Los Angeles Wireless Customers Have Lots to Talk About

LOS ANGELES, CA — If you think people in Los Angeles talk a lot on their wireless phones, you're right.

The average Verizon Wireless customer from Los Angeles 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. The study defined "big cities" as the top 50 by population based on U.S. census data and found that Los Angeles customers made and received an average of 260 calls per month — eight to nine calls daily.

Compared with Miami customers who make an average of 298 calls per month and ranked 1st, Los Angeles customers ranked 2nd on the Verizon Wireless study. Other top cities are: Detroit, El Paso, San Antonio and Las Vegas. Other cities in the 12 Western states ranking in the top 25 are: Long Beach, Fresno and San Jose in California; Scottsdale and Phoenix in Arizona; and Albuquerque, New Mexico. (See full list below.)

"This study points to the value Americans place on their wireless service to stay connected and get things done," said John Palmer, president — Southern California Region, Verizon Wireless. "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 has invested more than $395 million in its California network over the past five years to increase its coverage and capacity for customers, 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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