Verizon Wireless Completes Major Network Expansion In Pacific Northwest

BELLEVUE, WA — In a continuing effort to provide the most reliable wireless service for local residents, Verizon Wireless has expanded its digital network to include the Washington cities of Yakima, the Tri-Cities, Walla Walla, Ellensburg, Clarkston, and Pullman; as well as Pendleton, Hermiston and LaGrande in Oregon; and Lewiston and Moscow, Idaho. The expansion increases the company's coverage in the region by more than 6,000 square miles.

"This is an important expansion for existing Washington, Oregon and Idaho customers, many of whom regularly travel to and from these cities where we have provided service through roaming partners," said Kelley Kurtzman, Verizon Wireless regional president. "Now we can offer local residents and businesses all the benefits of Verizon Wireless' network. We will open retail locations in several cities to make it more convenient for local customers to shop for and choose our wireless products and services."

The project has taken three years to complete, and the investment is valued at $50 million. Each year, the company invests on average about a billion dollars every 90 days in its national network to further expand and enhance its wireless voice and data network and safeguard network reliability, in order to stay ahead of customer's growing demand for voice and data service.

The company's 'most reliable national network' claim is based on network studies performed by real-life test men and test women who inspired the company's national advertising campaign. They conduct more than 300,000 call attempts monthly on Verizon Wireless' and other national wireless carriers' networks, while traveling over 100,000 miles of the most frequently traveled roadways nationwide in specially equipped, company-owned quality test vehicles.

Verizon Wireless' national network reliability is also supported by industry-leading redundancy and maintenance measures, which have proven particularly valuable during natural disasters and other emergencies. Standard Verizon Wireless network reliability includes battery back-up power at all facilities as well as generators installed at all switching facilities and many cell site locations. The company also operates a fleet of mobile generators and temporary cell sites, or cells-on-wheels, ready for deployment for emergencies such as the Eastern Washington wildfires in 2004.

About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless owns and operates the nation's most reliable wireless network, serving 45.5 million voice and data customers. Headquartered in Bedminster, NJ, 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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