Verizon Wireless Customers In Minneapolis-St. Paul Area Get Faster New Wireless Broadband Network

MINNEAPOLIS, MN — Verizon Wireless customers in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area can now have access to the Internet and to their e-mail and corporate data at faster speeds, uploading files eight to nine times faster than before as Verizon Wireless rolls out its next-generation high-speed broadband network. Based on CDMA 1x Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO) Revision A (Rev. A) technology, the enhanced wireless broadband network provides Verizon Wireless customers in these Minnesota communities with data uplink speeds significantly faster than the company's award-winning national EV-DO network, which the company rolled out in the Twin Cities area in August 2005.

This faster network coverage area extends from the city of Minneapolis north to Coon Rapids and Blaine, west to Mound, east to Woodbury, south to Northfield and southwest to Shakopee, providing Verizon Wireless customers with faster access for sending and uploading data.

The company's existing EV-DO network enables customers to access BroadbandAccess on their laptops, e-mail on their PDAs, and V CAST Video and Music on their wireless phones. The company's national wireless broadband network, the first in the nation, is already available to more than 200 million Americans in 242 major metropolitan areas and 180 major airports from coast to coast.

"Our existing wireless broadband network has enabled customers to work remotely and stay entertained in unprecedented ways," said Nancy B. Clark, president, Great Plains region, Verizon Wireless. "Now we're taking wireless to the next level by introducing technology that helps them work faster. Our customers who enjoy the latest technology will applaud Rev. A's faster uplink speeds for their cutting-edge devices."

The company's flagship business data service, BroadbandAccess, runs faster and more efficiently with the new network enhancements. Customers in enhanced coverage areas can take advantage of upload speeds that are eight to nine times faster than with the company's existing wireless broadband network, while interacting with Web-based applications with improved latency for a better customer experience. For example, BroadbandAccess customers in enhanced wireless broadband coverage areas can expect average download speeds from 600 kilobits per second (kbps) to 1.4 megabits and average upload speeds of 500-800 kbps, which means customers can download a 1 Megabyte e-mail attachment — the equivalent of a small PowerPoint^® presentation or a large PDF file — in about eight seconds and upload the same-size file in less than 13 seconds. The enhanced network coverage areas allow Verizon Wireless customers to download files approximately ten times faster than customers of other wireless service providers that use different broadly deployed network technologies.

Devices that take advantage of the faster speeds provided by the EV-DO Rev. A network enhancements are the USB720 wireless modem, the AirCard 595 and PC5750 PC Card, which are fully compatible with the company's enhanced and existing wireless broadband networks and the company's NationalAccess network (based on CDMA 1xRTT technology). Minneapolis and St. Paul-area customers purchasing these devices will be able to get significantly faster upload speeds and improved download speeds when in an enhanced network coverage area. The devices are also backward compatible so they will seamlessly switch to the fastest network available, whether that is the enhanced wireless broadband network, the existing wireless broadband network or the network that operates the company's NationalAccess service.

For more information about Verizon Wireless products and services, visit a Verizon Wireless Communications Store, call 1-800-2 JOIN IN or go to www.verizonwireless.com.  

About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless operates the nation's most reliable wireless voice and data network, serving 60.7 million customers. The largest US wireless company and largest wireless data provider, based on revenues, Verizon Wireless is headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with 66,000 employees nationwide. The company 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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