provide a superior alternative to cable."

Verizon has led the way with the introduction of residential packages of local, regional and long-distance calling, calling features, Internet access and, for many customers, wireless services, with discounts. In 2003, Verizon added Verizon Freedom, a flat-rate, all-distance calling plan with a fixed, predictable monthly price.

Discounts are available to new DIRECTV subscribers and to Verizon customers who buy packages of local, long-distance and data services. DIRECTV will install its services and provide follow-up customer care for its customers acquired through Verizon.

About Verizon

A Fortune 10 company, Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) is one of the world's leading providers of communications services, with approximately $68 billion in annual revenues. Verizon companies are the largest providers of wireline and wireless communications in the United States. Verizon is also the largest directory publisher in the world, as measured by directory titles and circulation. Verizon's international presence includes wireline and wireless communications operations and investments, primarily in the Americas and Europe. For more information, visit www.verizon.com.

About DIRECTV

DIRECTV is the nation's leading digital multichannel television service provider with more than 12.2 million customers. DIRECTV and the Cyclone Design logo are registered trademarks of DIRECTV, Inc., a unit of Hughes Electronics Corp. (NYSE: HS). Hughes is a world-leading provider of digital multichannel television entertainment, broadband satellite networks and services, and global video and data broadcasting. Hughes is 34 percent owned by Fox Entertainment Group, which is approximately 82 percent owned by News Corporation Ltd.

This release contains forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are information of a non-historical nature and are subject to risks and uncertainties that are beyond the Company's ability to control. The Company cautions note holders and prospective investors that the following factors may cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements: regulatory actions, competition within the multichannel video programming distribution industry; satellite failures or launch failures or delays; signal theft; the effects of economic conditions; as well as other factors set forth in the Company's Prospectus and other documents, which are on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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