Verizon Business Provides Free Calling During the Holidays for U.S. Troops in Iraq

BASKING RIDGE, N.J. - As part of its ongoing commitment to support U.S. troops domestically and abroad, Verizon Business is again providing free phone calls during this holiday season for U.S. Armed Forces personnel stationed in Iraq.

For the fifth consecutive year, Verizon Business will provide the calls for Iraq-based military personnel, from Nov. 21 through Nov. 28 and from Dec. 21 through Jan. 3. The calls home are made possible through a Verizon Business state-of-the-art mobile communications facility that was outfitted with phones and deployed to Iraq.

"Hearing the voice of a loved one can go a long way to bolster the spirits during the holidays,'' said Susan Zeleniak, vice president of federal markets for Verizon Business. "The women and men in the U.S. armed forces make sacrifices every day, and Verizon Business has made it a tradition to help the troops stay connected with their loved ones at home during the holidays.''

Verizon Business, as a leading communications provider to the federal government, makes technology, resources and employee support available to military personnel and their families around the world throughout the year.

Verizon Business also is supporting the USO of Metropolitan Washington, by hosting a Verizon Business Phone Home for the Holidays program Dec. 8 at Fort Belvoir, Va., in conjunction with the USO's holiday event. Verizon Business will deploy one of its mobile emergency communications vehicles to allow troops and their families to make free local, long-distance and international calls as well as send e-mails.

Verizon Business is a Partner at the USO Gateway Lounge at the Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. In addition, the company has teamed up with the USO of Metropolitan Washington as the Premier Partner of the new USO Lounge at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and as a Partner at the new lounge at Washington Dulles International Airport. The Dulles lounge opened earlier this year, and the Reagan airport lounge will open soon. Verizon Business is the first USO-Metro Partner to provide financial support to all three area airport USO lounges.

In addition to providing funding for the lounges, Verizon Business also provides them with free phone calling anywhere in the world via wireless phones using Verizon Business voice-over-Internet protocol service.

About Verizon Business
Verizon Business, a unit of Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ), is a leading provider of advanced communications and information technology (IT) solutions to large business and government customers worldwide. Combining unsurpassed global network reach with advanced communications, security and other professional service capabilities, Verizon Business delivers innovative and seamless business solutions to customers around the world. For more information, visit www.verizonbusiness.com.

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