Verizon Wireless and Ericsson Donate Wireless Phones to Buffalo Neighborhood Watch Group
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BUFFALO, NY — Verizon Wireless, formerly Bell Atlantic Mobile, and Ericsson have donated three wireless phones to the Buffalo Place Foundation for use by neighborhood watch groups patrolling the Main, Pearl and Washington Street areas. The phones are programmed to dial 911 and a local emergency hotline number and will be used by the groups to report incidents or suspicious activity to local police.
The donation is part of Verizon Wireless' continuing commitment to the Communities on Phone Patrol (COPP) program, a program launched in 1996 to provide neighborhood watch patrols across America with wireless phones to use on the beat. Verizon Wireless is providing the airtime; Ericsson has donated the phones. To date, Verizon Wireless has donated more than 80 wireless phones to neighborhood watch groups across Upstate New York and thousands of phones across the nation.
"By providing these phones and airtime, we're using wireless technology to help neighborhood watch groups like the Buffalo Place Foundation keep our streets and neighborhoods safe," said Tracy Nolan, president of Verizon Wireless' Upstate New York Region.
"Ericsson is proud to help make our communities safer by providing phones to community watch groups nationwide," said Anders Torstensson, executive vice president and general manager, Ericsson Mobile Phones. "Through our partnership with COPP and the wireless community, we are helping to make a positive difference in the lives of millions of Americans."
To request a COPP application, neighborhood watch patrols should contact the Community Policing Consortium at 1-800-833-3085.
About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless is the largest wireless communications provider in the U.S. with more than 18 million wireless voice and data customers and nearly 4 million paging customers. The new coast-to-coast wireless provider was formed by the combination of the U.S. wireless businesses of Bell Atlantic Corp. (NYSE:BEL) and Vodafone AirTouch Plc (LSE:VOD; NYSE:VOD). The new company includes the assets of Bell Atlantic Mobile, AirTouch Cellular, PrimeCo Personal Communications and AirTouch Paging. Verizon Wireless will be further strengthened by the addition of the wireless assets of GTE Corp. (NYSE:GTE) when it completes its merger with Bell Atlantic. When the merger is complete, the new company will have a footprint covering nearly 90 percent of the U.S. population, 49 of the top 50 and 96 of the top 100 U.S. markets. Verizon Wireless, headquartered in New York City and Bedminster, NJ, is 30,000 employees strong. Reporters and editors can find more information about the company in its Media Center on the Web at: www.verizonwireless.com/mediacenter.
About Ericsson
Information about Ericsson mobile phones and accessories is available on the World Wide Web at www.ericsson.com/US/phones.
Ericsson's 100,000 employees are active in more than 130 countries. Their combined expertise in fixed and mobile networks, mobile phones and infocom systems makes Ericsson a world-leading supplier in telecommunications.
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