Verizon Expands Telephone Offices To Better Serve Hockessin, Claymont Customers

WILMINGTON, Del. -- Verizon Communications is investing more than $3 million to expand and modernize two telephone

offices serving New Castle County customers. The buildings house digital switches, state-of-the-art computers that route

calls to their destinations, and other advanced telecommunications equipment.

Verizon is expanding the Hockessin and Holly Oak telephone offices to accommodate new electrical and air conditioning

equipment and provide additional facilities for competitors that may want to connect their equipment to Verizon's

network. Verizon expects to complete work on the Holly Oak office in the first quarter of 2002. The company expects to

finish the Hockessin expansion next spring.

"Our mission is ensuring that Delaware's citizens have full access to the opportunities of the new economy,"

said Joshua W. Martin III, president of Verizon Delaware. "Verizon is committed to building a telecommunications

network that is second to none and to delivering the benefits of advanced technology to everyone."

Martin said Verizon continues its investment in telecommunications infrastructure throughout the First State:

• Investment in the company's Delaware network since 1995 exceeds $450 million.
• Miles of fiber in the state increased by 9.2 percent from 88,827 miles in 1999 to more than 97,000 miles today.
• The company deployed 68 SONET (Synchronous Optical Network) rings in its Delaware network in 2000. SONET rings

  provide multiple choices of high-speed voice and data services and are self-healing, automatically rerouting

  telecommunications transmissions in the event of a service disruption.

• Verizon Online DSL (digital subscriber line) service was launched in Delaware in January 2000. DSL is a high-speed

  connection to the Internet that enables users to surf the World Wide Web at speeds much faster than today's fastest

  analog modems. Today, more than 70,000 Delaware households can get Verizon Online DSL.

"Telecommunications-intensive information and service sectors have driven Delaware's economy in recent years and are

predicted to increase in importance," Martin said. "Verizon's investment in telecommunications infrastructure

will enhance Delaware's ability to stimulate economic growth, attract new jobs and businesses and provide the opportunity

to shape our state's future in the 21st century."

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 28 million wireless customers. Verizon is also the largest directory publisher in the world. A Fortune

10 company with approximately 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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