Verizon Wireless Hosts its Final Reprogramming Fair to Help Eastern Iowa Customers Stay Connected

DAVENPORT, IA — Verizon Wireless is hosting its final Phone Reprogramming Fair November 9-12 to prepare its customers for the approaching start date for mandatory 563 area code dialing in Eastern Iowa. The fair will be held at the three store locations: 5010 N. Brady St., Davenport; 4500 16th Street, Moline; and 2110 B Park Ave., Muscatine.

The new 563 area code has been in effect since March 25 but customers were given a transition period to adjust to the new practice. The transition period ends and mandatory 10-digit dialing begins December 2. Verizon Wireless wants to make sure all of its customers are aware that this new area code affects the following prefixes: 249, 271, 299, 333, 340, 343 and 940. Customers with those prefixes need to have their phones reprogrammed or they will not be able to make calls after December 1. To reprogram their phones, Verizon Wireless customers may:

1) Visit a Verizon Wireless store at anytime to have the reprogramming done.
2) Attend the November 9-12 Phone Reprogramming Fair. The first 1,000 customers will receive a free earbud. Refreshments and other gifts also will be part of the four-day event.
3) Call 1-866-840-6372 from a landline phone for step-by-step instructions for reprogramming their Verizon Wireless phones. Callers will be asked to have their wireless phone in-hand, with a fully-charged battery.

"A similar Phone Reprogramming Fair was held in early October, and we were thrilled by the number of people who attended," said Griselle House, District Manager-Retail Stores, for Verizon Wireless. "Our customers value the ease and convenience of using wireless phones to keep in touch with family, friends and business associates. And we value our customers. So, we're doing our best to inform them of the change and prepare them for the mandatory area code dialing that begins in December."

House added that Verizon Wireless has used several methods in recent months to educate its customers on the impending changes and steps they can take to avoid service interruptions as the area code dialing is put into permanent practice. These efforts included a reminder message in monthly billing statements to those customers who will be affected, newspaper ads and direct-mail postcards announcing the reprogramming fairs. Since the October fair, Verizon Wireless has reprogrammed more than 3,000 customer phones.

About Verizon Wireless

Verizon Wireless is the largest wireless communications provider in the U.S. with more than 28.7 million wireless voice and data customers. The coast-to-coast wireless provider was formed by the combination of the U.S. wireless businesses of Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE: VOD), including Bell Atlantic Mobile, AirTouch Cellular, GTE Wireless and PrimeCo Personal Communications. Verizon Wireless has a footprint covering more than 90 percent of the U.S. population, 49 of the top 50 and 97 of the top 100 U.S. markets. The company, headquartered in Bedminster, NJ, is 40,000 employees strong. Reporters and editors can find more information about the company on the Web at http://www.verizonwireless.com.

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