Verizon Wireless Names Director Of System Performance

ROCHESTER, NY — Verizon Wireless, formerly Bell Atlantic Mobile, has named Randall Miller director of system performance for the company's Upstate New York Region. In his new position, Miller will be responsible for monitoring and improving the region's wireless network, deploying new wireless technology and network capacity ahead of customer demand, and ensuring optimum system performance to benefit the carrier's Upstate New York customers.

"Randy comes to us with extensive network management experience," said Tracy Nolan, president of Verizon Wireless' Upstate New York Region. "By naming Randy to this new position, we'll be able to monitor our network performance more closely and make the necessary improvements to provide our customers with the best wireless service in Upstate New York."

A 1985 graduate of the University of Lowell (MA) with a BS in electrical engineering, and a 1993 MBA graduate of Rivier College in Nashua, NH, Randy began his career as a program engineer with Lockheed Sanders. Most recently he was a system performance manager with Bell Atlantic Mobile in its New England markets. He will reside in Penfield with his wife and two children.

Verizon Wireless is committed to maintaining the premier wireless network in the United States and plans to invest more than $3.1 billion in its nationwide network in 2000. This capital investment, one of the largest ever announced in the industry, will further expand the digital footprint and increase capacity for wireless voice and data services provided to the new company's more than 24 million customers. Planned network enhancements, technology trials and new services include:

• Introduction of the nation's first wireless two-way short messaging service
• Testing of third generation network technology through field trials
• Rapid expansion of its CDMA digital network
• Wireless network support for General Motors' OnStar personal calling feature
• Deployment of Over-the-Air provisioning via its CDMA digital network

According to Richard Lynch, executive vice president and chief technical officer of Verizon Wireless, the new company plans to leverage its scale and maximize the value of its $3 billion investment in volume network equipment purchases to accelerate the rapid deployment of CDMA service and to lay the groundwork for third generation (3G) services. 3G technology will provide users with benefits such as high-speed wireless web access and, potentially, the ability to use their wireless phones anywhere in the world.

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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 company 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. 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. Headquartered in New York City and Bedminster, NJ, Verizon Wireless is 30,000 employees strong. Reporters and editors can find more Verizon Wireless information at www.verizonwireless.com/mediacenter.

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