Verizon Names Dick Lynch Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer

NEW YORK - Dick Lynch has been named executive vice president and chief technology officer of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ), a new position reporting to Verizon President and Chief Operating Officer Denny Strigl, effective immediately.

Lynch was formerly executive vice president and chief technical officer for Verizon Wireless since that company's founding in 2000.

In his new role, Lynch will be responsible for establishing and managing the overall direction, technology and planning of all of Verizon's networks -- Verizon Wireless, Verizon Telecom and Verizon Business.  The CTOs in each of the business groups will continue to report to the respective group presidents and will be responsible for the day-to-day execution of their network deployment strategies.

"Dick has been the chief architect of Verizon Wireless' network leadership, and we are confident that he will bring that same focus to all of Verizon's networks as we continue to seize opportunities to strengthen our business," said Strigl.

The move advances Verizon's revised management structure, announced last December, which created Strigl's position as a single point of accountability for all business units.  Previously, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer John Stratton and Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer Shaygan Kheradpir were named as direct reports to Strigl.

Also continuing to report to Strigl are: John Killian, president of Verizon Business; Lowell McAdam, president and chief executive officer of Verizon Wireless; Dan Mead, president of Verizon Services Operations; and Virginia Ruesterholz, president of Verizon Telecom.

Under Lynch's direction, Verizon Wireless became the nation's premier wireless provider with the most reliable wireless network and launched the nation's first wireless broadband wide area network.

In his prior assignment, Lynch was executive vice president and chief technical officer for Bell Atlantic Mobile.  He led the industry to advance code division multiple access (CDMA) into a commercial wireless offering, launching the nation's first commercial CDMA service.

Lynch is a Fellow of The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc. (IEEE).   He has served as a charter member of the executive board of the CDMA Development Group, an organization responsible for promotion, advancement, deployment and future developments of CDMA.  He is a member of the Federal Communications Commission's Technical Advisory Council, and he has also been awarded patents for advances in the area of wireless technology.

In the early years of wireless data development, Lynch served as chairman of the Wireless Data Forum, an organization dedicated to promoting the benefits of wireless data.  Under his guidance, the forum was restructured and affiliated with the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association, and Lynch received the CTIA President's Award.

Throughout his career, Lynch has held a variety of positions in all aspects of planning, operations and engineering, beginning with New England Telephone in 1972.  Prior to joining Bell Atlantic Mobile, he was general manager of operations for Bell of Pennsylvania's Central area.

Lynch is a 1970 graduate of Lowell Technological Institute (now UMass), where he received bachelor's and master's degrees in electrical engineering.  He has also completed postgraduate work at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Johnson School of Management at Cornell University.

A replacement for Lynch will be announced at a later date.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ), headquartered in New York, is a leader in delivering broadband and other wireline and wireless communication innovations to mass market, business, government and wholesale customers.  Verizon Wireless operates America’s most reliable wireless network, serving 60.7 million customers nationwide.  Verizon’s Wireline operations include Verizon Business, which delivers innovative and seamless business solutions to customers around the world, and Verizon Telecom, which brings customers the benefits of converged communications, information and entertainment services over the nation’s most advanced fiber-optic network.  A Dow 30 company, Verizon has a diverse workforce of more than 238,000 and last year generated consolidated operating revenues of more than $88 billion.  For more information, visit www.verizon.com.

####