Memphis and Nashville, Tennessee, Wireless Customers Have the Gift of Gab, Verizon Wireless Study Finds

NASHVILLE, TN — If you think people in Tennessee talk a lot on their wireless phones, you're right.

The average Verizon Wireless customer in Memphis and Nashville makes and receives more calls than customers from most major U.S. cities, according to the first Big City Wireless Use Study by Verizon Wireless, owner and operator of the nation's most reliable wireless network. With big cities defined as the top 50 by population based on U.S. census data, the Verizon Wireless study found Memphis and Nashville ranked in the top 10 among major cities' wireless customers.

Compared with Miami customers who make an average of 298 calls per month and ranked 1st, Memphis customers ranked 9th, making and receiving an average of 228 calls per month, while Nashville customers, ranked 10th, making and receiving an average of 225 calls per month. The other top cities are Los Angeles, Detroit, El Paso, San Antonio, Las Vegas, Long Beach and Cleveland. Other Southern cities on the list include Atlanta, Houston, Charlotte, Austin and Virginia Beach. (See full list below).

"Even with all of the interest in new data services, the fact remains that our millions of customers coast-to-coast still look to Verizon Wireless for the fundamental and vital service of making and receiving calls-it's what we do, first and foremost," said Dick Lynch, chief technology officer and executive vice president-Network for Verizon Wireless. "Our study offers an interesting snapshot of how Americans have come to rely on their wireless service every day at home and on the road. That's why we work so hard to ensure the quality and reliability of the nation's most reliable wireless network, and to deliver the best wireless experience for our customers."

Verizon Wireless invested more than $150 million in 2005 in its Tennessee network to increase the coverage and capacity of its national network, to add new services and to maintain its status as the nation's most reliable wireless network. The company's most reliable wireless network claim is based on network studies performed by real-life test men and test women who inspired the company's national advertising campaign. These engineers conduct more than 750,000 voice call attempts and 1.4 million data tests quarterly on Verizon Wireless' and other national carriers' networks while traveling more than 225,000 miles in specially equipped, company-owned test vehicles. For more information, visit www.verizonwireless.com.  

The Verizon Wireless study counted incoming and outgoing calls and minutes of use data for one month during the first half of this year that is routinely collected by the company. Calls — which were counted based on home billing addresses — may have been made anywhere in the U.S. customers traveled, as well as in the callers' home cities. No private, individual customer records or information was examined or used for the purposes of this informal study.

The cities where wireless users averaged more than 200 calls per month were, in order of highest combined incoming and outgoing calls:

1. Miami, Fla. — 298
2. Los Angeles, Calif. - 260
3. Detroit, Mich. - 252
4. El Paso, Texas - 251
5. Las Vegas, Nev.; San Antonio, Texas - 235
6. Long Beach, Calif. - 233
7. Cleveland, Ohio - 230
8. Fresno, Calif. - 229
9. Memphis, Tenn. - 228
10. Nashville, Tenn. - 225
11. New York City, N.Y. - 224
12. San Jose, Calif. - 221
13. Fort Worth, Texas — 220
14. Scottsdale, Ariz. - 217
15. Dallas, Texas - 217
16. Phoenix, Ariz. — 217
17. Albuquerque, N.M. - 216
18. Atlanta, Ga. — 216
19. Houston, Texas - 214
20. Austin, Texas - 213
21. Mesa, Ariz. - 212
22. Milwaukee, Wis. - 211
23. Charlotte, N.C. — 211
24. Chicago, Ill. - 208
25. Tucson, Ariz. - 205
26. Virginia Beach, Va. - 204
27. Philadelphia, Pa. - 203
28. Indianapolis, Ind. - 201
29. San Diego, Calif. - 201

Callers from other big cities who made and received fewer than 200 calls were:

• San Francisco, Calif.
• Jacksonville, Fla.
• Oakland, Calif.
• Denver, Colo.
• Wichita, Kan.
• Baltimore, Md.
• Kansas City, Mo.
• Columbus, Ohio
• Omaha, Neb.
• Tacoma, Wash.
• Portland, Ore.
• Sacramento, Calif.
• Boston, Mass.
• Colorado Springs, Colo.
• Seattle, Wash.
• Minneapolis, Minn.
• Honolulu, Hawaii
• Washington, D.C.
• New Orleans, La.
• Tulsa, Okla.

About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless owns and operates the nation's most reliable wireless network, serving 54.8 million voice and data customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., Verizon Wireless 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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