Verizon Wireless Is Coming to Little Rock, Arkansas

LITTLE ROCK, AR — Verizon Wireless, owner and operator of the nation's most reliable wireless network, announced today that the company will expand its network to Arkansas by launching service in Little Rock on November 1.

During the next 24 months, Verizon Wireless will invest up to $200 million to build 280 cell sites in central Arkansas, with 107 of those cell sites complete when the network launches later this year. Initial service will be available in Little Rock and North Little Rock, as well as communities surrounding the metropolitan area including Jacksonville, Maumelle and Sherwood. Coverage will also connect east along Interstate 40 to existing Verizon Wireless service in Memphis.

"Little Rock is a rapidly growing top 100 market and we are excited that we will soon be able to offer consumers the nation's best wireless network and customer service," said Jack Plating, president of the South Area for Verizon Wireless. "This is just the first step as we work to bring Verizon Wireless products and services to the entire state of Arkansas."

Verizon Wireless also announced this week that it has completed the purchase, initially announced in March, of certain spectrum licenses and operating assets from Leap Wireless International, Inc. for $102.5 million. This purchase includes the licenses to offer service in the Fayetteville, Russellville and Fort Smith areas, as well as additional spectrum in Little Rock that will be used to expand capacity for voice and data services.

Verizon Wireless is dedicated to delivering outstanding customer satisfaction by offering quality services. The company has regularly invested more than $4 billion nationally each year since its inception — and more than $8 billion in the last 18 months — to expand and upgrade the nation's most reliable network. The company's 'most reliable wireless network' claim is based on network studies performed by real-life test men and test women who inspired the company's national advertising campaign. The engineers conduct more than four million calls annually on the Verizon Wireless network and other national wireless carriers' networks while traveling more than one million miles across the nation.

Verizon Wireless has been recognized consistently as the leader in the U.S. wireless industry, not only for its network coverage, products and services, but also for its customer service. In the first half of 2005 alone, Verizon Wireless posted the lowest customer churn rate among national carriers and topped more third-party surveys of customer satisfaction.

About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless owns and operates the nation's most reliable wireless network, serving 47.4 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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